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vanderlustwords · 4 years ago

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Under the Sheets

(not my gif)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Prompt: 9) There’s only one bed, and we sleep as far away as possible from each other but wake up cuddling

Requester: Anonymous

Summary: Bucky spends more time out of his dorm than in it with how much his roommate amorously makes love to his girlfriend. Luckily, his cute across-the-hall neighbor is generous about lending her place to him. Bucky’s unsure if he wants to hug or kiss his roommate for putting him in the situation he is in now.

Note: Thank you for sending this in! :) This trope is the OG.

Count: 3948

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You would say that every meeting you've had with James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes is always a series of unfortunate events.

The first time was when you were locked outside of your dorm room because you're an idiot without a roommate. Since it wasn't your first incident, you were very reluctant to call the campus security guard to let you in. You're pretty sure he hates you.

Luckily, across the hall, you had some new neighbors.

"You must be James-"

"Bucky, please," he offers you an easy, charming smile.

"Bucky, nice to meet you," you smiled back.

You had been standing outside your door for quite sometime when Bucky came back, explaining how Steve was out with his girlfriend. As it would be, Bucky knew how to pick a locked door open. You only got a laugh when you asked him about such questionable skills he had.

The next time you met Bucky was when you spilled your grocery bags all over the floor before entering into your building. Bucky seemed to just arrive home from his afternoon classes.

"This is so embarrassing," you muttered with flushed cheeks as Bucky helped you pick everything up.

"Well, no use crying over spilled milk."

"I haven't bought milk," you joked, causing him to laugh. Bucky had helped you carry your groceries in.

"No roommate?" He looked around the place, seeing how the extra room you had turned into a study room.

"Nope! Well, I mean, I had one earlier in the year, but she moved out after 3 months to transfer to another university. They didn't assign me with anyone else."

"Lucky," Bucky sighed.

"Roommate problems?" You raised your brow. You had come to know that Bucky and Steve have been friends since they were in diapers, now seemingly grown and going to university together too.

It seemed hard to believe the two friends would not like rooming together.

"Not problems, per se," Bucky licked his lips. "Just Steve likes to bring Peggy over a lot, and she stays the night often. I guess her roommate is kind of a psychopath."

You nodded slowly and understandingly. It was probably difficult to get studying done or sleep with hearing your roommate fuck at night.

"Well," you offer him a nervous smile, "you are always welcome here if you need the space to study."

"Thanks, doll."

It seems after that, Bucky took your offer quite seriously. Over the next few weeks, he would show up to your place in the evening needing some quiet to work on his papers and upcoming tests.

You certainly didn't mind the company, sometimes having the place to yourself could be a little lonely when everyone else had their roommates to hang out with.

It was almost kind of nice—an easy friendship brewing between the two of you.

The thought of dating never really crossed your mind because you weren't ignorant of the fact that Bucky was wildly popular across campus. Steve was too, but Peggy Carter was also wildly popular herself, making them a dream couple.

So, all sorts of people were trying to put themselves on Bucky's radar.

And, well, you were just you.

You were just flittering through your university life. You had friends, of course, game nights were on Friday, and went out on the occasional weekend to drink.

Really, the only time you got to spend time with Bucky was within your dorm building.

"I brought takeout!" Bucky holds up thick bags with food. You can smell the contents right away and smile.

"Thai food?" You smile, hopeful, in case you're somehow wrong.

Bucky grins at you as you let him in. He puts the bags on the counter, and you help him take the things out.

"Yeah, I saw you staring at their building while I was on the way to class the other day," he laughs. "How long did you stand there?"

You felt your cheeks warm at being caught by someone.

"Only ten minutes," you mumble.

Bucky licks his tongue against his bottom lip, smiling at you as he takes a seat.

You moan, almost a little inappropriately when you take your first bite.

"God, it's been way too long," you sigh happily as you munch away.

Bucky laughs, "For someone who likes Thai food so much, I don't see you eat it too often."

You shrug. "Thai food is one of those things where there's a lot of dishes that are shared. My friends, unfortunately, don't share my love for Thai food."

"Blasphemous!" Bucky gasps dramatically and jokingly, but you follow along with a firm nod.

"That's what I've been saying!"

Bucky grins. "Alright, how about your boyfriend?"

You roll your head over to Bucky with a look. "I think as often as you spend here, you should know by now I don't have one."

"Just checking," Bucky shrugs. "Any particular reason why?"

You quirk your brow at him. "Well, I'll tell you if you tell me why you haven't got a girl. Lord knows you don't have a shortage of options."

Bucky chuckles as he looks at you, scooping more food into your mouth. His eyes soften for just a moment.

"Just waiting on the right girl is all," he says, looking back at his food when you look up at him.

"Ah, then we're two peas in a pod," you smile, "I'm also waiting for the right person, and unfortunately, the only guys on my roster right now are frat boys."

You scrunch your face a little, and Bucky lets out a burst of laughter at your expression.

"Any particular reason for that?" He asks.

"One of my friends is in a sorority," you sigh. "She thinks she can get me to join if she shoves hot guys my way. I'm actually going to get dragged to a party on Saturday."

"Well," Bucky licks his lip, "is it working?"

"Not even in the slightest," you smirk.

Bucky grins.

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

"I don't want to study anymore, my brain is melting," Bucky groans as he leans back against your couch with his head facing the ceiling.

His eyes shut as he tries to make all the words disappear from his head, and you laugh at him.

"It's only been two hours," you point out. "Don't you have a huge test on Saturday afternoon?"

"I can't," Bucky moans dramatically. "I can't anymore. I should accept my inevitable doom and fail."

You roll your eyes with a smile as you lean forward and close his books. "Alright, drama queen. I think you just need a break. Why don't we just put on a movie?"

"Annnnd, now my brain is unmelting," Bucky sits up with an excited twinkle in his eye.

You end up watching three movies, but by the third movie, you fall asleep.

Bucky sits there, eyes drifting to you with ease as the movie plays on.

You snored a little, causing him to smile involuntarily.

Alright, Bucky admits, you were just beyond adorable to him.

But finding the right person also takes time.

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Friday night is game night.

Your friends get much too rowdy as you try to quiet them down, knowing Bucky is probably trying to study across the hall.

One of your friends drinks way too much and ends up passing out on the couch, dead to the world.

"Alright, let's call it a night," you yawn as you stand up and stretch. It's well past 1 AM as your friends get up.

"Should we wake him?" One of your friends asks.

"Nah, just leave him. I don't even know if he will wake up," you and your friends share a quick laugh as they leave your building.

"Don't forget we have the party tomorrow," your friend, Mary Jane, pulls you in for a hug.

"Right," you drawl, "Another attempt to find me a gross, frat boyfriend?"

"I mean, show me another guy on your roster, and I won't try to drag you to these parties," Mary Jane laughs.

You made some noise of agreement as you pat her back before she lets go, walking to the door and giving you a little wave before leaving.

You stretch again before you go to your closet to bring out an extra blanket and set it over your friend. You grab a glass of water and some Advil because you know that poor sucker will feel it tomorrow.

You look in the fridge and groan when you see you've run out of eggs. Typically, you wouldn't mind getting them in the morning, but your friend was someone who needed food immediately when they were hungover. You weren't willing to wake up any earlier to get the eggs in the morning, so you closed the fridge and got ready to head to the 24-hour convenience store down the block.

You were casually scrolling through your phone as you left your apartment. When you opened the door, you could hear some...sounds from Bucky's apartment, and you felt instant pity for the man. You were ready to leave the building when a figure sitting in the lobby scared the shit out of you.

"Holy fuc--Bucky?"

Bucky looked up with slightly bleary eyes, and it looks like he was still studying as he had his textbook in his lap along with his notebook.

"Oh, what are you doing down here?" He asked, sounding rather tired.

"What are you doing down here?" You retorted. "It's almost 2 AM. Don't you have a huge test tomorrow?"

"...Steve and Peggy had a fight..." Bucky pressed his lips together, and you don't need to ask further that the noises you heard earlier were them making up.

You wheedle from foot to foot while you look at Bucky. He looks exhausted, and you feel awful he's been sitting out here for God knows how long.

"How long were you out here for?"

"I don't know," Bucky shrugs, "Couple hours?"

You sigh. "Why didn't you just let me know. You could've come over."

"It was game night for you, wasn't it?" Bucky blinks because he was pretty sure he saw your sorority friend leave about 10 minutes ago.

You let out a pretty deep sigh, holding your hand out in front of him.

He scrunches his brows.

"C'mon," you wiggle your fingers, "come get some eggs with me, and you can crash at my place tonight."

Bucky gives you a light grin as he closes his textbook and grabs your hand as you put very little effort into pulling him up.

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There's a body.

In the place where Bucky thought he was going to sleep.

You don't seem to pay any mind to it as you put the eggs and orange juice away in the fridge.

Bucky is thinking a mile a minute.

The couch was taken, and the extra room you had was turned into a study room.

Was he supposed to sleep on the carpet? Were you going to give him a sleeping bag?

"Hey," Bucky grabs your attention, "Where should I crash?"

You shut the fridge door, running your hand through your hair as you make your way to your room.

"We can just bunk in the same bed," you say with a shrug, and Bucky thinks he might have a heart attack.

"You're okay with that?" Bucky asks slowly.

You shrug again, "Yeah, I bunk with people all the time. Don't you? It's like part of the university experience."

Bucky doesn't know how to say that he's probably doing more than just sleeping when he bunks with someone.

You turn around and lean at your doorframe, quirking your brow with a smirk.

"Don't tell me you aren't enough of an adult to share a bed with me."

Getting a rise out of Bucky seems to work as Bucky stalks into your bedroom.

"I'll show you an adult," he mutters childishly, and you roll your eyes with a smile.

And although Bucky says such big words, he's lying stiff as a board on the bed. He lies as close to the edge as possible without falling with his back turned to you, and you can't help but chuckle a little.

"You can unclench, you know. I hardly doubt you'll get some rest if you lie there like a metal rod," you say, but you're also lying pretty close to the edge with your back turned to him, though not as stiff.

It's silent for a moment, but eventually, you feel the bed shift a little as Bucky relaxes.

It's silent again, and you feel yourself starting to fall asleep.

"Who was that on your couch?" Bucky asks, breaking the silence.

"Hm?" You hum, opening your eyes slightly. "Oh, just a friend. He usually doesn't come to game night, but his boyfriend is visiting back home this weekend. He went a little too hard on the drinks."

"He's gay?"

"Yeah, got a problem?" You ask almost daring Bucky to say he does.

"Definitely not," Bucky smiles.

It's silent again.

"So--"

"Go to sleep, dumbass, you have a test in the morning," you say without opening your eyes. You hear Bucky chuckle softly.

"Goodnight, doll."

"Goodnight," you smile.

⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷

Warm.

Bucky felt warm. Maybe a little too warm.

He hasn't opened his eyes yet, but he can feel sunlight hitting his face and hear the birds chirping outside.

Bucky takes a deep breath in and feels shifting in his arms. He moves a little, pulling the warmth in closer.

He roughly hums in the back of his throat when he feels lips press against his collarbone.

It hits him like a freight train.

Bucky immediately opens his eyes, his body becoming rigid again as you come into view.

What started with the two of you sleeping at the furthest edges of the bed with your backs turned to each other ended up being the very opposite.

Sometime during the middle of the night, the two of you gravitated towards the middle of the bed. You were wrapped up in his arms, head just under his chin. He could feel your breath on the base of this throat, and it was giving him goosebumps.

Your hands were wrapped around his back, gripping his shirt slightly. Bucky couldn't even move too much with your legs intertwined with his. A groan wanted to escape his lips with his thigh wedged between your legs.

Bucky tried to move slowly without waking you.

He really did.

But then you let out a whine, holding him tighter and clenching your legs to lock his thigh in.

"Stop moving," you whined.

God, Bucky doesn't think he'll make it. He's already got morning wood, and this is too much.

He calls your name in an attempt to wake you up.

"Doll, you gotta get up, I have a test soon," he says instead when you hardly react to him calling your name.

This time, you do blearily open your eyes with a huff.

You untangle yourself from him as Bucky lets out a quiet sigh of relief. Sitting up, you let out a yawn and let out a big stretch, your shirt riding a little up as you do.

You look at your clock.

"Alright, there's about an hour before your test. Eat some breakfast before you go."

"It's really fin--"

"Break. fast."

You leave the room, and Bucky is left sitting there by himself. The morning passes quickly as you make breakfast. The sounds nor the smell seem to wake your friend up.

"Good luck on your test!" You smile at him as you make him a breakfast sandwich for him to go.

Bucky smiles back with a 'thanks' before he leaves your place confused.

Did this morning not affect you at all? Did you not see him as a man?

Bucky was distracted during the whole test.

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You held your smile until you heard the footsteps fade from your door.

After that, you nearly screamed. You stalked over to your hungover friend and whipped a pillow into his face.

"Ack!" He wakes up, nearly falling off the couch. He groans instantly when he sees your face.

"I'm so hungover, oh my god," your friend moans.

Your face feels hot as it's flushed in embarrassment. "This is all your fault for drinking too much and crashing on the couch! I should've pushed you onto the floor!"

You let out a groan before you stalked off to the washroom, closing the door.

Your friend sits up, looking at the plate of eggs and bacon on the table.

"What'd I do?"

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The entire day leading up to the party is spent with you trying to contain your embarrassment. You're trying to repress the memory of being pressed up against Bucky and clingy.

You didn't hear from Bucky after his test, and you were much too mortified to say anything, so you hadn't texted him either.

"You look constipated, please take some shots and relax," Mary Jane hands you tequila with a lime slice.

You shoot back the shot without hesitation.

"Alright," Mary Jane whistles, "Do I even want to know what's got your panties in a knot?"

"Nope," you shake your head.

"Alright, fair enough. Get some more drinks and mingle!" Mary Jane turns her attention past you. You look behind and see her current boyfriend, Harry, enter the room with kegs.

You sigh when Mary Jane looks at you with puppy eyes.

"Go," you tell her. She squeals and kisses you on the cheek before rushing off.

You do flitter through the party, catching up with some friends, and getting some drinks.

As embarrassed as you are, the last thing you want is to get sloppy, so you don't overdo it.

But as you already know, luck is never on your side.

Especially when you see Bucky walking into the party. People are getting excited and rushing up to say hi to him because Bucky rarely goes to frat parties.

The two of you lock eyes instantly, and the memory of this morning rushes back, and you wished the ground would open up and swallow you.

'Play it cool,' you tell yourself as you turn back to the group of people you're standing with.

You're not even sure what they've been talking about, and there's no way you could focus on that now.

Bucky doesn't seem to be rushing up to you either. He's drinking a beer with Harry as a crowd surrounds them.

You can see girls in the back looking at him and whispering, and you feel the burn in your gut now for some reason.

God, were you such a cliché that sharing a bed with Bucky actually made you think that way about him?

The night seems to continue on, and even though you keep catching eyes with Bucky, neither of you seems willing to make the first move.

You head over to the bar to get more drinks when someone approaches you and orders you a drink.

You internally groan.

Brock Rumlow.

A real piece of work.

He made it into Theta Chi, well-known to be a troublemaker.

He was known to sleep around and make unwanted advances towards girls and was hardly passing his classes.

Brock had turned his attention to you lately, which you flat out rejected him. It helped that you were friends with Mary Jane, who was dating Harry, the president of Theta Chi, and could tell Brock to back off.

But Brock Rumlow liked to push his boundaries.

"You look pretty good tonight, did you dress pretty for me?" He smirks at you, and you roll your eyes.

"Fuck off, Rumlow. I already told you I'm not interested," you look away, not bothering to take the drink he ordered for you.

"Now don't be like that, you haven't even gotten to know me yet," Brock leans against the counter close to you.

"And as I've explicitly told you, no," you whip your head back and glare at him.

You're about to walk off and see if you could find Mary Jane and Harry when Brock grabs your arm.

"What the fuck-" You start to say when another arm comes into view, grabbing Brock's wrist.

You look over to see Bucky standing there with his lip pressed into a thin line as he grips Brock's wrist hard enough until he lets go.

"Ow--what's your problem, dude?" Brock holds his wrist before shaking the pain off.

"Keep your hands off her," Bucky cocks his brow as he stands in front of you.

"How about you mind your business," Brock glares at him. "What? Are you her boyfriend?"

Bucky is standing so close to you that you can see his muscles tense, and you find yourself wrapping your arms around him from behind.

"Yes," you interrupt as Bucky lifts his arm over you and then around you so that you're tucked by his side. "He is my boyfriend."

You look up with a loving smile, trying to play the part when you find Bucky's steel-blue eyes gazing back at you.

He licks his lips, teeth dragging over his bottom lip, you swear so slowly before he smirks and looks back at Brock.

"So," Bucky keeps smiling, "fuck off."

"You could've just said you had a boyfriend," Brock grumbles at you like it's your fault somehow.

"My girlfriend doesn't have to say anything. Do you need to be taken back to elementary school to understand what 'no' or 'I'm not interested' means?" Bucky cocks his brow, and Brock sneers at him.

He looks like he wants to cause a scene, but Bucky is a well-known guy around campus, even if he's not in a fraternity house. Brock knows nothing good would come from starting a fight with Bucky, and he's already on thin ice with Harry.

And Bucky knows that.

So, he turns to you with a smile.

"C'mon, doll, let's get out of here."

As you get ready to leave, Bucky turns to Brock once more with a steely look on his face.

"Stay the fuck away from my girl."

Bucky actually leads you out of the party, saying a brief goodbye to Harry and Mary Jane, who wiggles her brows at you, and you're so grateful to have left.

The two of you walk silently but slowly back to the apartment, and you've got your arms wrapped around your midsection.

You cough, bringing Bucky's attention to you as you come to a stop under the streetlight.

"Thanks," you say a little awkwardly, "for you know, playing along."

Bucky smiles lightly.

"If those are the kind of guys on your roster, I think you should expand your horizons a little."

"Not all of us can have a guy like you on our list, but I'll take that under advisement."

You laugh, trying to play it off as a joke because even though it was all just pretend for a moment, being pressed up against Bucky as his girlfriend shouldn't have felt as good as it did.

"You can add me to your roster."

The words were said so smoothly you had almost missed it. You turn your head to Bucky, who's standing there with his hands in his pockets.

"What?" You say unsurely, convinced you might've heard him wrong.

"I told you I was waiting for the right girl," Bucky smiles, "I'm waiting for you, doll."

You feel an explosion of butterflies in your stomach, cheeks heating up as you process Bucky's words.

Every meeting you've had with Bucky is a series of unfortunate events.

And perhaps between every moment, while waiting for the right guy to come along, it only took waking up in his arms to realize maybe he was there all along.

#v.myfic #g.fluff #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes oneshot #bucky x reader #bucky barnes fluff #avengers imagine #modern avengers au #avengers au #marvel fanfic #marvel imagine

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gumnut-logic · 4 years ago

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Callisto (Part Six - Rescue Site)

This fic seems to be taking forever, but I hope it isn’t reading that way. I had so much fun over the weekend and I still have some fun ahead of me writing one of the core scenes I had planned. I hope you are enjoying reading this.

As always, many thanks to the amazing @tsarinatorment @scribbles97 @janetm74 and @vegetacide as well for all the read throughs and support. Wonderful science officer @onereyofstarlight this bit has one of the places we talked about extensively and wouldn’t exist without your help :D

Again, thank you to all the wonderful peeps who have been reading along and commenting despite the once a week posting schedule. You help keep my enthusiasm alive and you have no idea how much I appreciate every word of encouragement ::hugs you all::

Have a Tracy boy or two on the job :D

-o-o-o-

Scott rolled his shoulders and tried to stretch out the tension that was slowly giving him a headache.

At least now they were moving. This rescue felt like it was taking forever.

Hell, it was the same with most space recues, if even more with this one. The distances involved just went on and on and no matter how fast the Thunderbird, it was slow.

It rankled Scott just a little. The fact that the environment could not be influenced by his impatience.

And Dad…

He shunted the thought aside. Perhaps that was why he scorned the time needed. It gave him far too much time to think.

The tunnel stretched out before him as it had for some time now. The life signs were nearly seven hundred kilometres away from Callisto Base. Usually, this was not a problem. There wasn’t a Thunderbird that couldn’t cover that distance in a short period of time. Even Four could do it at velocities no other underwater craft had ever managed.

But this location was at least two kilometres underground, and while the molepod was always an option, Virgil had vetoed it with the option of travelling via dragonfly through the tunnels. Scott had to agree. They needed far more information before barrelling into an unknown situation, not to mention the difficulties of deploying the molepod in these conditions.

But by this point he was almost ready to jump out and blast a hole in the damned moon to get where they needed to go.

Time. So much damned time.

Too much to think.

His hands shifted on the Dragonfly’s controls spinning her into a dive as the tunnel dipped suddenly. The brilliance of the pod’s forward lights lit up the never-ending cave as clear as daylight.

It sparkled back at him in sharp, stabbing needle-like reflections off the walls that did nothing to improve his headache. He had already set his helmet to shade to protect himself. It was ridiculous to be needing sunglasses this far underground.

Behind him, Virgil was following him at a short distance in Dragonfly Two, his lights just bright enough to light up the red of Scott’s pod.

For some irrational reason Scott wanted his pod to be blue.

The blue of the sky he was currently missing.

He sighed.

Again, too much time to think.

“Another five hundred metres.” Alan’s voice from behind him was the reassurance it always was. Why he felt comforted when his littlest brother was nearby and within reach was something he did not want to examine too much.

A twist of his wrists as the tunnel backed around on itself in a hairpin of a turn and he had to dodge another nest of those weird deformed ice stalactite formations sticking out into their path. “What are we looking at?”

“Looks like another cavern. A big one.”

They had flown through several of those enormous caverns on the way out here already. They acted like junctions, some having multiple tunnels converging on them, every single one a home for more ice formations and that damned reflective rock. It had taken John to get them out of the last one. This place was a damned maze.

Virgil had fortunately come prepared, as always. He was leaving a trail of comms-support beacons behind them as a clear path to return to Callisto Base.

Scott fought the urge to duck as the tunnel suddenly shrunk by several metres and took another swerving turn. Scott spun the pod over one-eighty degrees on her longitudinal axis as her wings nearly scraped the ceiling.

Righting them finally, he couldn’t help but check his monitor to make sure Virgil took the turn safely.

He almost smiled as the green pod behind them flipped in a manoeuvre that no doubt had Gordon yelping in the back seat. He couldn’t help but be proud for just a self-indulgent moment.

But his attention was torn away as his pod suddenly shot into a large open space and the light reflecting off the walls suddenly blinded him.

Alan’s gasp behind him only echoed his own.

Their forward lights were being shot at them in blinding brilliance off the ceiling of the new cave.

That brightness only increased as Virgil’s pod spun into a hover beside them.

Oh god.

Whatever had been in the walls of the tunnels was obviously concentrated here.

He redirected the lamps away from the ceiling only to have the brilliance follow them all the way down the closest wall until he was able to turn the pod towards the most distant wall.

Crystal.

There was crystal everywhere.

The cave walls were covered in spikes of the stuff as it they were inside a giant geode. He had to acknowledge that it was stunningly amazing when it wasn’t ripping his eyeballs out.

But that wasn’t what took his breath away.

As their lamps lowered, they caught the edges of something else.

He turned the lights down towards the floor only to discover he couldn’t see it.

Because it was covered in water.

Fluid, liquid water, the dragonflies causing the faintest of ripples to dance across its surface.

A lake.

Scott’s jaw dropped as he tipped the pod to peer down into the dark water only to have more crystal attempt to stab him in the eye from the depths.

“What the hell?”

Water wasn’t supposed to be able to exist in this environment. He poked at his scanners. Atmospheric levels were the same, ever so thin, providing little to no air pressure or heat to keep the water in this state.

“John? What am I seeing?”

Thunderbird Five did not answer immediately, but the data transmission rate on comms doubled as his space brother reached his fingers into the cave through the pod’s sensors.

“Impossible.”

“That was my thought. Virgil?”

“It’s beautiful.”

Scott’s lips thinned. “Scientific explanation? Gordon?”

“You got me here, bro. But I’m more concerned about those lifesigns.”

Scott frowned and double checked his readout. The two dots registered, glowing strongly at him.

From under the water.

-o-o-o-

Virgil frowned as Scott spun his dragonfly around and returned to the entrance of the cavern. His forward lights lit up only what could be considered a beach where the original tunnel swooped in and connected with the crystal cave. At the base there was only a few scattered crystal formations and Virgil watched as his brother expertly put down without touching a single one.

“Are we going to take a look at the lake?”

Typical. Nearby water body and his fish brother wanted in it.

But Virgil needed more reconnaissance.

And if he was honest with himself, there was just a dash of sightseeing involved. Not much, because of the urgency of the mission, but enough curiosity to send him off on a scout around the cavern.

Crystals that had to be the length of an arm or a leg stuck out from the walls in haphazard directions. Most reflected back clear, but in streaks, as if seeping up a localised mineral, there were ribbons of colour in places – reds, greys, golds, pinks. His scanners spat back that it was simply quartz, silicon dioxide, but he had never seen a formation like this.

Which was understandable as this was an alien landscape with vastly different environs to those of Earth. The artist in him was literally stunned, while the scientist valiantly fought for a reason.

He swooped around the edges of the cavern, his lamps lighting up brilliance as he went. The cave proved to be roughly circular, approximately four hundred metres in diameter and about a hundred metres high. He came across two more tunnels leading off it, but all were as dry as the one they had used to enter the cave. Towards the centre, but not quite, the ceiling arched down and what appeared to be a stalactite met a stalagmite to form a column of swirling crystal that looked like something straight out of an art glass exhibition. The ribbons of colour were here too, but this time mostly in a rose pink and a startling blue.

Virgil didn’t have words.

The light playing among the crystals just touched every artistic sense he had and froze them solid.

But there was a mission and those two glowing red dots glared at him from beneath the surface of the lake.

He ran scans of the water. For it was water, mostly, though, certainly not any he would want to drink.

For one thing it was salty, a definite brine solution with a number of minerals including silica in concentrations that defied as much logic as the water’s existence did in the first place.

The difficulty was that the lifesigns weren’t clear. They were in the water, but resolution faded at a very shallow depth and there was a lot of deep depth in places.

“John, can you get any more resolution on these scans? I can’t pinpoint the lifesigns.”

There was a muttered curse on comms that had Virgil arching an eyebrow. “No, I’m sorry, Virgil. Interference is particularly strong in that cavern. We’re working on it, but I don’t have any great hopes.”

“What about a probe? Would that improve the signal?” Virgil blinked as his headache suddenly flared. Ow. Damn. The controls in front of him blurred a moment. Shit!

But then everything righted itself, just leaving an echo of the pain in his head as the headache droned on as it had before.

Maybe his painkillers were wearing off. A glance at the time proved that was far from the case.

He dreaded to think what that would have felt like without them.

“Virg?”

“What?!” Okay, so he was abrupt, but he was busy.

“Hey, hey, calm down. You didn’t answer John. Just checking on you.”

“Virgil, you there?” John’s voice dripped concern.

Shit.

“Sorry. Just got a headache. Need some sleep.”

“I feel you, bro. Want me to pilot?”

“No. No. I’m fine.” He swallowed bile and mentally shook himself. “John, you were saying?”

He could feel Gordon’s eyes on the back of his neck.

“Probe deployed. Target is Burr Crater, which you are directly under at the moment.”

Virgil’s display reported the probe entering Callisto’s atmosphere. He hoped it would give them enough information to act.

Time was ticking.

He spun the pod around and tried to ignore the rainbow of light that was his forward lamps. The flicker, while beautiful, was doing nothing good for his headache at all.

“You sure you’re okay, Virg?”

He pressed his lips together and considered ignoring the question from Gordon. But he knew if he did, his brother would only worry more.

It was a Tracy trait.

“Let’s just get this mission done. We have people who need saving.”

Gordon’s grunt wasn’t a happy one and the chances of Scott being called in on his headache were increasing by the moment.

“I’m fine, Gordon.” He cut the conversation off by dropping the pod rapidly towards the beach where Scott had climbed out and was walking to the water’s edge. Another spin mid-air and Virgil lowered into a rather delicate landing, keeping the pod’s feet away from the crystal formations sticking out of the rock.

Virgil swallowed again before climbing out of the pod. His boots hit solid but glittering rock, damp in the darkness.

Scott and Alan were standing at the water’s edge staring out at the spectacle that the pod lights lit up.

Gordon clambered out behind Virgil and together they both walked over to stand beside their brothers.

“This is so cool!” Alan was obviously excited.

He said it on external comms and the sound travelled across the cavern only to bounce back in so many perfect ‘ool’s Virgil’s eyes widened.

On the spur of that, as the ‘ool’s slowly faded away, he activated his own external comm and sung a single pure C note.

It came back at him from so many different directions it was like a chorus.

“Oh, wow.”

‘Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow…’ It went on, the faint atmosphere sporting just enough density to carry the sound waves.

“That is something, isn’t it?” Scott’s voice was quiet. “The dragonflies made one hell of a racket. We’re going to have to be careful. Wouldn’t want to set up a harmonic that could bring the roof down on us.”

Virgil was still processing. The thought of playing his piano in this cave was just mind boggling.

“Dad says the Base scientists are having some kind of scientific fit over this place.” A grunt. “I’m more concerned about those two lifesigns.” He paused. “John, any luck with the probe?”

“Unfortunately, no. The interference is just too thick. I can read the water, but very little in it or below it. I’ll keep trying.”

Scott sighed. “Keep us updated. Looks like this will have to be more hands on.” He turned to Gordon. “We need Thunderbird Four.”

-o-o-o-

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #Scott Tracy #Virgil Tracy #John Tracy #Gordon Tracy #Alan Tracy #callisto

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ssaic-jareau · 4 years ago

Text

day off.

Luke Alvez x Female Reader

Summary: on a rare day off, the team goes laser tagging.

a/n: please excuse my poetic license to make my OTPs actual couples. Also, Aaron and Jack are out of Witness Protection, and Aaron has gone back to being a prosecutor.

prompt: take me laser tagging and then push me into a corner and kiss me. then shoot me and walk away.

word count: 3k.

****

The team is wrapping up the paperwork from the week, when Emily exits her office to announce that the BAU has the weekend off, saying that the B team will handle any cases that come in.

Luke signs off on his last case file and speaks, “Am I the only one who feels like we haven’t been able to hang out off the clock for a while?”

Murmurs of agreement fill the bullpen.

Tara puts her legs on her desk, “Any plans for tomorrow?”

Reid’s eyes light up with an idea, “Let’s go play laser tag?”

“With partners?” JJ asks as she pulls out her phone to text Will, already anticipating Emily’s answer.

“Absolutely. You think Aaron’s going to let me out of his sight once he hears about my free weekend?”

Matt chuckles at that, “Yeah, I’m sure I can get Kristy to come along.”

Luke smiles, “And if Kristy is coming, so is Y/N. Because I’m pretty sure she loves her more than me.”

JJ pats his shoulder almost condescendingly, “Poor boy.”

Penelope asks, “Spencer, are you bringing Austin?”

Spencer’s cheeks heats up, “Of course I am. JJ, is Will free?”

Her phone pings just then, “Yeah, I just got confirmation. He’s keen for tomorrow, he’s already booking the sitter.”

Rossi passes through the conversation on his way out of the office, “You crazy kids have fun. I’ve got a wedding to plan. Arrivederci!”

Everyone shouts their goodbyes as Rossi leaves.

Tara speaks up, “Hang on, I’m not dating anyone at the moment, but I’m keen.”

Penelope laughs, “You think me being single is going to stop me from going with? Absolutely not. I haven’t seen the better halves of the BAU in a while,” disgruntled noises leave everyone’s mouths, “Oh hush, I love you all, but I see you enough.”

Emily asks, “Does noon work for everyone?”

Everyone nods, while Spencer asks, “Are we carpooling? It’s definitely better than filling the parking lot with 5-7 cars.”

Matt answers, “That sounds like a plan. Kristy and I can pick up Luke and Y/N, since they’re a few roads away.”

Emily turns to Tara and says, “We can pick you and Pen up?”

Tara smiles, “Sure,” and Penelope nods in agreement.

JJ looks up from her phone, “We’ll be able to pick up Spence and Austin.”

Emily smiles, “Alright, let’s go home. See you tomorrow!”

The team says their goodbyes as they head down to the garage.

****

You are in the middle of a bowl of popcorn, when you hear Luke’s keys in the door. Hearing the keys in the door, gets Roxy excited and she makes her way to the door to greet Luke.

“There’s my girl.” You hear Luke drop his go-bag and keys by the table next to the door.

Roxy barks excitedly.

Luke smirks when he sees you on the couch.

You smile at him and say, “Hey love, you’re home early.”

Luke bends down and presses a quick peck to your lips.

You pull him back in, “Greet me properly.”

Luke chuckles and kisses you more deeply, only to pull away to hear you panting.

“Better?” he asks.

You smile at him, “Much. How are you home so early, not that I’m not pleasantly surprised?”

Luke makes his way round to sit next to you on the couch.

“Well, the BAU has the weekend off. So Emily basically chucked us out earlier than usual.”

You burst out laughing, you’d expect nothing less from Emily Prentiss.

“So what I’m hearing is, I have you to myself for a whole weekend? The agony.”

He did love your dramatic flair, he pokes at your side, which results in him tickling you, “Ha ha, very funny.”

“Luke, s-stop.”

He stops tickling you and sobers up, “We’re actually playing Laser Tag with the team tomorrow, but Sunday you’ve got me all to yourself.”

You purse your lips, “Team meaning?”

Luke kisses your pout, “Partners included-”

Your phone buzzes and lights up on the coffee table, indicating a new text message.

Luke tilts his head to your phone, “That must be your partner in crime.”

You reach forward to grab your phone, and open it to see a text from Kristy.

Heard we have plans for tomorrow.

You light up and hear Luke mumble, “Do you light up like that when you see a text from me?”

You turn to him and smile, “Of course I do, but you’re never around to see it. You can ask Kristy tomorrow.”

Luke kisses your forehead, “I’m going to take a shower and then order dinner? Chinese or Pizza?”

You look at him, “Chinese, please.”

Luke gets up and makes his way to the shower, “Of course. Send my love to Kristy,” as you type out a reply to Kristy.

Booked a sitter? Or are you bailing?

Your phone buzzes almost immediately.

As soon as Matt told me, I called our sitter.

We haven’t been able to have our coffee date this week, so I’m definitely coming.

You smile as you reply.

Yay! See you tomorrow, sweet dreams honey!

Another text comes through.

Sweet dreams, angel.

Kristy has been your friend since you met at the café you owned. She came in round about the same time every day for the same beverage, juggling two boys under two. Kristy and Matt actually introduced you to Luke, and they never let you forget it. You’re friends with everyone’s partner from the BAU, but you and Kristy have a special bond. Everyone calls you two peas in a pod. You and Kristy are the ones who bonded due to your partners being in the FBI, when you and she had different career paths. She was your sanity during long cases and you were hers when Matt was with the IRT. You helped her during her pregnancy with the twins, that’s how you became their godmother. Now and then, you took them off Kristy’s hands while she helped the boys with their homework. That doesn’t mean you didn’t spoil the boys as well.

The doorbell rings, Luke comes out of the room, “I’ve got it!”

Luke pays for your dinner, and joins you on the couch.

****

You wake up to Luke pressing kisses all over your face, “Mi alma, time to wake up.”

“Morning babe,” you purse your lips, waiting for a kiss.

He rolls over to get out of bed.

You grumble, “You better not be getting out of this bed without giving me a good morning kiss.”

Luke turns around to give you a kiss, “I forget how grumpy you are when you don’t get a kiss.”

He gets up, “I put the coffee on. I’m going to shower, and then make breakfast.”

You groan at the fact that Luke probably came back from his run. You love him to bits, but the fact that he was a morning person was one thing you hated about him, especially on weekends. You’re lured out of bed by the smell of coffee and you make your way to the kitchen, greeting Roxy on your way. You pour two cups, hearing the shower shut off.

Luke’s arms wrap around your waist, he presses a chaste kiss in your neck, “Should’ve known the smell would’ve pulled you out of bed.”

You wiggle out of his arms, “I’m going to go shower and get ready, and you start on breakfast.”

You make your way to the bathroom and hop into the shower. You shower pretty quickly compared to Luke, he can easily spend 30-45 minutes in a shower. You dry yourself off and get dressed, throwing your hair into a messy bun. You grab yours and Luke’s cell phone on your way out of the bedroom.

“Babe, breakfast is ready.”

You smile walking to the kitchen and take a seat at the island, “Smells good.”

Luke smiles and joins you at the island putting a plate down in front of you.

“Ooh, French toast. My favourite.”

Luke chuckles, “As if you’d let me forget.”

You and Luke eat in silence.

You’re just about finish doing the dishes, when you hear a hoot from your driveway.

“Luke sweetheart, they’re here.”

“Do you have my-?” You pull his phone out of your pocket.

He kisses your cheek, “What would I do without you?”

You say your goodbyes to Roxy, and head to the car.

“Hey Matt, it’s been a while.”

“Hey you. Yeah it has.”

You get in the back seat, not a little bit fazed that Kristy is sitting in the back as well.

Kristy says, “Luke, sit up front.”

You hear Luke mumble, “Ah yes, you need to spend time with the actual love of your life,” but he gets in the front seat anyway.

Matt, Kristy and you burst out laughing, “You’re just jealous. Matt doesn’t mind that Kristy is sitting with me, stop whining.”

Matt shrugs, “I know better than to get in between my wife and her soul mate.”

Matt pulls out of your driveway and starts to drive towards the arena.

“How are my children?” you ask Kristy.

“Jake and David are complaining that they haven’t seen you this week. Chloe and Lily have already began planning what to do at their next sleepover.”

You smile in amusement, “How about I pick the boys up from school one day this week, help them with their homework, as much as I can? And take them for ice cream?”

Matt gives Luke a look that doesn’t escape your attention, but you don’t question it.

Kristy tries you fight you on it, “Y/N honey, you don’t have to. They can see you at the next-”

You cut her off with a wave of your hand, “Nonsense! I’ll let you know which day, but don’t tell them. Let it be a surprise.”

Matt smiles at you through the rear view mirror, “Thanks Y/N/N, I’m sure they’d love it.”

Matt pulls into the parking lot of the laser tag arena. The four of you get out of the car and head inside to see that you’re the last to arrive. You greet everyone with hugs, even Aaron.

“Sunshine. How have you been?” Penelope greets you.

“I’ve been good and you?”

She smirks, “Better now that I’ve seen my favourite halves of the BAU!”

All the partners crack up, with no noise from the BAU team, “I’m guessing you made this comment yesterday as well-”

She nods with enthusiasm.

Spencer asks, “How’s teams working?”

You nudge Aaron in the side, “Do you think the BAU is still as good out of the field as they are in the field now that you’re gone?”

You hear scoffs from the BAU, and chuckle.

Austin says, “Wait a second. We’re going to need an extra hand to be even on both sides. I mean, if we’re talking BAU verses BAU significant others?”

Tara and Penelope turn to each other, “Rock, paper, scissors?”

Everyone watches in amusement.

Tara shrugs, “You know what, let me join the civilians for this.”

Luke and Matt are almost the first to protest, when Emily interrupts them, “No fair, didn’t you score a 100 on your gun evaluation?”

Kristy shushes them, “It doesn’t matter though. Her score doesn’t do much for this situation.”

You almost miss the wink between Tara and Kristy.

Aaron claps his hands, “Alright, looks like teams are sorted. Are we ready to gear up?”

Emily stops him, “Hang on, Mr. Ex Unit Chief. What do you say we make it interesting, since it appears you’ve lost faith in your team?”

Everyone is now watching the exchange.

Aaron smirks, “Name your price.”

Emily raises her brow, “Losing team pays for dinner after this, winner or kill shot decides which restaurant.”

There’s whispers of agreement amongst everybody.

Aaron almost grins, “It’s a deal. Let’s play.”

****

It was the final round, both teams tied 1 – 1.

You heard calls of “I’m out” from Aaron, Tara and Austin on your team, leaving your team with yourself, Kristy and Will and calls from Matt, JJ, Spencer, and Penelope on the BAU team, leaving Luke and Emily, the last two standing.

Your blood was pumping, from the rush of the previous two rounds, your team was counting on you, Kristy and Will to win this bet. All of a sudden, you’re pushed into the darkest corner unseen to the rest of the group. You’re about to let out a blood curdling scream, when your eyes adjust to the darkness and see Luke’s shadowy figure.

“Luke, you ass, you-”

Your words are cut off by his lips pressed against yours, you wrap your arms around his neck, dropping your gun, as his wound their way around your waist, pulling you closer to him. You would never get tired of the way your lips fit together. Luke pulls away as the need for oxygen increases, he tugs your bottom lip with his teeth. You pull him back in and he slides his tongue into your mouth. Your eyes close and your hands slide into his hair, as you groan in pleasure. It’s like he’s learning your mouth all over again. Luke pulls away with a smirk, seeing the daze the kiss left you in, he moves his gun to the front and waits for your eyes to open before he shoots you.

In the distance you hear Emily shouting, “Luke, I’m out. They got me.”

You’re pulled out of your daze to see your gun laying on the floor and Luke aiming his at you.

“Sorry babe, its war,” he winks at you as he fires his gun.

You shrug while switching off your beeping vest, as you see Kristy and Will closing in, “It is what it is. Kristy, Will, I’m out too.”

You pick up your gun from the floor and make your way towards where the rest of the BAU and your team are waiting. Luke smiles at your exit and gets back into game mode. He turns around trying to find a good vantage point. It’s all in vain, apparently, as he registers the beeping of his vest to indicate he’s dead. Will and Kristy give each other high fives as Luke stares in disbelief. They make their way over to the rest of you, and you’re the first one to register that Luke’s vest is still beeping.

You yelp, “Oh my goodness, we won?”

“Of course we did,” Kristy winks.

Will feigns hurt when he says, “Did you doubt us?”

Austin, Aaron, Tara, Will, Kristy and you pass high fives amongst each other, celebrating your victory.

You hear the groans of the BAU team.

JJ taking off her vest speaks, “Oh come on! We were counting on you.”

Penelope can’t help but get onto the hate-on-Luke bandwagon, “Yeah, newbie. We were counting on you.”

“What happened out there?” Matt asks Luke.

Luke glances at you, “I got distracted, and then, well, I got ambushed by your wife and Will.”

Emily whacks Luke at the back of his head, “That’s for getting distracted.”

You almost giggle when you see him rubbing the back of his head, you turn to Will and Kristy and ask, “Who took the kill shot?”

Will smiles widely as JJ slips her arms around his waist, and his goes over her shoulder, “Not me. This was all Kristy.”

You whoop loudly, as Aaron, Tara and Austin give her another high five.

“Thank you Simmons, you’ve taught her well.” Tara shouts at Matt.

You pull Kristy in for a hug and say, “Thanks for getting us that free dinner!”

Aaron and Austin laugh.

Matt pulls Kristy into his arms as Emily sidles up to Aaron. Spencer and Austin’s hands find each other, it’s kind of cute how they gravitate towards each other. Luke pulls you into his chest as his arms wrap around your waist. Penelope and Tara complete the circle.

“So Kristy, where is the BAU spending their money tonight?” you hear Austin ask.

She taps her chin in thought, “You know, Matt has been promising me a dinner date at that new restaurant on the corner of 5th street for a while now, so…”

The BAU except Matt and Tara groan.

“Well damn honey, you’ve got taste,” you smirk at her.

Emily smiles, “All right, let’s get going.”

You all make your way to the exit, and make your way to the cars you came in.

“Nuh uh, I get to sit with my girlfriend, seeing as I lost.”

Kristy pulls a face at him, but gets into the front seat.

While waiting for Matt to start the train of cars to the restaurant.

You turn to Luke and say, “You played dirty out there, SSA Alvez.”

Kristy shifts in her seat to face you, “Angel, you’re the reason we actually won, like I might’ve taken the shot, but it was definitely you.”

Luke raises his brow, “Was that planned?”

You shrug at him, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Will honks his horn, signalling that everyone is ready to go. Matt starts the drive to the restaurant, fairly quiet listening to you, Luke and Kristy banter about the game.

You get to the restaurant asking for a table for twelve. Luke pulls out a chair for you to take a seat, you hear Tara making a whip noise from opposite you.

And all of a sudden, it’s like the air is cleared from Matt’s eyes, “Oh wow.”

Choruses of “what?” come from everyone, except you and Luke.

Kristy, sitting in between you and Matt raises her brows at him.

“That right there,” Matt points to you and Luke, “is why we lost.”

And damn, it doesn’t take a profiler to see what Matt was putting down. Emily whacks the back of Luke’s head again from her seat next to him.

You rub the back of his head as Luke wraps his arm around your shoulder, “I told you I got distracted.”

Kristy nudges your shoulder.

Penelope sighs, “Seriously newbie?”

****

I’d just like to thank @thelukealvez for encouraging me to post this. I hope you all like this

#luke alvez x reader #criminal minds #luke alvez fanfiction #luke alvez fluff #matt simmons x kristy simmons #spencer reid x austin #emily prentiss x aaron hotchner #jj x will lamontagne #luke alvez #matt simmons #kristy simmons #emily prentiss #aaron hotchner #spencer reid #jennifer jareau #will lamontagne #tara lewis #penelope garcia #criminal minds fanfiction

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dr-lizortecho · 3 years ago

Note

Looking forward to the next installment of Swing Life Away! I love how you're setting up Max and Kyle. The way you write the Pod Squad is so sweet.

I love how delicate Max is in this story, but courageous when it counts like standing up for Isabel and beating the shit out of Wyatt. In every universe, Wyatt should get his ass kicked!

Anyway, no question just letting you know someone is enjoying the story.

Awww, thank you sooo much! I absolutely love that story, it’s my favorite one honestly

I did get a bit distracted with all the events recently, but I am working on it. I’m just struggling with the Michael POV (as always), and got a bit distracted ironing out a sequel to it… but I’m about a third of the way done and should have it posted sometime this weekend

(and having Max attack Wyatt was so much fun, especially as a set up for like sitting down with Kyle) Thanks for reading!

#roswell new mexico #rnm fic #asks

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tinkerd · 4 years ago

Text

Interview with www.achuka.co.uk

See Original post here: https://www.achuka.co.uk/blog/meet-an-illustrator-14-david-litchfield/

Meet An Illustrator 14 – David Litchfield APRIL 17, 2021 BY ACHUKA self-portrait © David Litchfield

ACHUKA is thrilled to have David Litchfield as the 14th guest on Meet An Illustrator, an informal weekend feature introduced this year.. Do visit the backpages to read the responses from previous guests.

The Bear And The Piano, David’s debut picture book, was published just 5 years ago, but he is already established as one of the UK’s leading illustrators and picture book creators. That debut title won Waterstones Illustrated Book Prize in 2016. Much more recently he has come to attention as the cover illustrator for David Almond’s Bone Music:

The Bear And The Piano became a trilogy with publication in 2019 of The Bear, The Piano, The Dog And The Fiddle and, this year, with the third title The Bear, The Piano And The Little Bear’s Concert.

A particular favourite of ACHUKA’s is Lights On Cotton Rock:

His 2021 publishing year kicked off with illustrations for A Shelter for Sadness by Anne Booth

and the paperback edition of Rainbow Before Rainbows by Smriti Halls is published this coming week:

Next month (May 2021) we can look forward to Pip And Egg written by Alex Latimer:

and, as we hear below, there is lot lots more to come.

As a child, what were the first illustrations you remember being pleased with?

I think that it was a drawing of a panda. It was in primary school and we all had to draw one. We then put them all on the wall and I remember feeling a bit arrogant and quietly smug that my panda was definitely one of the best ones on that wall.

Who/what inspired you when you were young?

Again at primary school our teacher sat us all down and read us Where The Wild Things Are. I remember being absolutely blown away by Maurice Sendak‘s drawings and characters and totally felt transported away from the reading mat in that classroom to that dreamy monster island. Mr Sendak and Albert Uderzo were absolutely the two biggest influences on making me want to draw every day.

Who inspires you today?

Still mainly Sendak and Uderzo. But I love finding out about new illustrators. There are an infinite amount of styles and techniques and approaches to drawing and I love being surprised by how different people create a spread or tell their stories. My current 2 favourites are Sydney Smith and Frances Ives. They both have such a free and natural style. They are amazing.

Did you study art/illustration?

I actually studied Graphic Design at Camberwell College of Art. Graphic Design felt like the most sensible career choice in the art world. I loved the course and I met some great people there. But I was really shocked at how little drawing was involved. I think more than anything that course showed me how much I really loved to draw and that I just wasn’t a Graphic Designer.

What is your favourite artist tool/product?

It sounds obvious but a pencil and a sketchbook. My absolute favourite part of a project is when it’s just me, a pencil and a sketchbook and I am just letting the idea develop by scribbling and experimenting and making a mess.

Where do you buy your art supplies?

I have two favourite shops here in Bedford. One is called the Arc which sells all kinds of incredible arts supplies and exotic paints and brushes etc. I also like Coleman’s which is obviously more of a standard stationary shop. But I don’t know, I like their pens. I spend far too much money on pens.

What software/apps do you use?

I only really use Photoshop. I tried to get my head around Illustrator but I’m just not that technically minded to be honest. I have had a play with Pro Create but my kids keep stealing my iPad so I have not had enough time to learn it yet.

What was your first commission?

My first commission happened when I was 13 years old and I drew a poster for a local comic shop. They paid me in comics. My first proper paid commission was with The Beano comic. I think that it was in 2013 or so when the editor Michael Stirling found my drawings online. For a few weeks I drew the illustrations that accompanied a poetry section in the comic. It was amazing to be drawing for a comic I had been in love with for most of my life. I will forever be grateful to that team for giving me that opportunity.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am just finishing drawing a pretty epic book written by Gregory Maguire. After that I’m so happy to be working on another ‘Earth’ book with Stacy McAnulty. I love drawing these books, and I learn so much about our planet too. After that I’m starting a beautiful book with the writer Nell Cross Beckerman which is going to be a total stunner. Towards the end of the year I’m creating artwork for my next author/illustrator book too.

Which is all very exciting. I always feel like I’m being very vague when I don’t give too much info but I’m never sure how much I’m actually allowed to say. What I can tell you is that my author/illustrator book is going to be a Christmas story set in Victorian times.

Twitter or Instagram? Instagram I think. I love Twitter but Instagram just feels a lot friendlier. Also as an illustrator it is a great, visual medium to share work on. I have also found so many new great artists from this site.

Coffee or tea?

I love coffee. But I have had to cut back a lot. I was getting the jitters because I drank it so much. Now I just have two cups a day. And only in the mornings.

Cat or dog?

Oh my goodness Dog. Dog every time. I always had dogs growing up. They were my best friends. We got a dog last summer. I was adamant that my two boys should have a dog growing up. My wife wasn’t that convinced I don’t think but now that we have one she loves her as much as we do.

Grape or grain?

Hmmm, both good, but I would have to say grape.

Sunrise or sunset?

Sunset. I don’t know if it’s a getting older thing but I love sitting in my garden as the sun starts to go down. It’s like a magic time of the day where everything is winding down and becoming peaceful.

What do you listen to when you are working?

Mainly loud rock music. But I’ve also started to listen to a fair few podcasts. My favourite ones at the moment are ‘Pod Save America‘- helps me get my head around American politics, which I can sometimes find quite baffling from time to time- and The Force Center – which is a massively geeky Star Wars podcast which has none of the snark and negativity of other fandom type discussions. I recommend it if you are a Star Wars nerd like me.

Where can we follow you on social media? I’m on twitter: @dc_litchfield Instagram: @david_c_litchfield

I also have a blog at:

tinkerd.tumblr.com

and a Facebook page at

facebook.com/davidlitchfieldillustration

-but to be honest I do keep forgetting to update that one.

#illustrator #illustrator interview #illustration

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justlightlysedated · 4 years ago

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part two of that fic where alex and michael are stuck in michael’s dream world where they are happy and all loved up and have like, five kids:

“Are you sure about this?”

“Of course I’m not, but what other choice do we have? It’s been six months, and Alex is showing no signs of response, and if we didn’t have the pods, Michael would be dead by now.”

“I don’t like it.”

“And you think that I do? But we’re running out of options, and this might actually work.”

“We could end up actually killing him or worse.”

“I have faith in your ability to bring him back, and if something does go irreversibly wrong, Max is going to be here.”

“What about Guerin? Is someone going to be in the cave just in case they both come out of it at the same time?”

“Isobel and Maria are on their way over there.”

“I see you’ve thought of everything.”

“Not everything, there is the very real chance that he may wake up thinking that their dream lives are real to the point that he’s not the same person he was when he went in. But that’s something we’ll have to deal with once we get him back.”

“One problem at a time. Okay, let’s do this.”

“By the time night falls, we’ll have Alex back, and hopefully that will wake Michael up too.”

Alex inhales sharply as he wakes up, voices filling up his head and overlapping until he can’t make out the words clearly.

He dreamt that there were two people talking, voices familiar and not at the same time, talking about him, and about Michael, but the more he thought about it, the less clear their voices were until he couldn't remember the exact words, but the feeling of both hope and dread.

He stretches in bed, rubbing a hand across his face and hears the door closing with a low click.

Alex stays in bed, but leans up on his elbows, looking at Michael who sets a tray with two steaming mugs and what looks like a stack of fresh homemade waffles.

He grins, wide and bright and so happy, when he sees that Alex is awake.

"Good morning sleepy head, or I should say, good afternoon, since it's almost noon," he says as he balances the tray on the edge of the dresser before he moves to climb back on the bed.

Alex lets himself fall back on the bed, looking at the time to see that he really did sleep until almost noon.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" He asks as Michael lies down beside him and then reaches over and tugs on Alex's shoulder until he's lying on his side, facing Michael.

"It's the weekend, and besides, it's almost Christmas, and you could use the rest," he says as he moves in close until their noses are brushing, settling his hands low on Alex's hips.

Alex feels the touch sink through him like a warm and fizzy bath, "And where is everyone?"

"MJ took the twins to the park and both Lexi and Maxine are keeping an eye on Mara, so that means that we're basically all alone right now," Michael breathes against his mouth, fingers warm and teasing beneath the hem of Alex's t-shirt.

Alex gives him a fond look, and shakes his head.

"Angela got home for the holidays two days ago," Alex reminds him, and Michael makes a low disgruntled sound.

Alex just reaches up and pats his arm gently.

"Five," he starts and Michael sighs, dropping his forehead to Alex's.

"Four," he continues when Alex doesn't.

"Three," Alex.

"Two," Michael.

"One," both.

The door opens with a loud thud, and Beth and Bell run into the room both talking at the same time.

"Daddy! MJ ditched us to go make out with Angie!" Bell says, sounding thoroughly distraught and disgusted.

"Papa! I wanted to go to the park and dig out some earthworms to put in the garden before the birds got them all," Beth says, sounding exactly like she'd been thwarted in the middle of an important experiment.

"And he didn't even try to act like that wasn't what he was doing. I am only ten years old. What kind of message is that sending to me?" Bell continues, sounding now like she's disappointed in all of them.

"And now I'm going to have to wait until it rains again," Beth continues, sounding disgruntled.

Alex throws himself back on the bed while Michael sits up, making to slide off, before Lexi appears at the door.

“Come on girls,” she says walking inside and grabbing them both by the arm. “I bought a lemon tree to plant in the backyard.”

The twins cheer sounding overjoyed and then run out of the room without looking back. Lexi just closes the door behind them, and Michael lies back down on the bed. “You forgot to take Lexi into account.”

Alex rolls his eyes, “No I didn’t. You heard Bell. She’s only ten. What kind of message is it sending if she walked in here-”

Michael rolls over on top of Alex and kisses him silent, and Alex smiles, wrapping his arms around Michael’s shoulders and kissing him back.

They manage to steal fifteen minutes of making out and heavy petting, before Maxine bursts into the room with a crying Mara.

“I think her diaper needs to be changed,” she says, dropping her down beside them on the bed before she leaves again.

Michael just laughs rolling away from Alex and moving to pick up Mara to carry her to the changing table.

Alex moves to the edge of the bed, swinging his legs down to the floor and stares at Michael as he pokes Mara in the tummy until she giggles and then starts to change her, catching her feet as she starts to kick out.

Alex can’t help the smile that crosses his face as he stares at them.

Mara may not actually be their biological daughter, unlike the twins and Maxine, but out of all of their children she's the one who looks the most like Michael, with curly blonde hair and big hazel eyes.

And like Michael, she's the one most obsessed with Alex.

Once Michael changes her, and picks her back up, asking her if she's feeling all better now that her diaper is changed while he settles her against his chest, she spots Alex sitting down, and immediately reaches for him, trying to wriggle out of Michael's hold.

"Oh, I see how it is," Michael says as he turns around and walks back over to the bed. "He takes a few weeks off work and suddenly I'm being replaced as the favorite."

Alex snorts as he gets to his feet and reaches for Mara, who practically leaps out of Michael's hold.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Guerin, but you were never the favorite," Alex says as Mara wraps tiny hands in his hair and tugs him close to her face so she can slobber kisses on his cheek.

Michael makes grumbling acquiesced noises, and Alex just smiles as he sees the pout on his face.

"You're my favorite, if that helps," Alex says and leans forward to press a kiss against Michael’s cheek.

Michael grins happily and then wraps his arms around them both and dances them around the room in a few quick circles before he presses another kiss to Alex's cheek, and then one to the top of Mara's head, who is giggling madly, making Alex feel warm and so happy.

Michael lets them go and then walks backwards a few steps, waving Alex back towards the bed, “Looks like we’re gonna have one extra joining us for breakfast.”

Alex opens his mouth to tell Michael that they can just go sit in the dining room, when Michael turns and knocks his elbow into the tray on the dresser.

It goes clattering to the floor, spilling coffee and powdered sugar all over the floor.

Alex stares at the tray on the floor, while Michael stands with his hands outstretched, and Alex wonders why he’d thought that Michael was going to catch the tray before it actually hit the floor without actually using his hands.

He just shakes his head, as Michael sighs, and turns back to face him giving him a sheepish smile.

“I’ll clean this up. You-” he starts, and Alex cuts him off.

“I’ll go make us some more coffee, and see if this little lady wants anything to eat,” he tickles Mara’s tummy, and she giggles some more, and when he looks up to Michael, mouth open to ask him if there was any waffle batter left over to see him staring at Alex with wide wet eyes, almost like he’s about to cry.

But the look is gone before Alex can ask anything.

“I like your coffee better anyway,” Michael says, sending him a crooked smile before he turns back to pick up the fallen tray.

Alex bounces Mara on his hip, frowning, but then he shakes his head and walks towards the door.

Maybe it was just his imagination.

The rest of the day seems to blur together after that. It passes just like any other day passes when they both have the day off.

With them trying to steal moments to kiss and one of the kids interrupting them before they can get too far.

MJ comes back just when dinner is ready to be served, burgers and chicken that Michael laid out on the grill.

The smell of barbeque fills the air as Alex sits back beneath the shade of one of the umbrellas, sunglasses over his face, Bell sitting down right by his leg, leaning her head against his knee, tired of chasing her twin around the backyard, soft wisps of black hair, falling out of the french braid that Lexi had made for her in the morning, ticking him slightly.

He watches his family. Michael stands by the grill, waving the spatula around as he tells Angie and MJ about one of his experiments. MJ leans back against the wall, dark brown eyes trained on Angie, in a way that reminds Alex so much of how Michael used to stare at him, how Michael still stares at him, completely and utterly bessoted.

Maxine is sitting down at the back door, leaning back against the door jamb, one leg bent at the knee, propping her book up as she reads, enjoying the cool of the air conditioned inside without being left out of family time.

Lexi is sitting on top of a picnic blanket, making flower crowns for everyone with Beth, and keeping an eye on Mara who is inside of a bassinet leaning out of one side trying to grab one of her toys that fell out.

The air is getting cooler, but Alex isn’t too worried about it since the sun hasn’t set yet.

His gaze sweeps over everyone again, and then he looks back to Michael, who is looking back at him, and smiles brightly when he sees Alex looking back.

He says something to MJ, who pushes away from the wall to stand in front of the grill, while Michael moves, making a beeline towards Alex.

Beth stands and runs, bumping into Michael, who stops and gives her his undivided attention.

She holds out one of the flower crowns in her hands and Michael kneels down on one leg, and bends his head forward, and Beth places the crown on top of his head, before she gives him the second one and points to Alex, and Michael smirks, throwing Alex a wink, before he gets back to his feet.

Alex stares as he moves closer, and Bell makes a low sound, like she can't believe that they're doing this in front of her, before she moves, standing up, and running to Beth and Lexi.

Michael drops down on his lap, sideways, legs hanging over one of the arms of the chair. Alex sets his hands on Michael's waist as Michael settles the flower crown on top of his head.

"Suits you," Michael says, sliding his hands down to the back of Alex's neck. "Especially with the sunglasses and the floppy hair and my cardigan."

Alex rolls his eyes and moves to push Michael off his lap, but Michael just digs his fingers into the back of his neck, and leans down to kiss him, a sweet chaste kiss that makes Alex feel warm from the inside out.

Alex enjoys the kiss for one second, before the kids start yelling.

MJ wolf whistles. Lexi makes fake gagging noises that both Beth and Bell copy, while Bell says, "Ew. Gross. Papa is giving Daddy cooties!"

Which is something that she's said at least six times in the last two hours alone.

Maxine can be heard underneath the din speaking about how many germs are in your mouth at any given point, while Mara giggles and makes happy baby noises.

Michael pulls away, and shakes his head, "Whose idea was it to have this many kids?"

"Yours," Alex says promptly.

Michael glares at him a little, "I seem to recall someone begging me for a baby two weeks after we adopted Lexi."

"And who decided that Maxine wasn't enough and decided to go for another one and ended up with two more?"

"And who decided to adopt Mara not even two hours after she was put up for adoption?"

"Yeah, because you weren't just about to suggest it-"

"The point is that they're all here now, interrupting our kissing time," Michael says interrupting Alex.

"We can always just put them all back up for adoption," Alex starts just to hear the kids start to protest loudly.

MJ, "You can't give me back anymore. I'm way past the return date."

Lexi, "You're stuck with me for the rest of your life, but I can always go back to my dorm."

Maxine, "I'll just go camp out in Aunt Liz's lab! She'll kick your butt!"

Bell, "You can't give me back! I'm gonna tell Aunty Iz!"

Beth, "Daddy! No!"

Mara just mimics what everyone else is saying while Angie can be heard laughing in the background.

"Well, you heard the verdict," Michael says, sighing. "It's too late, and if we try there will be butt kicking involved, and you know how much I love your butt."

More sounds of disgust from all of the kids.

Michael just leers at Alex until Alex pushes him off his lap and gets up to his feet.

He feels his right knee buckle a bit, but he catches himself quickly, stepping over Michael and heading inside.

Maxine drops her book right at the entrance and gets to her feet, running and then dropping on top of Michael.

"Dog pile!" MJ yells and then all of the kids are running to join them on the floor.

Alex turns and watches as Bell and Beth and Lexi, holding on to Mara, drop on top of Michael and MJ, including Angie, who takes Mara away from Lexi so that she can properly lie down in the pile.

Alex stares at them for a moment, feeling that warm and happy feeling in his chest, and then he turns back inside of the house, and stumbles when he steps down with his right foot, feeling almost like his leg is going numb.

He catches himself against the side of the door, and shakes his head before he heads to the kitchen.

#malexunfinishedfics #this one ends before the angst really dials up #like this fic was going to have alex dying in the dream world and then waking up from his coma #but he's gonna die in michael's arms while michael begs him to stay #so be thankful that image isn't seared into your brain like it is in mines

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thxngam · 4 years ago

Note

Could you do #2 for Steve x tony?

Hope you enjoy nonnie! and as always, if you are unsatisfied, feel free to let me know and I’ll write something different.

#2, childhood best friends au

Sam takes a long drag of his beer. “So, remind me, Romeo and Juliet, how’d you two meet?”

...

Steve met the love of his life on a Saturday, in the park near his house. Of course, he didn’t know that he’d met the person who’ll change his life for the better by virtue of being just seven, but Steve, then and now, likes to think he knows lots.

But it starts like this.

Steve ventures cautiously into the depths of the playground, awkwardly hanging around the poles that hold up the other screaming kids. He looks around for someone to play with hopefully, but after his last encounter with the boys at this playground and the subsequent hospital trip for the lump on his head, he’s understandably wary. At least he thinks it's understandable. His mom had been kind about it, but even as he’d stomped his foot (like a baby, he thinks, wincing. he’s not a baby) she’d ushered him out of the house and left to go talk to someone from work with nothing more than a kiss on the top of his head and a squeeze.

But then he sees a dark head of hair sitting alone, morose, it's like a lightbulb goes off in his head. Like Einstein. Or is it Edison-

-The point is that he’s a genius.

The woodchips crunch under his light-up sneakers like a crowd cheering him on when he goes to talk to the other boy. “Hi!” Steve says brightly, smiling his nicest smile; the one that makes even Ms. Redford get him extra cookies from the pretty jar she has in her pantry. His smile only widens when the other boy looks up at him, looking confused. “My name’s Steve. I’m seven, and I like the color blue, and I think bullies are the worst. Worser than broccoli. What’s your name?”

The other boy giggles, and he’s missing a tooth just like Steve is! Now they have to be friends.

“My name’s Tony,” he says shyly. “And I’m five, an’ I don’t like bullies either.” He looks considering. “But I like red more than blue, though blue is pretty cool.”

“That’s okay,” Steve says and offers a hand to Tony. Right then, he’s decided that Tony’s his friend, now. That means he’s got to protect him. And have fun. “Do you want to play with me?”

…

And then they’re two peas in a pod, but admittedly, it all comes to make sense in high school. At least that’s the way Tony tells the story; Steve says that he had fallen in love with Tony before he’d even known what love was. Tony never says anything to it, but the small smile that’s always on his face after it says more than their vows had, anyway. But still, back to the story.

“Steve?” Tony asks quietly, bumping Steve’s bulky arm. Steve’s put weight on, muscle on, and he’s no longer the skinny beanpole he was as a child, but Steve will be the first to admit he's never lost the scrappy attitude.

Steve and Tony hardly fit in the same creaky bed that anymore, but it doesn’t stop them from trying. If they had their way, to Maria and Sarah’s exasperation, they’d share a head and a heart and a soul. “Are you awake?”

“I dunno why you ask that,” Steve laughs softly. “If I didn’t respond you’d shake me until I was awake.”

Tony huffs. “See if I ever initiate a conversation again.”

“Big baby. But-“ Steve sighs. “What were you saying, Tony?” He ruffles Tony’s hair, curling around him until they fit together like two spoons.

“Do you think we’ll always be friends?”

Steve blinks. “Of course, Tony.”

“Oh,” Tony says. His breathing ruffles Steve’s shirt. “Like, even after we graduate?”

“Is this about you going to MIT, Tony?”

“Well, we don’t know yet, Steve. And besides, I’m applying for the internship, not as a student,” Tony hedges softly, before burying his face in Steve’s chest. “But yeah.”

“Well, if you get the internship, you said they’d probably consider you in the fall after our senior year.” Steve laughs self-deprecatingly. “You could be going to MIT as a student this fall if you wanted to anyway.” Sometimes it keeps him up at night, where Tony could be if Steve hadn’t trailed stubbornly behind him, holding him down.

“I’m not leaving you,” Tony says stubbornly. “Not for MIT, not for Dad, not for anything. You’re my friend. And besides,” he says wryly. “I have the same amount of social skills as a rock. Mom says I’ll choke and traumatize myself if I go to college now. Nor do I want to leave my best friend. How am I supposed to make ketchup art with anyone but you?”

And isn’t that kinda the problem? What idiot goes and falls in love with their best friend?

“I’m holding you back-”

“No, you’re not! You’re the reason-you and Sarah-that me and mom even got out of Dad’s house. If anything, you pulled me forward.”

“We didn’t do anything,” Steve murmurs, pressing his face to Tony’s still damp hair, letting himself wobble on the edge of just friends as he presses a kiss to Tony’s hair. “You got yourselves out.”

“You enabled us to get out, Steve.”

A beat’s silence.

“Time is flying by so fast.” Tony’s fingers tighten on Steve’s shirt and even though the dark keeps Steve from seeing Tony’s face, Steve knows that he’s worrying his lip. “Out junior year starts soon, and you’ll be off to-some fancy art school across the country. I know you’ve been looking at that art school in California, and I’m so happy for you, I am-”

“Actually,” Steve bites his bottom lip. “If you go to MIT-which I know you are, don’t even try, it’s your dream school-I’ve been thinking about RISD.”

“RISD?” Tony’s wrinkling his nose, Steve just knows it. “That sounds like an STI.”

Steve snorts. “Be glad nobody else heard you say that,” he says, laughing, rolling on his back. “RISD is the Rhode Island School of Design, Tony. It’s one of the best art schools in the country, and firms pick students up straight from school to design things or get them access to their studios or agents. It-It’s the same caliber as the California school too.”

“I-” Tony sits up. The moon illuminates only half of his face. “You-what?”

“I checked,” Steve says nervously. “And it’s only an hour and a half by train. I could visit you or you could visit me on weekends, Tones.”

“You-you’d do that for me?”

“No,” Steve wraps his hands around Tony’s delicate wrists. They’re small, bony but strong, and, for reasons Steve can’t explain, remind him of a bird; ready to fly away, to move far and wide for everyone to hear his song. “I’d do it for us.”

Tony goes to straddle him, and Steve can’t say he thinks anything of it, they’re touchy-feely friends and he’s always read too much into things, but when Tony leans down so that he’s nothing more than a hair’s breadth away, Steve feels a terrifying spark of something in his chest.

“Tell me if I’m reading this wrong,” Tony says quietly and licks his lips before pressing his lips against Steve’s.

…

“I’m sorry, you two got together while sharing a bed at Steve’s house? And your parents were okay with that?” Sam looks so offended.

“It’s not like one of us was going to get pregnant, Sam.” Tony rolls his eyes, his ring glinting as he props his chin on his hand. “And yes, we did.”

“Forget it, Sam,” Bucky says, pressing a kiss to Sam’s cheek as Sam stares incredulously. “They’re like straight out of a rom-com.”

#stevetony #stony #steve rogers #tony stark #au august 2020

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halorocks1214 · 5 years ago

Text

the law of polarity

AO3 Link

Word Count: 11367

Summary: The Law of Polarity states that everything is on a continuum and has an opposite. We can suppress and transform undesirable thoughts by concentrating on the opposite pole. It is the law of mental vibrations

that word count its just,,, growing BIGGER every day! i honestly don't understand my mind. 25 fucking pages. its boggling, i need better restraint my god. also: kayo you cryptic thing why are you so hard to write for helLO?? me writing kayo: guess ill die. *coughs* regardless, the next installment is here! i hope you still enjoy it. like the other ones, I'm mostly satisfied with it outside of a few spots so YEET

“Kayo! Come on out!”

“Seriously, sweetheart, this isn’t funny!”

The 12-year-old promptly did the opposite by squirming further into her treehouse. It’s not that Jeff Tracy was a bad babysitter, or God forbid her dad was a bad dad, they were stellar. They just had to understand that there were times when a kid wanted to be left alone and that was to be respected. She shoved herself further into her corner and brought her arms around her knees.

… Okay, she was avoiding them, but she had a good reason.

Whatever this dumb thing about ‘sending her away’ was pointless and trite. She was simply going to lay low, wait for the dumb-dumbs to cool off and then they’ll realize they were being dumb-dumbs and drop this whole dumb-dumb idea!

She didn’t like what she was hearing in the first place anyway.

“Watch out for her uncle, my brother.”

“Ah, opposed to your uncle that is also your mother?”

“Jeff.”

The serious tone made both Kayo and Jeff flinch. Then, Kyrano put his foot down even more, “You know the one. You were friends, right? Hell, he’s the technical reason we met, you know what I’m talking about. Promise me to watch out for him.”

Kayo looked up at Jeff’s face from her hiding spot in the doorway to see his breathing get slightly more labored, but the way he spoke could only be described as confident, “Okay. I promise. Just like I promised to keep her safe, got it?”

Kyrano relaxed at that, though, his breathing was worse than what Jeff’s was. The man gulped and nodded his head, “Good. Now then, let’s go find her. We should explain this properly to her. She’ll understand.”

If she waited to hear her dad’s last sentence she might have laughed. As soon as the agreement was in place, she quietly zoomed away to her comfort spot to wait for the storm to pass. Too bad that storm had a homing beacon because right as she unfolded herself a little bit (she was getting uncomfy), Jeff Tracy climbed up to the window and went, “AHA! Gotcha!”

Before Jeff could explain, she was zipping down the slide and across the yard. In her panic, she broke one of her major rules when running away from something: never look behind you in any shape or form. Not only could you be focusing on something else like trying to get to your destination quicker if you kept your face forward, but you also can’t avoid anything that gets in your way if you’re not watching out for it.

Such was her father’s arms, which grabbed her around the waist and held on tight, “Oh thank God.”

Okay, she was expecting anger or at least minor scolding. She was not expecting her dad to practically cry in relief, nor for him to drop to his knees and hold onto her tightly. It froze everything about her: her mind, her body, yeah, everything. The only thing she could do in response was to awkwardly hug him back as Jeff slowly walked towards them, “See? I told you that you were panicking for no reason. Now, would you like me to stay here for this or?...”

Kyrano, who took a moment to register those words, eventually shook his head side to side while it still rested on Kayo’s shoulder, “N-No, Jeff, if it’s okay, I just need a moment with her so I can properly explain my actions. If you want, you can start packing some of her stuff to take home with you.”

The babysitter immediately backed off, hands up in a semi-surrender position, “Of course, do you know what I can get started on by myself?”

Kyrano softly took her hands into his, examining them by running his thumbs over her knuckles, thinking about what to say, “Basic toiletries, basic over-the-counter medications, some of her favorite snacks, you remember her favorite snacks, right?

The grass crinkled as Jeff walked away, his voice getting quieter and quieter due to distance, “You bet I do.”

Suddenly, she was alone with her father, who placed her hands against his chest. His breaths were shaky as he tried to find metaphorical solid ground, “Listen… I know things are changing fast and abruptly, and I’m sorry I can’t explain much of what’s happening, but you have to trust me, okay? You’re just changing houses, nothing more, nothing less. I’ll still be around often, and we’re still going to be father and daughter, you’re just going to be under the protection of Uncle Jeff, got it?”

Kayo was very quickly aware of a burning idea that hurt to think about, “Wait, are you in danger? If you’re in danger I don’t want to leave you! I can help you, Father!”

Kyrano was quick to cool the fury in her heart by placing his forehead against hers in their familiar form of comfort, “I know you can, but it’s not me that’s in danger, okay?”

And with that confession, her mouth snapped shut. She was always quick on figuring things out, and if her father wasn’t the one in danger, then that meant...

Kyrano couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped his mouth. His daughter, despite the cold-hearted exterior she tried displaying, could be quite adorable when secretly prompted, “I know. It’s scary, it sucks, and I wanna keep you here just as much as you want to be, but this is for the best. Don’t worry about me, worry about yourself just for a little bit, hmm?”

Kayo swallowed whatever nasty emotion tried worming its way out of her throat as she also kept the few, tiny tears at bay in her eyes, preventing them from rolling down her face, “Okay, Dad, I trust you.”

Kyrano visibly relaxed at how quickly she agreed, “Thank you. Alright,” Kyrano boosted himself up from his knee, “Let’s go help Uncle Jeff pack.”

He held out his hand to her, which she took with a definite level of uncertainty.

After an hour, Kayo was packed and ready to become a resident in the Tracy household. Her dad gave her plenty more kisses goodbye on the level that she became secretly glad she was leaving. Dads and their overbearing need to smother will be the death of her.

As Kayo and Jeff drove to their destination, it was silent. Jeff drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, trying to find something to say, while Kayo simply brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on top of them. Just because she knew how necessary this was didn’t mean she had to like it.

Finally, Jeff figured out his words, “You did hear him mention that he’ll visit you every week, right? You two are still going to be thick as thieves until your last dying breaths. You just won’t be in each other’s presence as much.”

Kayo didn’t hear him at first, and when her mind picked up that someone was trying to talk to her, she popped her head up like a surprised chipmunk, “Huh? Oh, yeah, he told me that.” And with it, her head fell back to her knees, and Jeff was lost once more.

That is until he was reminded of his kids. A sly grin formed on his face. His confidence was always boosted whenever his children were involved, “You know, I don’t know if I’ve even mentioned this, but I do have some of my own children at home.”

This time it took a lot less waiting for Kayo to pop her head up, “Really?”

Jeff nodded, relieved he found common ground between the two of them, “Yep. Five boys to call my own.”

Kayo leaned back into the backrest and hung her legs over the edge. Now she was sitting in the car seat as one would normally, “Whoah.”

Jeff chuckled. Kyrano wasn’t kidding about her being surprisingly adorably, “Just you wait, you’ll get along with them like peas in a pod.”

She absolutely did not get along with them like peas in a pod.

The first night was okay, fine. The older ones were nice as older siblings were when there was only one parent in the house, and the younger ones at least had enough manners to be considered quaint. But then the first night became the same as the next night. Then the next. The constant noises didn’t completely stop even after being there for a few days, signifying that this was normal in the family. The first time her father came over on the weekend she was begging to go home.

Kyrano felt sympathetic. He understood that Jeff’s boys could be a rowdy group, and that was from the stories the father told himself, but the threat was still looming, and all he could do was give empty words, “I really am sorry little bug, but my hands are tied. If you want, I could talk to Jeff for you? He is their father, he could set some temporary rules in place.”

Kayo sagged at his words, knowing he was right, but then sat up straight, “No, it’s okay. I can handle them. When they mess up they’ll learn the hard way why not to.”

Kyrano chuckled and took her into his arms, “Knowing you, those words aren’t just words. Don’t worry, just 28 more days, then the GDF will give me an update and you’ll be home safe and sound.”

Kayo counted them down one by one, tallies scratched into the wooden frame of the bed they gave her.

The 26th day was the day her uncle took Jeff’s life.

And everything was thrown off-kilter.

He came to pick her up on the 30th day, and she could tell things were different. He was jumpier, more careful about what they did. He never failed at his fatherly duties, but it was obvious he couldn’t be the same. She probably never was either. They had less fun, more prep work, he was constantly looking over his shoulder and she found herself doing the same with no protest. Her uncle, her family, destroyed everything she once knew in a way that would probably never be fully recovered. This point was even more blatant with the next big shocker of her life.

On the 67th day, her father went into retirement.

That was a sign the world was ending. Her father quit his job, the one that threatened to kill him more times than she understood at her age yet he stuck with it anyway because he loved it that much, he quit.

On the 1278th day, after years of trying his best, after multiple dropping offs of his daughter to Tracy Island (she probably spent half that time in the Tracy household, much to his chagrin) as he tried finding some kind of peace of mind, he succumbed to his demons. He gave her some lessons in self-defense over that time, but then he heard of another attack that was most likely caused by his brother and he just couldn’t. The thin wire snapped, and Kyrano didn’t trust his daughter to be safe with him anymore. He couldn’t protect his best friend from his brother, how the hell could he protect anybody else, how could he protect his child? Self-defense was useless against someone like his-- that man.

Kayo, who was just trying her best to still wrap her head around everything that had happened, over how one could potentially stop being related to someone, didn’t even try any kind of fighting back as her father took her right over to Tracy Island. He looked Grandma dead in the eyes with a face Kayo would never forget and said, “Jeff said he would always be willing to ‘pick up my slack’ so… please, keep her safe. Do what I can’t do.”

Being the mother she was, Grandma sadly grinned, “Of course, Kyrano, of course.”

That’s not to say he went off the radar or he never came to see her, he just wasn’t her main caretaker anymore. She was officially a permanent fixture in the Tracy family now, and she didn’t even have the headspace to worry about that. Hell, she was still recovering from her father’s retirement announcement.

This was the first time she learned what it was like to be truly and utterly hopeless.

It didn’t help that the rest of the Tracys were completely different as well.

She saw snippets over the years when her father went out on his meditation sessions, but now that she was going to be here forever, now that she couldn’t hide away like an anxious guest at a hotel, she was fully able to take in just how broken the Tracys were.

Like she was.

Scott and John were gone often, to the point where she only saw one of them at a time, almost never together. Virgil didn’t seemingly change much outside of certain hobbies and ways he handled things, though, she probably should have picked up on the fact that changing your personality was a big sign of trauma and untapped issues. Grandma Tracy was doing her best to accommodate her living situation into theirs, and Kayo will always be grateful for the elderly lady’s (mostly) stable state of mind throughout everything.

Then there was Gordon and Alan, who started leaving her alone.

They still did their pranks and jokes and couldn’t stop themselves if there was something ‘cool’ they wanted everyone to see, but they were more reserved, more quiet. Out of all the things she wished to stop happening, Gordon and Alan annoying her were on the top of the list, but when they did, it felt… weird. Awful.

The silence she craved since the first night her father sent her here was given to her on a silver platter yet she hated it and she didn’t even know why.

Nothing was making sense anymore.

And it continued to be senseless for the next few years to come.

The only thing she could latch onto to keep some kind of gravity to her life was the sentence her father told Jeff the day she came to the island. Watch out for her uncle. He was the reason everything was as messed up as it was, and the only people that rivaled her hatred for him was the Tracys themselves. As pessimistic as the thought was, at least she found something in common with them, and it made it easier for her to hide her true heritage in the end too.

The Tracy family was family oriented. She didn’t think she would have been welcome if they found out about certain relations of hers, not after what that relation took away from them.

(Well, if there was at least one thing she would happily admit to being wrong about in the future, she was glad it was that.)

Regardless, the years went on, and she became a proactive member of the family. Trying to compensate for the whole ‘secretly-related-to-evil’ thing and all that jazz. It was the least she could do for them since they were housing her. Learning more complicated self-defense, keeping watch over the island, helping Grandma with chores and other jobs around the house, and… hell, she found herself keeping an eye out for Alan more often than not. She wasn’t sure what it was, the older ones rubbing off on her, maybe Alan himself wormed his way into her heart, who knew?

As for the night everything started picking back up, it was… interesting.

She was minding her own business when she received a call from Scott, who she was very much aware should be packing for his trip to the mainland for next week with his Grandma. Those two had a conversation about plans for the future, and from bits and pieces Kayo picked up, Scott was on his way to becoming the newest CEO on the block, which she thought was an excellent position. Certainly made more sense than the Air Force in her eyes.

She picked up the call with a hint of playfulness, but right before she could point out that he should be picking out the right color shirt to match his eyes, she felt metaphorical cold water sploosh over her back as his panicked babbling slowly made sense to her ears.

“Alan’s gone!”

Around this time as well, Scott was in the house 24/7, and she knew the general details of why. Yeah, they gave her the vague story of things. She may have only been 16, but she wasn’t stupid. Her father was a military man, Jeff was a military man as well for Christ’s sake, she knew things where it counted. Alan never tried to figure out why, though, since he was just happy he could see Scott more often. Scott was happy too, everyone was, but the eldest was reserved. Careful with his interactions. As if whatever he touched shattered in his mere presence.

13-year-old Alan? Never really picked up on that until too late.

She got snippets from Scott over the call: he was in some kind of sour mood and did the logical thing and waited it out in his locked room (it really wasn’t that logical, but all the other options were worse so he took what he got). At some point, Alan had shown up outside his door (Scott found one of the kid’s toy cars right outside his door, as well as dirt tracks only Alan could leave) and tried to get the brunette’s attention. Except Scott was pretty out of it, trying not to snap any pens in half or God forbid punch a hole in the wall, so he never heard any of Alan’s attempts to get him to come out.

Oh yeah, Scott also knew it was Alan because he noticed a small sticky note on his door with the word ‘Sorry’ chicken-scratched onto it.

Alan took the silent treatment as his fault (hopefully not deserved, Scott was already feeling shit-tastic) and scampered off somewhere. Scott was going to find his younger brother and make things right and explain his actions, but then seconds turned to minutes, and minutes turned into half-an-hour. Wherever Alan went to was a place Scott didn’t know existed apparently, and that just about made everything worse.

After nearly an hour of searching, he caved in and called for the only other help he had at the moment.

Which was her.

John was in space, and Grandma was out picking up Virgil and Gordon from their weekend off. Gordon got special tickets to something because of his gold-medal status, and Virgil was the obvious extra-ticket pick. On their way home, John would be picked up by the three of them as well. It was going to be one of the few fleeting moments they all were in the house at the same time.

Unless she and Scott got off their asses, that plan would be thoroughly jossed.

Taking a deep breath, she finally got a word in between all of his panicking, “Scott! Alright, I’m on the South-West side, so I’ll start looking here, okay? You keep searching the part you’re in and I’ll update you once I get somewhere else or if I find him.”

Labored breathing filled her ear before a rather large gulp cut it off, “Okay, sounds good.”

The call was cut and they haven’t been in contact since.

She wasn’t sure what part of the island she was on when she found him. Not usually her typical shtick, to panic without thinking, even if that panic was small, but regardless, she stepped onto a rocky part of the beach and looked around. She almost missed the mop of blonde hair sitting against the tallest one, absentmindedly staring off at the calm waves hitting the rocks further into the bay.

Making light steps, she eventually was able to sit down next to him a few inches away and watched the kid intently. She was quite familiar with the feeling of a thousand words wanting to spill out of your mouth at the same time, and she could clearly see it on Alan’s face, so she did the proper thing and waited for Alan to start.

When he did, she was caught off guard.

“I’m sorry.”

Wait, what? “What?”

Alan shrugged like it was obvious, “I don’t know. A lot of things. I wanna help out so much but whenever I do it seems like I just make it worse so that just leaves me to wonder what I need to change or if that would even matter in the long run… I just…”

As the blonde curled in on himself, still mumbling half-baked excuses (as if the kid thought he needed an excuse to feel shitty), a million thoughts hit Kayo at the same time, frying the gears in her brain with how they added up. Alan’s little display of low self-confidence reminded her of something she didn’t like to think about a lot.

She was… horrifyingly reminded of herself.

With it, she was already connecting dots between the two of them from the past few years of living together. Things like their tantrums (holy cow was she a stubborn child to her father sometimes), their eagerness to prove themselves for things that didn’t really need to be proven, their unhealthy need to lean towards silence when something is troubling them, now their seemingly poor viewpoints of themselves…

All she wanted to do was help Scott out, and so far all she was getting for it was a sudden identity crisis.

The gut reaction Kayo had was to deny it. How could she possibly have anything in common with Alan? Alan had a lot in common with Gordon, and she was the exact opposite of the second youngest. She was reminded of those transitive laws John was telling Alan about one day when it was the ginger’s turn to help with homework. A equaled B while B equaled C always meant A equaled C as well. A and B as Alan and Gordon respectively made sense, but if she was C? No sense at all, completely phony, not possible in the slightest. There were exceptions to every rule after all.

Besides, Alan had an ego to rival Gordon’s too, he never worried about things like ‘am I truly in the way or not?’. He was the youngest, the youngest never was in the eyes of good older siblings-- and the Tracys were good, good in ways she herself would probably never reach. She might have been an only child growing up but she read enough about proper family dynamics to know that.

But as the grief-stricken 13-year-old started to understand things not even some adults twice his age never fully learned right in front of her, she had to admit that the laws of physics were not to be trifled with. John was probably having a conniption over the mere thought of it. Knowing him, he felt a sudden chill for no reason because of her denial. He was weird like that. It also made her start to think about her relationship with Gordon. Maybe she held herself to too high of standards… or maybe even him.

Right, right, she should worry about the blonde in front of her. Didn’t Gordon have issues about his thoughts jumping around all willy nilly? That’s what she can at least start with when she gets there, but she should probably get there first, “Alan, look at me.”

The kid just shrunk further into himself.

This was troublesome, “Alan. Look up.”

She watched him blatantly shake his head no.

Okay, now it was exasperating. Not for the reasons she typically felt, though, it was annoying because a 13-year-old should not be shrugging off help like he was, that was the beginning of a bad habit, “Alright, Alan Tracy, you leave me no choice.”

Those words were just ominous enough for Alan to jump his head up from his knees in shock. Before he could blink the tears out of his eyes, Kayo was up in his personal space with her eyes wide due to a look of… hesitation?

Out of all the places she could have stopped, why did it have to be two inches away from his face? She wasn’t even sure why she was doing this. Sure, it calmed her down when her father did it, but her father was much more graceful about it, much more parental. If she wasn’t careful she might just give the child in front of her a headbutt right on the soft part of his face more than anything else.

Regardless, she was here, and she was on a roll with not making sense tonight. Besides, didn’t she just go over all the things they had in common? Surely this will work… hopefully. Potentially. At least a 60% chance. With a deep breath, she closed the distance and lightly placed her forehead on his. It might have been cliche, but when she saw how much he relaxed, she couldn’t help that feeling from washing over her too.

Alan, meanwhile, was strangely okay with this. It was new and weird, but it also felt… safe? Like Virgil’s hugs or Scott’s jackets, there was an air of warmth to this that Alan liked so he let it be to do whatever it was doing well. The knots in his chest were loosening up.

After awkwardly staring into Alan’s blue eyes for longer than she should, she finally figured out how to word all the emotions swirling around in her brain. It was short, it probably was only a short term fix, but at the time it worked like a charm, “I may not know a lot about things yet, but I do know that whatever you’re thinking will happen most certainly won’t. Scott isn’t angry or thought you were in the way. Honestly, he might be worried you’re not in the way enough. Trust me, Scott will just be happy to see you safe.”

Alan won’t be able to tell you what convinced him that night. Maybe her sincerity, maybe her touch, maybe he was just tired and the idea of seeing Scott again was enough to wake him up, but whatever it was, when Kayo stood up, he did too and walked right back home.

They made it back to the house right as the sun was coming up. Subconsciously gently taking his hand, Kayo made sure Alan trailed behind her a little bit. She never really figured out why, it’s not like there was anything to protect him from that night, but she still felt the need to do that. Eventually, they sauntered their way towards the kitchen, where she heard Scott rambling about his current grievances.

She froze momentarily at another voice replying to Scott’s panic.

“Scott, take it easy, it’s not like a 13-year-old could get that far anywhere on the island--”

“He shouldn’t be able to get anywhere on the island in the first place, John, that’s the point! God, why was I so fucking stupid in letting that happen? Here I thought the breathing exercises were working! Jesus--”

“Alright, first of all, if you don’t slow down I’m going to force you to do more of them, you’re practically turning purple, and second of all, this is fixable. It is, but it won’t be if you keep running around like a chicken with its head cut off. If it makes you feel better, we can call Virgil, Gordon, and Grandma back from their ‘big secret thing’ they scampered off to right as they got me home if you want. Kayo is also capable at what she does, you fricking called her yourself. Would you like to go for another round around the island?”

There were Scott and John. In the same room. At the same time. Kayo rubbed her eyes in an attempt to see if what was in front of her were just spots in her vision. Blinking away the tears that formed because of the action, she learned they weren’t. Huh, lots of things were new and different tonight.

Weird.

Scott shook his head, “No, from what you described, Gordon was excited, as well as Virgil and Grandma. This isn’t an emergency. Not yet. Let’s call Kayo. If she hasn’t found anything, we can go one more time.”

That was her cue to step in, “You know, I always wondered why Virgil said he couldn’t exactly describe what you two were like when you’re in ‘panic mode’, and I think I now see why. It’s pure chaos. Here, you worried lunatics.”

The oldest brothers jumped at the voice, and with the fury of a thousand suns, they looked over to her waist to see the ball of freckles they desperately wanted to see. Scott stood up and John turned his body to be faced to Alan, both of them taut. They took one step forward, and Alan flinched behind Kayo’s leg, which made them both falter and stop on the spot.

Slightly rolling her eyes, she kneeled down to Alan and placed her forehead against the kid’s as she did those minutes ago, “Alan, what did we talk about?”

Both Scott and John blinked at the way Alan seamlessly calmed down with the interaction. Holding their breaths, Alan took a deep one of his own and turned to look at them with newfound determination. Within the blink of an eye, Scott had a limpet attached to his legs and waist, holding him in place. It was very difficult getting down to the floor to hug him back without falling flat on his ass. Alan was holding his center of balance in one tiny spot, but if Scott has learned anything, it was how to work around four unruly younger brothers.

John, at some point, came to stand next to Kayo as they watched the scene before them. After a few seconds, Alan leaned out and sniffed, “I’m sorry, Scooter, for scaring you. I know I’m not supposed to run off without telling anyone where I went, no matter why I’m running off. I promise to not do it again.”

Scott let out a few wet chuckles and ruffled the kid’s hair, not worried about that anymore in the slightest, “Well, I’m glad you know to apologize for that, but I think I need to apologize for some things as well. I’m sorry I ignored you, okay? I didn’t mean to, and I promise to properly explain what happened in the morning when we’re not so tired.”

Kayo saw John grimace out of the corner of her eye. She never exactly figured out what in Scott’s statement he did so over.

Alan seemed to take it for the most part. Most part, being the key term there, “But I understand! Or at least some of it… Adults have adult things they need to do, which I shouldn’t have tried interrupting. Which is also why Grandma is taking you away to do that training of yours. You’re going to get another adult job like the one you had before, and you’re going to be gone because of that too, and that’s okay! I--”

Scott shushed him with a finger over his lip, “There are a few things wrong with that statement of yours, little bro. And thank you for pointing out my last job, there were a few things I did wrong with that too. I went weeks without calling any of you when I very easily could have, and with a job like that, I probably scared you all half to death. Trust me, Sprout, tonight was a good kick in the pants. Alright, I’ll at least explain this now: I’m going to handle my new job a little differently. Every day I’m off the island, I’ll be sure to send some kind of message, hopefully, a call, but a text at the least. Scout’s Honor.”

Scott did the familiar hand movement, signifying that the Scout’s Honor was in place and was not to be broken at any point. She never figured out how Scott did it. Knew what to say even if the comforting words seemed like they had nothing to do with the current topic at hand. After all, despite jumping from ‘not running off like that’ to ‘Scott’s new job’, she watched as Alan fully relaxed and leaned back into his big brother’s arms while said big brother melted all around him like a pile of protective goo. The scene was peaceful, and Kayo could feel herself tearing--

“GUYS! OH MY GOD GUESS WHAT?! I--”

And there it went.

Like a bomb, Gordon was suddenly in the area screaming about something. Right as his foot slapped the tile of the kitchen, he froze and read the room around him while breathing heavily. Looking down at a kneeling Scott hugging Alan, Gordon sobered up, “Oh. Hey Allie, didn’t you say you wanted to watch Jurrasic World at some point?”

As obtuse as Gordon could be, he was always the best at brightening up the situation.

About a fourth of the way through the movie, Gordon, Scott, and Alan were all clonked out in some weird pretzel on the couch. Virgil and Grandma were in the kitchen quietly thinking of what to get ready for Gordon (getting accepted into WASP while being a gold-medal athlete at the same time was no easy feat), so that left John and her to do everything but watch the movie.

Kayo barely registered John’s awkward coughing as an attempt to catch her attention. When he saw that it finally worked, he seemed to get embarrassed about what he was going to say, “So… that thing you did with Alan.”

Kayo blinked in confusion.

John quickly explained, “That forehead press? He was really comforted by that. I was just thinking… could you show us how it’s done? At least Scott and I, but if you could show Virgil and Gordon too that would be nice. I think Alan’s starting to form mine and Scott’s bad habit of panic attacks, so to have that gesture in our back pocket would help.”

Kayo thought about John’s words for a moment before shrugging, “Yeah, sure. My father taught yours how to do it so I don’t see why I can’t do something similar.”

The silence suddenly wanted to choke her. Suddenly looking over at John, she saw the ginger with wide eyes, “... Our dad? Why?”

Oh shit. Jeff was a sensitive subject in the house, and she tried her best to tiptoe around it until now. Especially when it wasn’t her father that was dead. Eh, she’ll hate pulling a tab from Gordon’s page in the future, but, “He wanted something special for Lucy since he wasn’t exactly the most graceful swan on the planet. My father did it with a lot of his friends he considered close, as well as my mother, so Jeff asked him the meaning behind it and viola. Your father was a slightly more refined person.”

Watching John blink a few times made her think she fucked up even more, but then he literally chuckled as he absentmindedly looked back towards the movie, “Yeah, ain’t that an understatement.”

She relaxed and copied his actions, the feeling of confidence washing over her like a warm blanket as her eyes graced the TV. She may not have fully been a Tracy, but she had to begrudgingly admit that she was too much like them for her own good. Jeff’s ‘peas in a pod’ statement was really coming back to bite her in the ass.

Gordon loudly snored from Scott’s lap, making both Kayo and John jump.

… Yeah, too much for her own good.

---

Fuse told her to run ahead and that was all she needed to start booking it down the compound towards Gordon and Virgil.

The map their uncle gave them was helpful, but it just emphasized how deep in shit they all were. Also, she had to admit she felt slightly bad. Once John convinced her that Fuse was really there to help and after she listened to their plan, maybe she should have fought it more as Scott and Gordon did. She was just so relieved to finally have something to go off of after nearly a month. When five boys left to get Jeff and only four came back…

Watch out for her uncle.

Fuse wasn’t expecting it either, so at least it wasn’t a planned trap. But still, it’s her job to prevent this shit. Not let the Tracys walk right into it.

Shaking her head, she refocused on getting to the two brothers currently closest to her position. She was part of IR, she was still good at rescuing too. It was just a small pinch in the back of her head. The only thing she wanted to do in life at the least was protect the Tracy family from anything else her uncle threw at them.

Heh, the irony.

Right before she rounded the corner, she heard something akin to ungodly screeching.

“You should have stayed dead!”

“We-hell, if there’s anything I’m known for, it’s being disappointing!” Cheeky laughter came next.

Well, that second voice was Gordon. But the first one was female, and that threw Kayo a little off. The voice was still familiar, but she was pretty sure Penelope was off getting the GDF to their location, and Grandma was back home making sure Jeff didn’t shoot out of his chair to come help them. Plus, ‘you should have stayed dead’ was something those two ladies would never say, let alone to a family member, so why did that voice sound familiar?

She took one step around the corner and--

“Havoc.”

The growl was out of her mouth before she could help it. Talk about a sight for sore eyes.

She stopped running and took in the view. Gordon was breathing heavily and grinning in that way that said he was terrified out of his mind. Behind him on the ground was Virgil holding his head. His breathing was labored too, albeit not as bad as Gordon. Considering the blunt object Havoc was holding, Kayo quickly figured out why Virgil got Alan to run.

The air must have been stuffy because as Kayo focused on her labored breathing, she watched the hacker also continue to breathe heavily, her eyes wide with craze. Kayo stomped her boot down promptly in between the boys and the nuisance in the room, “Gordon, get your brother out of here.”

Gordon blinked in confusion but then was on Virgil in a way that reminded the middle Tracy of Scott. Virgil, for once, was hoping Gordon would listen to his innate response to not follow orders. The musician’s hope was promptly squashed as he yelped when Gordon picked him up and supported him as they walked out of the room, “Hey! Gordon--”

Gordon was surprised at how easily he shrugged off Virgil’s protest. That’s probably why he listened to Kayo’s order to get him out so easily, “Yeah, yeah, save whatever you’re gonna say for the potential concussion, bro.”

Kayo could only listen as the two sauntered away, as Havoc tried leaping after them again, intent on finishing what she started. Kayo stopped the woman in her tracks with a kick, and now all of the anger was directed at Kayo herself. Good. She had some choice words for The Chaos Crew member in front of her, “You’ve made an awful amount of mistakes recently.”

The lady growled and lunged, which Kayo easily avoided. The hacker landed on her knees and looked up, “We’re they mistakes, or happy accidents?”

Kayo scowled even more, “I think you know what they were, and you liked it that way.”

Havoc shrugged, her grin becoming even wider, “Yeah, you’re right, they were wonderful accidents.”

Havoc was back on her feet and now it was Kayo’s turn to lunge. Kayo didn’t need to win, just waste enough time for everyone else to finish their parts of the plan, though, she would be lying if she said she didn’t feel satisfaction at going toe-to-toe with this lady.

She was pretty sure John was out of his mind like the rest of his family thought, but the more she saw Fuse in action, the more she understood the astronaut’s point of view. Fuse was smart when he wanted to be, if a bit oblivious, and there was no complaining about him giving them information about Alan’s whereabouts.

Plus… she was begrudgingly starting to see the appeal of Fuse himself. Of what he had been through. She was an older sister to a singular younger sibling too, maybe not the best one, but from what she was seeing, Havoc didn’t exactly rank up high on the list either.

As she continued to brawl with the lady-in-purple, she probably should have cooled her anger a little bit. The more she thought about Alan or Havoc and Fuse or her uncle or, hell, even the way Gordon and Virgil made their way to safety just a few minutes prior, the more she was reminded of how wrong this had all been, about how much more diffifcult life was made by idiots like Havoc and The Hood. How tired she was from all of it, which was another reason she should have taken a breather.

Long story short: it was making her more aggressive, less thoughtful of her next actions. She eventually started swinging without purpose, which Havoc was hoping to happen. She used an opening those actions created and knocked the female member of IR to the floor.

Suddenly, Kayo was pinned and the metal pipe was raised, and right as she closed her eyes and prepared to take the hit, a quiet voice spoke from a few feet away, preventing the hit from happening altogether.

“Sis?”

Both women froze, and both turned their heads ever so slowly at the new voice. Despite his size, Fuse was standing off in the shadows and looked incredibly small. Like she had almost been burned, Havoc jumped off Kayo and was standing up, eyes pleading for something Kayo wasn’t sure the hacker exactly wanted, “What? No, you got away! You ran! You’re not supposed to be here, it’s not--”

Kayo, who couldn’t find the energy to stand, watched with growing understanding. Watched Havoc’s wide eyes in contemplation, the woman’s panic slowly making sense. It was hard to imagine, but it couldn’t be anything else. Havoc was, in fact, scared for Fuse. He probably already pissed off The Hood, and Havoc was left to barely cool the flames lest she wanted a dead brother. Maybe that’s why she didn’t follow Fuse. She wanted to stay behind to make sure Fuse’s small chance of surviving was as big as it could be.

Huh, it was weird to think about The Chaos Crew in any other form outside of their established ‘chaotic’ selves, but maybe sibling dynamics were so powerful it was just a universal thing.

Maybe Kayo misjudged her actions like she did Fuse’s. Maybe Havoc wasn’t too bad of a sister.

Meanwhile, Fuse took her panic as anger. Betrayal. He left her behind, so of course, she deserved to be angry. He abandoned her after all, for a family they’ve been deadset on destroying for the past however long. But that was the other thing, wasn’t it? This family who he had hurt so many times before still showed him a level of decency he wasn’t aware was possible. A level of decency when siblings are allowed to be siblings and nothing else.

That’s what they thought they would get when they were persuaded by The Hood with his smarmy exterior, but now that he’s been helping out the Tracys, he realized The Hood was the exact opposite.

Despite his misunderstanding, what he said was exactly what his sister needed to hear.

With wide eyes, he looked directly at his only other family, “Camilla…” Havoc jumped, Fuse continued without hesitation, “We can be free, you know. The Mechanic got away. He’s safe on Tracy Island. I talked to him. He’s happy, we can be too, and it’s all thanks to them.” He gestured toward Kayo off to the side.

Meanwhile, the IR lady in question did what she did best: sat in silence and watched as Havoc slowly understood the situation, “... Really?”

Fuse started smiling, smiling, and Kayo had to blink before he spoke once more, “Yeah, we need to do some things and spend some time to make up for everything that we did, but it will be away from him, you know? It’s possible. I’ve seen it, experienced it, you can too. I promise.”

Havoc lost all of her edge at those words. Her insane exterior melted away into a woman who was finally realizing she didn’t have to fight anymore, that she was no longer backed into a corner, “Wow…”

Younger siblings. No matter the family, they always manage to leave their older siblings speechless.

Rolling her eyes and standing up, Kayo wiped off her pants and walked over to the entirety of The Chaos Crew. There was another younger sibling that needed to be found, “Alright, now that we got this out of the way, let’s make that pathway for the GDF. Fuse, you know what to do.”

Once Fuse registered Kayo’s words, the grin that overtook his face was no longer relaxed but giddy instead, “Come’ on, sis, you’ve said you wanted to learn how to do more of my stuff right?”

For some reason, Havoc’s grin was too, “Hell yes.”

As Kayo helped The Chaos Crew set up charges like John said to do, she also remembered another thing the ginger told her while they were preparing the last few things they needed to prepare before they went out on their big mission. He is the reason we’re probably getting Alan back. As an older sibling, it’s the least I could do for him. Little siblings, ours or not, always made us Tracys act rather irrationally.

Later, when Kayo saw Alan and Scott limp out of the hole The Chaos Crew made with and even worse looking Hood, she was also reminded of the fact of life that said John was always right.

Little siblings really do bring out the worst and best of you.

---

It only took a few nights before the obvious happened.

For once in her life, Kayo was asleep in her bed when unholy screaming filled the hallways of Tracy Island. It was autopilot with the way she threw her bedsheets off and was standing up, but she only realized what was truly happening when she reached her doorway. Alan. Instead of running and preparing to fight whatever was causing the distress, she was simply running to get to the location as fast as she could.

Now, everyone knew she was one of the fastest people on the island, it was her job, but even she had to admit that, no matter how much she loved these boys and vice versa, they would be better at the whole ‘need to comfort’ thing. At least in the form of hugs and kisses and shhshing nightmares away. She subconsciously knew to keep her strides slow and steady so her search-and-destroy mode wasn’t the first thing to be at Alan’s place of rest. Just like she wanted, when she reached the youngest’s room, John and Gordon were patiently waiting right outside while Virgil stood vigilant by Jeff to make sure the father didn’t collapse right then and there. That meant Scott was inside.

She was breathing heavily when she walked the last few feet to the family, “Any updates?”

Uncharacteristically so, John rubbed his hands over his face in defeat while Gordon was the one to explain what they knew, “No, not yet. Scooter’s in there trying to calm the flames.”

Speaking of which, there was a rather large thunk from inside the room. As the family jumped in shock, Alan’s door suddenly swung open, and as quick as it did that, it shut once more with a rather frantic Scott on the side with the rest of the family leaning against it. His hands were flat and shaking against the door, and his breathing verged on the territory of hyperventilation.

Kayo simply stared. Everything was being thrown off its axis tonight.

Again.

Gordon, who could be as tactful as his father (which was not at all), didn’t understand why Scott ran out of the room. Nobody did, but he was the only one who seemed to be willing to ask questions, “Scott, what the hell?! What’s wrong?!”

The brother in question closed his eyes, his fists clenching slowly against the closed door. He shakily exhaled as he opened his eyes to look his family in their faces, “L-Listen, I couldn’t stay in there, I j-just…”

Virgil, who was being reasonable and logical, simply stated other options like any other person would in a situation such as this one, “Scott, it’s okay if this sets off some bad memories. We might not have the magic touch you do, but we all have our own ways of calming him down. Maybe I can--”

Too bad all of his words hit Scott like a ton of bricks for each syllable, for each suggestion, “No! That’s not it, the rest of you will give him the same reaction, trust me,” his words left no room for argument, and suddenly, every throat in the hallway got dry.

Gordon needed to shut up, “What?! That doesn’t make any sense! If there’s anything that can help him right now it would be us!”

Scott’s shaking stopped. Now he was getting annoyed, but only because he didn’t want to drop the literal bomb on his family about why going to see Alan was going to make it worse, “Gordon, just believe me sincerely for once in your life”

John was trying to play the mediator like he always did, “Guys! Give Scott a second to explain, holy--”

Seriously, Gordon, knock it off, “Yeah, Scott, I wanna know why you think leaving our baby brother to his demons is such a good idea!”

Jeff, who Kayo suddenly remembered was there, finally gave his two cents, “Please stop yelling, we already had one family member scream tonight, let’s not make that number bigger.”

The idea of hitting Gordon over the head with a chair was very thrilling all of a sudden, “I won’t if Scott pulls his head out of his ass!”

Virgil had his hands up in a surrender position, “Jesus, I’m sorry I said anything.”

Really, just a good whack would do Gordon some good, “No, you were absolutely right in suggesting it, so now why--”

The voices were becoming like nails on a chalkboard even to Kayo, so God knew what torture they were for Scott. She watched Scott intently, waiting and hoping that when the straw on the camel’s back broke the explosion wouldn’t be too hard to clean up.

When it happened, she was so caught off guard by what Scott eventually blurted out that she could no longer even begin to think about metaphorical mops or hazmat suits.

“Goddammit, you want an explanation?! It was because he was scared!”

The rest of the brothers jumped at the confession. While their eyes were still wide, Scott let out a breathy curse and explained further, “He was scared of me. The more I was in there, the worse he got, okay? I’m sorry, but after everything that happened, I think he’s just going to react similarly to you guys because...” Another curse. Scott closed his eyes and moved his head so his face faced the floor.

The rest of the family immediately became downtrodden. Dammit dammit dammit. This was to be expected, but it didn’t fucking hurt any less. They were all generally aware of what The Hood put Alan through, so they had been way more reserved with their comforts than they would have been at any other time, but the fact that this was going so far as to completely prevent that same comfort after an awful night terror...

Gordon, who was too much like Alan when it came to handling shock, metaphorically grasped at the air, “But we can’t just leave him to suffer. He just woke up the ocean border of every country around us with how loud his screams were! We can’t-- he--”

Kayo, who was not a sentimental person at heart, found herself gently speaking for once in her life, “Do you… Do you think he used me?”

The brothers blinked, telling Kayo: Huh, we’re not sure.

Taking a deep breath, Kayo started towards the door, Scott reluctantly moved out of the way, and right as her hand graced the edge to open it, “Wait, Jeff, what about you? You are his father after all.”

The oldest four sons suddenly looked at him with faces that said she has a point. It would only be fair for him to have a shot as well. But before any of the sons could help Kayo’s argument, “Well, I was wondering that too, but then you suggested yourself first before anything else and I realized you, Miss Tanusha, had grown a soft spot. I don’t want to get in the way of that now do I?”

Blushing at all of their grins (the assholes, why did she like this family again), she abruptly looked back at the door, took a deep breath and descended into hell. A few of her spirits were lifted as she listened to Gordon apologize to Scott as she shut the door. She couldn’t stop the grin that fell over her face at Scott’s reassurance even if she wanted to either. We’re too much alike when we want to be, buddy, I get it.

With the door fully shut behind her, she lost her grin, exhaled that deep breath she took, looked up to fully take in the room and wasn’t sure what broke inside her first at the sight.

Curled on the floor on the other side of the bed to the doorway was a bundle of trembling sheets. From the way there were none left on the bed, Kayo quickly assumed what that large thunk was from earlier. She hoped the rest of the brothers paid attention to Scott right now. He was probably in shambles after what he must felt like he caused.

Her shoulders deflated as she carefully trotted over closer. Making sure there was at least half-a-foot between them, she kneeled in front of the pile of sheets and thought about what to say first. It took her a minute, but once she saw those trembles die down ever so slightly, “Alan, do you need me to get you anything?”

A flinch from the pile, but she held steady. After what felt like a million years, she watched as a familiar mop of blonde poked its head out from the sheets. Along with it, blue eyes and freckles for days came back to the land of the living. Was her sigh of relief obvious? She hoped it wasn’t.

Watching Alan melt into the dresser behind him with his sheets still wrapped about his shoulders, Kayo took the opportunity to sit criss-cross-apple-sauce in front of him and continue to wait silently. Suddenly, Alan closed his eyes but also started... grinning? Huh. Blinking once, she watched as Alan’s hands came out from under the bedspread and started moving, Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?

Her father already had her learning sign language because of her deaf maternal godmother, so when the boys asked her if she knew any she was one step ahead.

She too couldn’t stop the grin that fell over her face. Even after screaming his lungs out, Alan was still Alan, “I suppose I could say the same for you, you know. I was worried I would have to get a shovel to dig you out of that pile for a minute.”

Alan opened his eyes to look directly at her green ones and relaxed even more. As he sat up straighter, the sheets on his shoulders fell off just a little bit, almost symbolically representing the way a butterfly comes out of one’s cocoon, Yeah, that would’ve sucked. So, where’d you chase your creepy uncle off to? He never had the balls to be you, probably worried he didn’t have the finesse to play a woman, so--

Kayo flinched momentarily at the question in the first part of his statement. It was very small and brief, but it was certainly enough for Alan to get the picture.

Alan’s eyes widened in panic, and Kayo could clearly see what kind of thoughts were violently swimming around in his head. Oh God, that’s right, I’ve been saved, which meant that wasn’t The Hood, that was-- sugar honey iced tea, what the heck did I do?!

Kayo would be lying if she said she didn’t start panicking at the sight of Alan’s panic. Way to go. You’re doing the exact opposite of what you came in here for, idiot. The only thing that kept her grounded was the fact that Alan was on the verge of passing out, making her brain function due to the need to prioritize. Your self-deprecation was below the need to make sure Alan stayed calm, for all that it stung.

For once in her life she found herself taking a shot in the dark by placing her hand gently on his shoulder, ignoring the minor flinch he made at the contact, “Alan, it’s going to be alright, they understand that y--”

Suddenly, Alan jumped away from her contact and slightly thumped his head against the dresser behind him once more, making Kayo wince. During that whole process, Alan was shaking his head in denial and pulling the sheets tighter around him once more. Like a baby swaddling itself in its blanket. Again, Alan wasn’t signing anything, but Kayo could read his emotions loud and clear. That’s still not okay! I’m not scared of him, I’m not, yet I still flinched and jumped away from him like he was the one that continuously hurt me for the past month. They’ve been working their butts off to save me, and they did, they’ve given up so much for me and I can’t thank them without flinching or crying like a child.

As she was reading his eyes for the last sentence, he just had to go and sign it himself, Why did The Hood have to ruin me? Wasn’t I already bad enough?

John occasionally mentioned how Alan felt out of place in the rest of his family, and Gordon, Scott, and even Virgil, who was the most asinine about following protocol to a T, always cautioned her about being a little loose with the way Alan acted sometimes, but to see it so blatantly tonight tore her chest every which-a-way. It was a thing she was aware of, she had seen snippets throughout the years (their beach conversation being the worst, or, used to be now), but she selfishly hoped she never would see it when it was this bad...

Well, she had to admit that she’s never been the most tactful person. Gordon, eat your heart out.

Getting up on her knees, she shoved herself into Alan’s personal bubble, firmly placed her hands on his shoulders and made him look her directly in the eyes, “Alan Tracy, you have a grave misunderstanding of the current situation.”

The boy’s eyes widened, and before he could do anything else, Kayo continued, wondering where in the world her words were coming from, “All of you boys have been damaged in ways that won’t be overcome with a song and a dance. Your family is going to feel like shit, you are going to feel like shit, there will be emotional and animalistic reactions none of you can help after such events, even I’m guilty of them, but that’s… okay.”

Alan slowly blinked at her hesitation, suddenly aware of certain weaknesses he wasn’t sure Kayo had. She inhaled through her nose and her serious demeanor was back, “You all have insecurities that I can’t address, mainly because I’m bad at doing that for my issues as well,” Alan snorted, “But that’s okay. What The Hood didn’t wasn’t good, and you’re going to feel his wrath years after the fact, hell, there’s a chance you’ll never truly get over his words,” believe her, “But we also have ways to, not ignore it per se, but make it easier to have such hurtful lies ring around our brains. Your answer, and maybe mine as well, is the incredibly stupid, incredibly stubborn, and incredibly headstrong family waiting outside that doorway to make sure you’re okay.”

Remembering exactly how she taught these boys so long ago, Kayo gently but surely placed her forehead against his, “You boys have ridiculous amounts of love to last for days, and if I didn’t love you all as much as you love each other, I would hit every single one of you every time you lost sight of it. Believe me, Alan, that’s a lot of bruises.”

Leaning back like a gust of wind, she waited and watched as the flabbergasted look on Alan’s face slowly morphed into contemplation. After holding her breath for longer than necessary, she exhaled as she watched Alan’s hands form the words she wanted to hear, Could you… get Scott for me? I wanna say some things to him. Tonight.

With a cheeky smile, she boosted herself up on her knee and started walking out of the room, “Sure thing, Alan.”

She was pretty sure he watched her leave until she got out into the hallway and shut the door. Once she was there, she was met with five pairs of beady eyes, probably expecting something worse than what she had. With a sigh, she looked at Scott, “He wants to see you again.”

Scott jumped while the rest of the men relaxed in some way shape or form. When their motions were done, Scott’s shoulders sagged too. As Kayo moved out of the way to trade places with Scott he like did for her earlier, she quickly laid her hand upon his shoulder to catch his attention for one last word, “If the first thing that comes from his hands is “I’m sorry”, please do me the utmost favor and smack him for me.”

Blinking, Scott registered her words with a smile, “Don’t worry, it’ll be for all of us.”

With a nod, Scott was inside the room once, and the rest of the family finally and fully relaxed. Now then, her hands were on her hips, “Alright, unless you boys want to sleep out in the hallway, it’s off to bed with you all.”

The rest of the brothers (and Jeff, who was supposed to be in his 50s for Christ’s sake) widened their eyes and opened their mouths like fishes in the process of objecting. Clearly, they were willing to spend the night out in the hallway, though, she should have expected that of them. With an aggressive sigh, she stopped them in their tracks, “Unless you want Alan to feel any more guilt over things he shouldn’t feel guilty about, you should avoid the cricks in your necks while you can.”

Watching them wince, she figured she won.

After a few minutes along with some last goodnights, the boys were off to their rooms in the hope that they would find even just a little more sleep after tonight. All except for two, Virgil and Jeff, which Kayo watched as the former struggled to support the latter, exhausted with previous events. Suddenly, another seemingly out-of-character idea hit Kayo, and once again, she didn’t mind following it.

While she may not have had as much muscle mass as him, Virgil did comment once that she was just as strong as he was, “Virgil, go to bed. I can get your father to his.”

Virgil blinked, and before he could utter a word out, Jeff spoke for him, “Yeah, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea. You need sleep, Jack, don’t try and fool these old eyes.”

With a playful roll of his eyes, Virgil played ‘pass the dad’ with Kayo. As soon as his father was off of his shoulder, he threw his hands up in the air. He was down the hall and facing the other direction when they heard him shout, “For the last time, I was not a beanstalk, I was reasonably skinny! Reasonably!”

Kayo and Jeff were left to chuckle as they slowly made their way to the father’s room. About halfway there, Jeff glanced over to Kayo with what was supposed to be a simple question, “So, how’s Kyrano?”

Kayo thought she would flinch at the mention of her father, but instead, she simply tilted her head and blinked as she considered the question, “He’s relatively okay. His retirement has been treating him well, at least.”

She noticed his grimace the word ‘retirement’ but stayed quiet as he began to talk, “Ah, I guess he would’ve taken my absence pretty hard. His favorite part was working with me, or more specifically, trying to one-up me. I couldn’t even get him to go home when he was running a fever, you know.”

Kayo rolled her eyes, very much aware of her father’s friendly rivalry with Jeff and how far he took it, “Well, I think he’ll have to surrender this time. Coming back from the dead would be considered too crazy. Even for him.”

Jeff chuckled, knowing she was right, “Finally pulled one over on him. Who would’a thought the day would come.”

Kayo, right before they delved into silence once more, stated something with no room for argument, “I should take you to see him. He would appreciate the surprise.”

Jeff sought no reason to argue in the first place, “I think I would appreciate that as well.”

It was a quiet trip back to his room from then on. He left the door slightly ajar, so it was easy for her to kick it open gently. As she brought him over to his bed, she gandered around the room to look at the new objects strewn about. No longer a bedroom from a magazine advertisement, it was finally more personalized. Different types of shoes were strewn about the ground, including a pair of ugly slippers, the color of the area no longer a dull grey-green but more of a deep maroon, and the small work desk in the corner had a few pictures laid atop it as well.

Most of which were his family and kids. Kayo would later deny blushing at the one of her and Gordon sparring.

She knew Mrs. Tracy took pictures that day, and she must have given Jeff that one when the father asked for some from the eight years of his disappearance

So caught up in the moment, she didn’t think as she gently set Jeff down on top of his covers, cleared her throat, and walked out of the room without a word. That was before his voice rang out in the room, stopping her in her tracks.

“Hey, Kayo?”

She stopped right in his doorway, throat tight with emotion as she looked back at him, “Yes, Jeff?”

His vision flickered around the room in uncertainty. “Thank you,” he finally said, voice husky with something Kayo wasn’t willing to describe, “For keeping them safe.”

Kayo, still looking over her shoulder, formed one of the tiniest grins imaginable, “Of course, someone had to make sure their dumbasses didn’t do anything drastic. Your mother and Lady Penelope could only do so much. Goodnight, Jeff.”

As Jeff laid back down, his shoulders sagged, “Goodnight, Kayo.”

With that, the bedroom door became shut, yet the future became wide open with millions of possibilities.

For once, Kayo looked forward to that uncertainty.

#thunderbirds #thunderbirds are go #kayo kyrano #alan tracy #kyrano #jeff tracy #fuse thunderbirds #havoc thunderbirds #my post #my fic #series: rules of alchemy

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sunmoonandeddie · 6 years ago

Text

little ballerina (12/16)

pairing: peter parker x reader

word count: 3,133

summary: After The Snap was reversed and the world went back to normal, Natasha Romanov had one request of her team: to infiltrate and destroy the Red Room.

chapter warnings: Devil words

masterlist

a/n: We love backsliding. Let me know what you think!

Almost three months flew by right before your eyes. You were going on missions with the Avengers pretty consistently, though you were never on the ground. You always worked tech in the quinjet.

And as promised, you told Peter every time you went on a mission and called him as soon as you got back. That is, if he wasn't on it with you. If there was a mission during the weekend and you were going, he was sure to make sure he was on the team.

You and Wanda... Well, it took a while, but you two had grown a lot closer since your little heart-to-heart in the kitchen that one night. You two and Natasha were like three peas in a pod, with Pepper sometimes joining in on your antics. Most of the time, it was just wine nights where Natasha would give you a glass with a wink. The four of you would kick out the boys so you could be alone.

You looked up at the apartment building in front of you with wide eyes, swallowing the lump in your throat. The sounds of the city rushed around you. Happy had parked the car and walked to the trunk, pulling out your luggage.

"It's okay. I, I, I got it," Peter said as he grabbed the suitcases, waving the man off. He turned to say something to you but stopped when he realized you were still in the car. "Y/N?" He walked over to your open window, leaning against the hood so he was looking into your eyes. "What's wrong, angel?"

Biting your lip between your teeth, you looked down so you wouldn't meet his eyes. "I don't want to go in."

"Why not?"

"What if she doesn't like me?"

Peter's worried expression fell as he laughed a little. "She's going to love you. I, I promise." He opened up the door, holding his hand out for you to take. "You've been looking forward to this trip for the last month. Don't, Don't let nerves stop you now."

You slowly placed your hand in his, your eyes meeting his as he smiled at you encouragingly. Once you had stepped out of the car, he pulled you into a tight hug. His breath tickled your ear as he murmured, "I've got you, okay?"

It wasn't just meeting Aunt May. This was the first time that you had been to New York City since being taken. This moment was also you being reintroduced to the world. It had been a slow process, starting with that run with Bucky. He had made you promise to go on it before your first mission, but it didn't actually happen until about a month after.

You had come downstairs one day to find Nat, Steve, Tony, and Bucky talked in heated whispers. Bruce was standing off to the side, clearly listening but not wanting to be a part of the discussion.

"I think she's ready," Bucky said firmly, his eyes narrowed. His metal fingers were flexing at his side.

Tony shook his head, his arms crossed over his chest. "What if she runs? What if all of this has been an act?"

Nat bristled, taking a step towards the brunette. "She's not going to run. Wanda undid the Stockholm Syndrome bonds."

Tony looked ready to say something else, but Steve cut in, "Bucky and I will be there with her the entire time. It's just a run."

"Hey, Y/N," Bruce suddenly said, bringing everyone's attention to where you stood at the elevator.

You had already put on your pajamas and had just come down for a late night snack before your nightly FaceTime. "Hi." Moving towards them, you wrapped your arms around yourself a little nervously. "Talking about me?"

Tony cleared his throat as Bucky shot him a look. "Uh, we—"

"I'm not going to run. If that's what you're worried about." Everyone's voices went quiet as they watched you. Your e/c eyes flickered to each of them in turn, trying not to whither under their scrutiny. "This is my home now. Why would I leave?"

Natasha had smirked triumphantly at Tony, clapping her hands together. "Sounds good enough to me." As Tony walked away grumbling, she winked at you, mouthing, "I'm proud of you."

The next morning, you met Bucky and Steve for the run at five in the morning. Well, Bucky had to drag you out of your bed, but still. Five in the morning. You had changed into your running clothes and thrown up your hair into a ponytail as you got into the elevator.

When you stepped outside of the compound, you took in a deep breath, relishing the feeling of fresh air filling your lungs. It was the first time you had been outside the compound since arriving. You had forgotten how good the chill could feel against your skin, your breath forming clouds in front of you. It was a little cold for your taste, but you quickly forgot about it as the three of you started your run. You knew that they were slowing themselves down for you, but they didn't complain.

You were about two miles into the run when you finally got to the trail. From there, it was another three miles to the spot that they were wanting to show you. The sun still hadn't come up when you finally emerged from the trees, finding yourself on the edge of a cliff overlooking a river. You could see the outline of the rolling hills as the sun finally began to rise behind the horizon.

"I remember the first time I went outside after the Avengers took me in," Bucky said as he sat on the edge, his legs hanging off. You sat beside him, gingerly taking care to not fall. Steve was on the other side of you, quietly listening. "It was the middle of summer, and hot as hell. I almost wanted to run into the forest and live there for the rest of my life, just so I wouldn't have to spend four months without fresh air ever again."

The sun was peeking over the hills, shining light on the bare trees. "I feel human again," you said breathlessly.

The two of them smiled, and turned to watch as the sun got even higher in the sky. It was the same feeling they had experienced years ago and still felt from time to time.

But that was just a in the forest. This was going into the city and being around people that weren't a part of your little family.

It was also meeting the people that are most important to Peter.

He grabbed your suitcases along with his, despite your protests, and led you up the steps. His Aunt May's apartment was on the fourth floor and there was no elevator. Part of you expected him to be exhausted by the second floor, but then you remembered that he was Spider-Man. He had super strength and all that just like Bucky and Steve. He could handle a few flights of stairs.

Peter turned to you right before he opened the door, squeezing your hand in his. "She's going to love you." You simply nodded, and he opened up the door to lead you inside. "Aunt May?! I'm home!"

You watched as a woman who looked to be in her early-to-mid thirties came out of a room down the hall and came barreling towards the two of you. You covered your mouth to hide your laughter, watching as she hugged Peter tightly.

It took only a few seconds for her to turn to you. "You must be Y/N! I'm Aunt May! I've heard so much about you!" You were shocked when she pulled you into a hug and watched Peter panic a little before realizing that you were hugging back. The woman pulled back, holding your face in her hands as she got a good look at you. "You're even prettier than Peter said you are!"

You laughed awkwardly as you looked down at the floor, your face hot. "Thank you, Ms. Parker."

"Please, call me Aunt May."

Peter seemed stoked to have the two of you together as May took you on a tour, showing you all the rooms of the small apartment. "And this is Peter's," she said as she opened up the last door in the hallway.

You grinned, looking at the boy behind you. "Nice Star Wars sheets," you teased, nudging him playfully. He grumbled as he nudged his hip back against yours.

"So, Y/N, tell me about yourself," Aunt May said as she was making dinner. You and Peter were sitting at the kitchen table as you were talking with her. "What do your parents do?"

Peter stiffened beside you, muttering, "May... I told you..."

Her eyes widened as she must've remembered what details he had told her about you. "Oh. Oh, I am so sorry."

Clearing your throat, you sat up a little straighter as you looked down at your hands. "No, it's okay. Really." Over the past few months, you had gotten to a point where you could talk about your mother without crying. It was partially in thanks to your new therapist, Brenda. She came twice a week. Tony had set you up with her, since she was a therapist for most of the Avengers, too. "My mama worked a lot of different jobs, though she was a bartender most of the time. My dad wasn't exactly in the picture. Left before I was born."

May nodded as she looked at you with sympathy, having turned around to pay complete attention to you. "I get it. My husband, Ben, died a few years ago." She paused as her eyes went wide. "It's been... It's been almost eight years now." Shaking her head, she turned back to the food. You weren't sure what she was making, and it didn't exactly smell very good. "Time flies, huh?"

Your heart hurt as you looked between her and Peter. "You never told me your uncle died," you said softly.

He shrugged as he glanced away from you. "I don't really like to talk about it."

You had known about his parents, but he had never told you about his uncle. You had just thought that his Aunt May had never been married or something along those lines. You stared at him for a long moment, reaching under the table and squeezing his hand.

May winced as she looked at the pots and pans in front of her. "So, I don't really think this is going to work."

"What were you trying to make?" You asked, peering over towards the stove. Almost everything was so burnt that you couldn't tell what it was.

She smiled sheepishly at you, rubbing her hands on her pants. "I was trying to make Mexican food. Peter mentioned that you and your mom used to make it from scratch, and I just wanted to bring a little bit of home to you." May looked back at the food on the stove, groaning as she opened the oven and smoke came pouring out. "I was trying to make beef empanadas and red chile cheese enchiladas since Peter mentioned that you've been wanting to stop eating meat other than fish. I don't think it exactly worked."

You couldn't help but laugh, covering your mouth with your hand. "It really means a lot. Thank you." Standing and walking over to the food, you examined it with a grimace. "Tomorrow I can teach you? We can start slow, with quesadillas and rice."

She breathed out a sigh of relief as she turned off the stove. "I'd really like that." Turning to Peter, she asked, "How's pizza sound?"

That night, the two of you crawled into Peter's twin-sized bed. It was a tough squeeze, and you were both giggling as you tried to get comfortable in various positions. Eventually Peter just pulled you on top of him, letting you rest your head on his chest. His fingers ran through your hair soothingly, his other resting on your lower back.

"Why didn't you tell me about your uncle?"

Peter's fingers paused as he took in a deep breath. "It was my fault that my Uncle Ben died."

"Peter, I'm sure it wasn't—"

He shook his head, and you went quiet. "It was a few nights after I was bitten by that spider, and I, I, uh... I got into a fight with Ben. I missed curfew and so I stormed out of the apartment. He followed after me and when he was looking for me..."

You grabbed his hand in yours, lacing your fingers together. "You don't have to tell me if you're not ready."

He looked at you with such gratitude and adoration that you could burst on the spot. But he continued, "He was shot trying to save someone from a mugging."

"Peter, I'm so sorry."

He pulled your hand up to his mouth, kissing your fingertips as he closed his eyes. "He's the one that inspired me to become Spider-Man. He always said that if you had the power to do some good in the world, then it was your responsibility to do it." Peter smirked as he wrapped his arms around you, your head resting on his chest again as you took it as the cue that the conversation was over. "He would've really loved you," he murmured as you fell asleep.

The next morning, you slowly slid out of Peter's grasp, trying your best not to wake him. He had a little bit of drool running down his cheek and you grabbed your phone, snapping a quick picture before heading to the kitchen.

The smell of coffee warned you that Aunt May was awake before you actually saw her. "Good morning." Yawning, you murmured your thanks as she passed you a cup off coffee.

"Nice shirt."

You looked down, biting your lip as you realized you were in one of Peter's high school t-shirts and a pair of sleep shorts. "Sorry, I just always sleep in his shirts."

"Even at the compound?"

Slowly nodding, you realized that maybe that wasn't the best move since you were trying to get her approval.

But May seemed to notice as she passed you the creamer. "Don't worry. I'm not upset." She turned back to where she was making omelettes, one of the few dishes she could make without almost burning the house down. "I haven't seen Peter this happy in a long time. You two make a cute couple."

You choked on your coffee, coughing as you shook your head. "We're not—We're just friends. Not a couple."

The older woman looked at you in surprise as she flipped the omelette onto a plate. She grabbed her own coffee, sipping at it as she leaned against the counter. "Really? I thought you..." She shook her head, her eyebrows furrowing. "With the way Peter talks about you, I just thought... Nevermind."

She busied herself with making more omelettes, and you realized she was avoiding talking more about that. Your mind was running a mile a minute, your heart pounding in your chest. She thought you two were a couple? You didn't know why it sent your heart racing. Peter was just Peter. The Peter who stayed with you so you wouldn't have nightmares. The Peter who kissed your forehead and called you his angel. The Peter that you would do anything for, the one that you would die for.

You liked Peter.

No.

You were in love with him.

You were sure that Aunt May could hear how loudly your heart was beating from where she stood across the kitchen. How could she not? It was possibly the loudest thing you had ever heard.

You jumped as you felt two arms wrap around you, Peter's head moving to rest on your shoulder. "Good morning, angel," he whispered, his voice coated with sleep like honey. He kissed your cheek and you looked up to see May raising an eyebrow at you.

"I—I need to go to the bathroom," you stuttered, pushing yourself out of your chair. You practically ran to the bathroom and shut the door behind you. Locking it, you looked at yourself in the mirror as you felt a wave of panic come over you.

You weren't good enough for Peter. You might've gotten better over the past few months, but it was like domesticating a monster. You were bound to break free and hurt someone eventually, and you'd be damned if that was going to be your best friend. It didn't matter how much you loved him. You would... You would stay away from him. The moment you got back to the compound after this little getaway.

You had to protect him from yourself.

Splashing your face with cold water a few times, you did your best to calm yourself, using the breathing technique that Peter had taught you. Once you felt a little better, you plastered a smile on your face and went back to the kitchen.

"Hey, you, you okay?" Peter asked softly, his face filled with concern as he reached out for your hand to pull you to his chest.

You let him, knowing that you were going to have to distance yourself and all of the affectionate words and gestures would have to stop. "Yeah. Just felt a little sick. But I'm good."

He hummed, kissing your forehead. "Let me know if you feel sick again, okay?"

You didn't reply, instead just picking at the omelette that May had pushed in front of you with a knowing look.

Peter picked up his phone, frowning as he read a text message. "Ned said that he can't make it. He has to help his mom with something." He looked back at you, clearly upset. "I'm sorry. I know how badly you wanted to meet him."

"It's okay," you insisted as you took a bite of the omelette finally. You had just been pushing it around the plate. "There's always next time." You felt a little relieved. If you didn't meet Ned in person, there would be one less person to keep at a distance after this weekend.

May turned to you, wiping her hands on a towel. "So, after you're done eating, why don't you shower and then you can run to the store and get things for the enchiladas and rice?"

You smiled, mumbling a, "Sounds great," as you put your plate in the sink. You ignored Peter and May's whispers as you locked yourself in the bathroom and started the shower.

You hated what you were about to do, but you knew it was the only way to keep Peter safe.

#peter parker x you #peter parker x reader #peter parker imagine #peter parker fic

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fmlfpl · 4 years ago

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Lineup Lamentations - GW31+

Our Transfers, Captains, and Starting 11s for the week!

—

WALSH

TRANSFERS:

OUT: Pukki and Grealish

IN (for -4 points hit): Richarlison and Connolly

I'm having a real fucking clunker of a season, worst of my FPL career by a lot, so I am feeling pretty loose. I'm backing what I saw with my eyes this weekend which, among other things, was that Grealish is an FPL non-option and Norwich are completely incompetent. The idea that Villa and Norwich would come back from the break revitalized and with a new fire burning was maybe too steeped in fairy tale than real life upon reflection, so, here we are. I'm not going to sit here and hope that either player turns it around and just fix the problem.

Rich looked really good against Livp, gets to play Norwich, and I guess I'm backing Everton and Carlo pretty hard here for the run in as he joins DCL in my team. Not the best fixtures but I am feeling them right now so we'll see how this goes. They are on a short break but DCL and Rich both seem like they could go 90 every day so I'm not too concerned with that. No FA Cup game so I'm not worried about Rich missing out.

I did spend more than a few minutes thinking of Alli in this spot but felt a bit too cute and leap-of-faithy with more question marks while Rich feels more of a sure thing with a similarly high ceiling.

Connolly is just cheap fuckboi who I will bury on my bench. Could've gone Necktie or something but figured that I'd rather have the extra change in my bank for what might be in my future.

GK:

de Gea (SHU)

DDG is a bit shit but he's gonna be between my sticks for the duration. Sheffu look like a beer league team right now so this clean should be extraordinarily easy.

DEF:

Maguire (SHU)

Slab makes it the double on their clean so depending on the way the wind blows here will have a big impact on my GW.

Doherty, Saïss, and Boly (BOU)

Speaking of wind and blowing, Wolves v Bournemouth. Woof. Treble Wolves D with the Dock, Saiss, and Boly get their second roll out.

Bournemouth looked holy shit all kinds of fucked up and bad against us last game and it seems like they will have an extremely difficult time finding a goal in this game. Clean feels like a pretty good shout here and I feel good with these three.

That's it for defense lol. It's just these two fucking teams. Eggs and baskets...

MID:

Mané and Salah (CRY)

Mane and Mo against my team. Whatever. Dunno what Livp will be up to or what XI he will pick after a very lethargic and shit performance against Everton. Feel like it might be enough to get them into gear before they face City the following gameweek, and with no FA Cup to distract them, they could disassemble us.

Richarlison (nor)

Rich is in against Norwich...ready to bang ok Richy let's go Rich.

Fernandes (SHU)

Lastly is Bruno. Don't really need to say anything about him. He's decent.

FWD:

Vardy (BHA)

Pretty fucking nervous about Leic and Vardy tomorrow in the early game with FA Cup for them this weekend and only two days off from the Watford game which was honestly pretty intense. Dunno what kind of XI Br0dge will select, but my hands are tied here. Much like my aggression in removing Pukki and Jack...if Leic don't pull it together quickly I could see Vardz being on the chopping block for Jesus or something soon mayb.

Calvert-Lewin (nor)

DCL looked really good to me against Livp - did his very difficult job well and nearly banged a worldy at the end of the game. Get in there lad.

BENCH:

Armstrong (ARS), Connolly (lei), and Egan (cunt)

It is harsh on Stuy that he's dropping to my bench, to be honest. It really was the biggest factor in my head towards saving, but realistically, he was always supposed to be my first shield on the bench and not someone who I rely on to start. Wouldn't be surprising if he came off anyway, but just wanted to give Stuy some words of encouragement because I love him so much. I love you Stuy, don't be mad at me kthx.

CAP:

Calvert-Lewin (nor)

I'm going to stick with DCL as shouted on the pod.

Hopefully he just like plays Bernard and Siggy with fucking like Andre Gomes and they just go into assault mode on Norwich. It'll certainly feel bad if/when Rich outscores DCL but its hard for me to justify going away from the tip of the spear for cap here.

—

ALON

TRANSFERS:

OUT: Mahrez

IN: Son

Planned switch and I made the move on Friday after Sonny boy looked good to me and came out of the match unscathed.

Mahrez is honestly one of my favorite FPL guys of all time and a true darling for me and he came through for me one more time but it’s time to go. Not really interested in Pep Roulette with him and Son to me is an easy and automatic pick from this moment through end of season. He will bang in loads of points. Simple.

GK:

Ederson (che)

Well this was supposed to be Leno but big RIP there.

I still back City to clean against like... every team in the.. world? Except Liverpool :).

So Eddy goes and will just be back there for the rest of season for me. If I need money at any point Leno down to a 3.9 might be where it comes from.

DEF:

Alexander-Arnold (CRY)

As good a clean fixture as there is in the league. Should be an easy job with upside of attacking returns and bones. Hopefully Trent’s shaken the rust off.

Maguire (SHU)

Blades are missing a lotttt of guys and they’re looking horrible so this will be the type of game where United need to just be mistake-free and not concede the oneish chance that Sheff U create and other then that should be an easy clean in complete control for 90′.

Doherty (BOU)

Doherty what a treat. No King for Bourney makes this an even tastier fixture... Hopefully Solanke starts and it’s just a shredding from Wolves. Also fingers crossed for Walsh’s treble to work out come on Wolves.

MID:

Son (WHU)

Go the fuck off Son it’s time.

Praying that Jose doesn’t maintain the Jose tactics and allows Son and Berg and Alli to run free in front of a passing midfield of Ndombele, Lo Celso, and Kane... I mean I can dream right?

Fernandes and Martial (SHU)

Plzplzpzplzplzpzplzlzplzz give me a Pogba start. I need a Pogba start so desperately... Otherwise we know what this will look like which is a dickless red devil humping a concrete wall for 90 minutes. Ugh.

Martial turnt up at the end of the Spurs match so I hope he can carry that momentum forward. Go on lads.

Traoré (BOU)

Adama! Was so thrilled when he came through for me. What a great lad. Love him. Now start him Nuno please sir.

FWD:

Aubameyang (sou)

Redemption arc begins here. No way he’s rested for FA cup right?????? (I’m terrified).

Jiménez (BOU)

Good ole Jim keeps Jimming it up. No problem gaffer.

Calvert-Lewin (nor)

Agree with what Walsh said above still love the look of this lad and think he’s got so much energy in those legs to go do it again against the by far worst defense in the division. Rip their hearts out and stomp on’em big Dom.

CAP:

Son (WHU)

I felt like I had at least 4 really good captaincy options and 2ish more then that still good sorta rogue ones too. So many good players with good fixtures in the team you love to see it.

I went to Son because Spurs must win and they have no FA Cup and he’s the best player of the group. All of those boxes being ticked swung me to Sonny boy and then for funsies I looked up his record vs West Ham which just further hammered (hehe) it home for me. This season he had a thirteen pointer goal and assist and in his seven career matches vs the bubble bois he has four goals and five assists... Absurd numbers. I usually dismiss these kinda stats but also, they’re not bad to have around, ya know?

Let’s go Son. Huge risk of ruining my week on the first day of the GW but fuck it I love the pick and loved the way he looked vs United. Cometh the hour cometh the man.

#fml fpl #lineup lamentations

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blueboxesandtrafficcones · 5 years ago

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The Nuptial Necessity - Chapter 9

A 12xRose Human AU

Despite an unglamorous job description, Rose loves the work she does with The Thistle Foundation, a charity founded by her best friend’s great-uncle. It doesn’t hurt that her boss, her friend’s father, is easy on the eyes. With a great job, wonderful friends and a loving family, life couldn’t be better – except for having someone to share it with.

All of that is threatened, though, when the great-uncle dies – and sets a strange condition for his nephew to inherit, jeopardizing the Foundation and Rose’s future, sparking a chain of events that might just get her everything she dreamed of and more.

Chapters will be posted on Saturdays and Tuesdays. Many thanks to my beta, @stupidsatsuma

Rated: Explicit, for eventual smut

@doctorroseprompts

AO3 | Masterlist

—

Monday

Rose accepted the takeaway containers with a bright smile and handful of bills, skirting around the security desk for the lift, letting out a breath when she made it inside without getting stopped by Mickey. She knew he knew her ‘news’, had barely managed to escape him and his questions that morning, and was relieved to be able to put off the inevitable conversation a little while longer.

Letting herself back into their office suite, she stopped at her desk long enough to grab her tablet and mobile before letting herself into Malcolm’s office.

“Food’s here.”

Malcolm shot up, immediately abandoning his computer in favor of taking the food from her. “Why didn’t you say something? I’d have gone down to fetch it,” he fussed, setting the pizza box on his coffee table and grabbing water bottles from his mini-fridge. “Sit, sit.”

“I was fine,” Rose rolled her eyes, stepping out of her heels before sinking down on the couch and separating two paper plates. “Honestly, don’t- don’t do that.”

“Do what?” He settled next to her, opening the box and plating them a slice each. “What did I do?”

Biting her lip, she accepted the plate, holding it in the air with one hand as the other spread several napkins over the lap of her designer skirt. “Don’t…” She didn’t know how to say it. “Don’t act like anything’s changed,” she finally decided on. “Don’t go all formal and deferential on me, or any shit like that. This doesn’t change anything.”

Making a face, Malcolm sighed. “Fine, if you say so,” he twisted the lid off his bottle. “How’s your morning been so far?”

Really? Small talk? “Productive. Got lots of information about… everything. And before you ask, everything is good with the Gala, right on schedule.”

“What did you find?” He took a large bite of pizza, a stray string of cheese catching on his chin, and for a moment she fantasized about leaning forward and cleaning it with her tongue. Down, girl.

“You have to give notice at your local register’s office at least 14 days prior to the ceremony. Since we’re in different parts of the city we have to give notice separately; I booked us appointments for first thing tomorrow morning, so we can take care of it on our way in. Before you can, though, we need a date and a location for the… the ceremony.” She nibbled on the point of the slice. “We need to document the location, as well as our individual addresses. You need your passport and birth certificate. Proof of your divorce.”

Malcolm snorted. “So, fairly simple then.”

Laughing, she stretched out her leg to prod his thigh with her toe. “It is, actually, once we settle on… specifics.”

“Well, I’ve made some tentative arrangements,” he said, opening up his own organizer. “Though I’d like to hear what you’ve been thinking first.”

That I want this to be real, that I want you to love me as I do you, that I want to spend my life with you. “I’m not particularly fussy on details,” she shrugged one shoulder, watching her fingers pick at the crust of her slice. “Given everything, I think we should go simple, easy, and practical.”

“You may approve of my plan then,” he smiled wryly. “I was thinking the back garden at the Townhouse. My chef does catering on the side, the flower vendor for the Gala can pull something together as a favor, one of Clara’s coworkers DJs on the weekend… Ceremony in the garden, reception in the ballroom, and if you want, honeymoon up at the Estate in Scotland – they’ll be expecting us to honeymoon if they don’t know the truth, and that way you can see the property and meet the staff, and I can check in – haven’t been up there in years.”

Honeymoon. Rose’s smile froze, two separate trains of thought racing through her mind. The first was Jackie would inevitably want details on the getaway – intimate details. I’ll either have to lie about shagging him, or tell the truth that we’re not – neither of those is particularly appealing.

The second track involved them, a private beach, open bar, and unending pleasure under a hot sun. Mhmm.

“Rose?”

“Yeah?” she snapped back to attention, hoping he couldn’t see the warmth in her cheeks as she willed herself not to flick her eyes over his lap. Never gonna happen, Rose Tyler, you need to accept that. “Um, that sounds good. I’ve never been to Scotland.”

“Okay, then.” He took another large bite, watching her thoughtfully as he chewed. “All right?”

Rose nodded, finally digging into her own slice with relish. “Just thinking of everything there is to do.”

“We’ll get it done,” he said confidently. “We make a good team.”

“We do.”

But we could be so much more.

“Thistle Foundation, this is Rose.”

“Well, aren’t you going to ask me?” Clara snapped down the line, and Rose stopped typing with a frown.

“What?”

Her friend sighed heavily. “Am I, or am I not, your best friend?”

“You are.”

“And are you, or are you not, getting married?”

“I am.” Despite the circumstances, a happy little thrill went through Rose at the thought. He’ll have to kiss me, during the ceremony, she realized smugly. Maybe it’ll open his eyes, and he’ll see what’s literally been in front of him all along.

“Well?!”

Rose rolled her eyes. “I have no idea what you’re looking for, and am very busy- what’s up?”

This time, Clara was quiet, almost… hurt? “You don’t have anything to ask me?”

Brow furrowing, Rose wracked her brain for anything outstanding, but came up empty. “No?”

“Oh.” Was that a sniffle? “Okay.”

“Clara-”

“I’ve got to go,” her friend cut her off, a definitely wavery tone to her voice. “Bye.”

And the line disconnected.

Pressing her lips firmly together to hide a smile, Rose went back to working on the Gala program, keeping one eye on the clock.

Ten minutes later the phone rang again, and she was already grinning as she answered. “Thistle-”

“Yes!” Clara screamed. “Yes, yes, yes!”

“Are you sure? You don’t seem particularly enthused at the idea,” Rose teased, leaning back in her chair. “I could always ask-”

“Don’t you fucking dare!”

She had to laugh at that, could almost hear down the line her friend vibrating with excitement. “So, just to be clear, you will be my maid of honor?” Glancing up, she caught Malcolm’s eye as he happened past, frowning when he stopped dead with an unsettling expression of horror.

“Of course!” Clara said, “How could I not be? Right, I’ll meet you at yours at half-six so we can start planning. I’ll bring the food. I’ve got to run, but I’ll see you then! I’m so excited!” And with another squeal, not waiting for a response, the line once again went dead.

“Something wrong?” Rose asked, keeping a wary eye on Malcolm as she hung up the receiver. “Changed your mind?”

He slowly shook his head. “No, it’s not that, I just- Well.” He shifted, looking uncomfortable. “I suppose I’d always imagined that were I to remarry, well, that Clara would stand up for me. Be my best man, in a manner of speaking.”

“Oh.” Once he said it it seemed obvious; of course he’d want his daughter at his side. She’d been friends with Clara for just over a decade; he’d had her Clara’s entire life. “Right. I mean- Duh. Um, I can talk to her tonight, if you want- unask her, so you can.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” he waved his hand in a would-be casual way, still frowning. “I’ll… find someone else.”

“I have other friends I can ask,” Rose pressed, “it’s fine. Really.”

Malcolm shook his head. “She’s your best friend,” he maintained, “and it’s only natural. Don’t worry about it.”

And he walked away, leaving Rose with worry gnawing at her gut.

How are we supposed to make this work?

Malcolm sank into his desk chair, leaning back and staring at the ceiling.

I don’t know what to do.

It hadn’t even occurred to him, to ask Clara to stand up for him- they’d been thick as thieves most of her life, especially after the divorce and move. Two peas in a pod, Wallace used to laugh, and it had been fitting. Even as she’d grown up and moved out their relationship had remained mostly the same; while they were father and daughter first, she was also his best friend.

But she was also Rose’s, and of course she would stand up for her; it was obvious in hindsight.

His mobile buzzed, and he checked the screen to see an incoming call from Pete Tyler. Shit. “Tucker.”

“Hey, Malc, how’s it going?”

“Good, good,” he answered vaguely, sitting up straight. “How can I help you?”

“Listen-” oh, fuck, that’s not good. “Let’s have dinner, tonight- preferably at yours. I want to talk to you about this wedding.” Shiiit. “How’s seven?”

Malcolm swallowed, clicking the icon on his screen that would pull up his calendar. “Sure. Uh, will Jackie be joining us?”

“No, you and me. Man to man, father to father… that sort of thing.”

“Uh huh.” He sighed. “Sure, seven’s fine. I’ll… grill some steaks, we can talk.”

“See you then.”

The call disconnected, and he dropped the mobile to the desktop with a groan, cradling his head in his hands.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

When Wallace had passed, Malcolm had been at peace with it – the old man had lived a full life, full of charity and happiness, and it meant an end to his suffering. Now, though, seeing what his uncle had left behind for him…

Is it even fucking worth it?

By the time three o’clock came, Rose was more than ready for the day to be over. For the hopeful way she’d started the day, it had certainly ended on a sour note.

Getting married is supposed to be a happy thing – and even though we’re not actually a couple, it’s still not terrible. I could do a lot worse. And, honestly, it’s not like either of us have found our soulmates – even if it’s not love, it can still be companionship. But… it also feels like this is more fragile than I first considered.

“Hey.”

Rose looked up only to find Malcolm looking as bad as she felt. “Hi.”

“That’s me off,” he gestured towards the lift with his thumb. “You might as well head out too. Get a fresh start tomorrow.”

“Okay.” She didn’t hesitate to log off her computer, pushing back from the desk. “Don’t forget to go to the Register’s Office tomorrow – I’ve already given Graham the details, but you’ll need to pull your documents together. I emailed you a list of exactly what you’ll need.”

“Thanks,” he smiled wanly. “Now, get your shit – I’ll walk you out.”

It was only a matter of seconds to be ready to go, and she was startled but pleased when Malcolm helped her into her coat.

“Thanks.”

He didn’t acknowledge it, just gently pulled her hair out from her collar. “Let’s go.”

Settling her purse in the crook of her elbow she walked with him, letting him play the gentlemen. This is nice, she thought wistfully. If only it were real.

“I was thinking,” he said casually, “that after the- well, after, we might as well keep the same hours. I know you seem to prefer to be in before me, but- Obviously it wouldn’t make any sense for Graham to bring you in and then come back for me. If nothing else, I hope this makes your life a little easier – not having to deal with the Tube, and all.”

Her lips twitched in amusement. Is that the best you think you have to offer?

“Plus,” he coughed, as the doors opened and he let her out, “I… I don’t know about you, but it might be nice to have someone around. At the house, I mean. To not… be alone.”

She paused as they stepped out onto the pavement, waving hello to Graham before focusing on Malcolm, studying his expression. Is he blushing? “That would be nice,” she agreed softly. “I do like living alone, mostly, but… it also gets lonely.”

“We can be lonely together,” he offered, quirking his lip, and she grinned.

“Works for me.”

#bbatcfic #ficandchips #Doctor Who #doctorroseprompts #Human!12xRose #Human!Twelfth Doctor #Rose Tyler #Human AU #AU #The Nuptial Necessity

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i-have-a-wonky-eye-too · 5 years ago

Text

SB - Sugardaddy!Chris Evans x Sugarbaby! Reader part 12

Check out Wattpad @looploulongley for the other parts of the series SB!

Dear Miss Y/L/N,

We are happy to report you have successfully completed full repayment of the Department of Educated student loan. Congratulations on reaching this exciting goal!

You wanted to be annoyed with Chris, angry even but you just couldn't. Your debts were finally cleared, plus the money you wouldn't have to spend on them would get put into your savings and for the first time in, well ever, they were healthy.

When Chris had surprised you with dinner after a hard Friday at work you were already quite taken back but then when he handed you the envelope you'd been dreaming of since you left college, tears welled in your eyes and threatened to fall. Chris' face dropped when he heard your voice crack when you asked 'why?', he was worried you weren't happy.

'Because you deserve it, Y/N. These past four months have been the easiest of my life and that's because of you. And, for the first time in a long time I've got someone in my life I'm not scared to... hmm... care about.'

That was it. You had to leap into Chris' lap and wrap your arms around his neck as you crashed your lips against his to stop yourself from (ugly) crying right there in front of Chris and the entire restaurant whom were probably already staring at you. You didn't care, you were happy...

----------

You stood by Chris' side in the elevator as the pair of you went over his schedule for the day. After a long and relaxing (sex filled) weekend the pair of you were back to work.

"Your Skype meeting with Mr Hemsworth has been moved to tomorrow due to technical issues on his end, he sends his apologies."

"Other words he's enjoying the sun too much with his gorgeous wife and can't be bothered to put pants on yet." Chris chuckled, glancing down at you making you smile.

"Isn't that the whole point of Skype, not wearing pants?" you smirked, looking up to meet Chris' gaze.

He began grinning and turned so he was looking down at you. "And what do you use Skype for, Miss Y/L/N?" he asked, a mischievous glint in his eye. You tried not to blush under his gaze as you rolled your eyes playfully, choosing to ignore his question. "Hmm, perhaps I'll not bother getting you a plane ticket next time I'm horny and away on a business trip."

"Chris!" you smacked your hand against his firm chest playfully as you began giggling at his bad joke, making him chuckle. You let the silence fill the elevator for only a minute before you cleared your throat and whispered. "You'd miss having me wrapped around your cock."

"Would I now?" Chris tone became deeper, sending tingles down to your to your core as the two of you just stared at each other, silently challenging the other to make a move.

You sucked your bottom lip in between your teeth, nodding, looking up to him with innocent eyes. "You have a meeting-" Chris rolled his eyes and let out a loud sigh, making you giggle.

As soon as the doors to the elevator opened on your floor, the pair of you stepped out as you discussed Chris' schedule for the day. You had barely gotten half way when you were interrupted by someone shouting your name.

You looked up and smiled when you saw one of the few friend's you'd made since working for Chris. "Hey, Hayley, how are you?" you gave her a quick hug.

"I'm great, thank you." she smiled, glancing up to Chris. "Christopher." she nodded her head before pulling you away from him, smiling as she did.

Chris smiled, greeting her warmly before turning his attention to you. "Come in once you've finished, please, Y/N. I'd like to go over the rest of my schedule before I get started."

"I'll be right in." you smiled up at Chris as he went into his office. Hayley rolled her eyes, calling Chris a loser under breath jokingly, making you laugh at her.

"What are you doing tonight?" Hayley asked with a hopeful smile on her face.

You shook your head, smiling. "Nothing. Why?"

"Great. There's a few of us going for drinks after work and I was hoping you'd join us?" she beamed.

"Oh-"

Other than the people Chris had introduced you to (Robert, Sebastian and Anthony), you hadn't really spoken to anyone else who worked at Downey Industries. You felt out of place when you weren't by Chris' side and you couldn't always be there, as much as you would prefer to be.

If it wasn't for Chris introducing you to Hayley in a restaurant one night whilst the two of you were having a 'business' dinner, you probably wouldn't have spoken to her. You were glad though, Hayley was a lovely person who you got on really well with.

When you and Hayley first began talking you were worried she and Chris had a past, they got on like two peas in a pod, but you learnt she started at Downey Industries the same time Chris and Sebastian did. Even though Chris was a CFO for Downey Industries, Sebastian was a lawyer and Hayley worked Public Affairs, the three of them have always been close friends (even if Chris was technically their boss).

You nodded, smiling a little. "Sounds good."

"Great! We'll meet you downstairs after work, okay?" you nodded your head agreeing before the pair of you said goodbye and went your separate ways.

When you walked into Chris' office you found him sat at his desk working on his computer. You watched him for a moment as you walked towards him, taking in his easy beauty.

God, how had you gotten so lucky to be picked by this Greek-god?

"Y/N?" Chris' soft voice braught you back to your surroundings, causing a blush to creep up your neck and cheeks when you realises he caught you starring.

You cleared your throat nodding. "Yeah, sorry, hmm... just, thinking." you smiled softly at him as you opened up your notebook to carry on. "So, you have-"

"What did Hayley want?" Chris rested his chin on his fist as he leaned back in his chair, his eyes boring into you.

You cleared your throat again as you closed your notebook and wrapped your arms around it and your front. "She, hmm, invited me out for drinks with her and a few other girls. Is, that okay?" you asked, keeping your head down.

"C'mere." was all Chris said.

You moved over to where he was sat and stood in front of him as he turned his chair to the side.

Why did you feel like a school girl in trouble with the principal?

Chris reached up and took a hold of your notebook in one hand, pulling it from your grasp and gently placed it on his desk as he took a hold of your hand in his other. "Y/N, look at me." you slowly lifted your head, biting your bottom lip nervously as you met his eyes. "You're allowed to do whatever you like, okay?" you nodded slowly, taking in a short breath as your eyes moved down to your hands. He slowly ran his thumb over the back of your hand as he watched you. "All I want, is for you to promise you're mine. No one else's, got it?"

You nodded smiling at him. "I'm yours."

"Good. Now, shall we continue?"

---------

You stood at the bar waiting 'patiently' for your drink whilst the others all giggled and spoke together, leaving you bored and wondering what the hell a chaise lounge is. After about an hour of humming and getting an headache, you got up and went to the bar without a word.

You thanked the bartender as he placed your drink down in front of you, then headed back to your seat as was Cobie who had disappeared to the restroom about the same time you had gone to the bar.

"An upholstered sofa in the shape of a chair that is long enough to support the legs." she whispered to the you as the pair of you sat down. "I saw you look it up." she smiled at you. Your eyes widened a little, embarrassed you'd be caught. Cobie shook her head with a little laugh. "Don't worry. I spelt it with a 'Z'." she laughed again making you laugh as well.

"What are you two giggling at?" Hayley smiled at you, glad to see you finally having fun.

You shook your head, trying your best not to laugh again as the small group of women looked at you and Cobie. "Oh, hmm, I was just asking Y/N about what she did before being a PA?"

"Oh, yes! Chris mentioned something about you, being an English Lit grad." Hayley said with a smile.

You nodded slowly as you reached for you drink on the table. "So, you were working for what? A newspaper?" Emily asked.

You shook your head, cringing slightly at the thought of your last job. "Hmm, no, not exactly... I, hmm, worked in a bar." you let out a nervous laugh. You watched the various faces being pulled around the table, surprisingly they weren't all of disgust.

"What was that like?" Evangeline asked, sitting forwards in her seat.

"Fun, I bet." Hayley began to speak. "More fun than working in a boring office." she said as she rolled her eyes jokingly, making you all laugh.

You nodded. "It was, yes, well, apart from the drunks wanting to grab a handful of your ass." you joked, once again making everyone laugh around the table.

"So, how'd you go from doing that to being a PA for a COF at one of the biggest industries in the world?" Emily asked with a slight frown on her face.

"Oh, hmm, a mutual friend Chris and I share, mentioned to him I was looking for a job and here I am." you lied, hoping the subject would be dropped.

"Mutual friend? I didn't think Chris had any friends." Evangeline giggled making Emily laugh.

Hayley rolled her eyes at the pair. "Chris has friends. Look at me." she smiled.

"With benefits doesn't count." Emily smirked.

"What?" you were surprised by what Emily had said, turning in your chair to look at Hayley. "Is she serious?"

Heyley shook her head as she let out a deep sigh. "We were young and, it hasn't happened for a very, very, long time." she held her left hand up wiggling her ring finger. "Married."

You nodded slowly. That didn't make you feel any less hurt. Why didn't he tell you? Sure, you weren't a 'couple' and you'd signed a contract that said you weren't to talk about that sort of thing but still, a heads up would have been nice.

"Even so, if you hadn't have slept with Chris all those years ago, you might have never gotten to where you are now." Evangeline added to the story with a teasing tone and her own smirk.

Hayley faked a gasp and slammed her glass down. "That's not true... It just helped." everyone except you laughed at her joke. "God! I should never had told you that."

No.

"Yeah, and how Chris is paying for tonight." Emily quickly covered her mouth. "Oops!" her smirk grew even more before disappearing behind her glass.

Your brow furrowed at her words. "What do you mean? I thought this was just, friends, having drinks."

"Oh good, it's working then." Evangeline muttered under her breath as she looked away from the table.

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing. Ignore the-" before Hayley could divert the conversation in a different direction, Emily explained.

"Your 'close friend' told Hayley you were lonely and had no friends, so he made us do this." she shrugged, sitting forwards. "

"Oh-" you nodded slowly. "So, none of you are here willingly?" you asked, not sure you wanted to know.

Hayley frowned, shaking her head as she reached out and gently placed her hand on yours. "It's not like that, Y/N. I told Chris I was more than happy to come out with you if you were struggling-"

"To make friends? I'm not a child." you quickly stood up knocking your chair back. "If you'll excuse me, I'll get out of your way." you muttered, turning away from the table and left the four women to their drinks.

--------

"Y/N!"

Chris' abrupt shouting startled you, almost causing you to drop your glass of wine, which had spilt a little over the rim and onto your crossed legs as you sat on the bathtub edge, waiting. You clicked your tongue to yourself just as Chris barged into the bathroom.

"What are you doing here?" you frowned at him, taking in his surprisingly laid back look.

Grey sweat pants, plain t-shirt, hoodie, sneakers, baseball cap; a look you fully enjoyed on him.

"Hayley called. She said you ran off and you weren't answering your phone. What happened? She said-"

"You two used to fuck." you calmly cut in, looking down into the bubbles of your bath.

Chris chuckled, shaking his head as he placed his hands on his hips. "That's what this is, your jealous?"

"Jealous?" you snapped, standing to your feet in front of him, your wine once again spilling a little. "I'm not jealous, Chris. I'm embarrassed... I'm embarrassed that you told her I have no friends. That, you felt you had to pay for someone to be, my friend..." you quickly dropped your gaze to floor as your voice wavered. You were not going to cry. "They were practically laughing at me." you whispered, taking a seat once more in the side of the bathtub.

Chris let his head fall forwards slightly as he let out a long sigh. "Y/N, that's not what I wanted. I just, you've been working so hard and, all you do is work or spend your time with me-"

"Pot calling kettle black." you muttered.

"Y/N-" Chris' tone changed, warning you almost. He sat down next to you; even out of his tailored suits he still had an over powering essence that made you (unashamedly) wet. Although he was sat next to you, his broad shoulders and the way his eyes focused on you made you feel like you were caged in by him. "I know you miss having Liz around. That's, why I did this. Hayley is a good friend, she's put up with me all these years... And FYI, she called me an idiot, told me to stick my money where the sun doesn't shine and said she would ask you regardless because she genuinely likes you..."

You shrugged not bothering to look up. You were still embarrassed, it was like having your mom turn up to school to tell your bullies off.

"Why didn't you tell me about her?" you asked, holding your glass of wine out to him which he gladly accepted.

Chris let out a long breath after taking a sip of wine. "We agreed that stuff wasn't a problem, Y/N."

You nodded slowly, lifting your head to look at him. "I know, but, it would have been nice to have had an heads up... Oh, by the way, the woman who has invited you out for drinks, she's also sucked my dick!" you huffed a little, pouting your lips as you folded your arms across your chest.

Chris began laughing at your little tantrum, he couldn't help it, you were clearly jealous and he thought it was the cutest thing ever. "Yeah, that was probably a dick move on my part. M'sorry, doll."

You shook your head sighing. "No, it's fine... The dick move is probably telling everyone." you frowned at the thought.

Yes, you were jealous. The idea of someone you see every day has been that intimate with Chris and told others about it too kinda pisses you off.

"Everyone?" Chris looked down to you with a frown. "Who?"

"Emily, Cobie and Evangeline... Although, Cobie didn't seem interested." you shrugged trying not to think about, you were still embarrassed.

The bathroom fell quiet as the two of you just sat in the bathtub edge, staring off into space. It was a nice silence that surrounded you and sure, you'd been a little upset with Chris but now you were feeling better after talking to him.

Your eyes fell onto the sneakers that adored his feet, bring a smile to your face. Then you moved up his outstretched legs that were covered in grey sweatpants, after only seeing Chris in his suits (and nothing at all) seeing him so relaxed was a little strange. Your smile dropped when you moved your head and got a rather horrible whiff of him.

"Ugh! Why do you smell? What were you doing before you came here?" you frowned at him.

Chris lifted his head to look at you, a smile already on his face as he shook his head. "Gee, thanks." you began to blush as you looked down, apologising to him before you let out a small laugh. "I was at the gym, to answer your question."

You nodded slowly, satisfied with his answer. "Fair enough... I was just about to have a bath... Would you, like to join me?" you softly asked as you got to your feet and stood in front of him.

A grin slowly began to fill Chris' lips as he reached up for the belt on your silk robe. "Does this mean we're friends again?" he asked as he began to untie the silk.

You bit your lip as you nodded. "Acquaintances."

Chris' eyebrow shot up as he looked up to you, his hands finally pulling open your robe and slowly moving over your hips and waist. "Is that all I am, Sugar?"

You shrugged your robe off so you were completely naked in front of Chris, shivering under his touch as he light rubbed circles over your skin with his thumbs. "You can become my friend in the water." you smirked down at him, moving out of his grip so you could slip into the bathtub, your body disappearing into the bubbles. You looked up to him, biting your bottom lip as you lifted one of your legs out of the water and slowly ran your hands up it. "Strip, daddy!"

#Chris evans x reader smut #Sugardaddy Chris Evans x Sugarbaby reader smut #sugardaddy #Chris evans x reader #Chris Evans smut

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rkevent · 5 years ago

Photo

It’s a brand new weekend and a brand new episode of the Mnet Global Auditions. It’s already the third one and, for the first time in years, the show brings back the duo challenges to check what the contestants have to show for themselves when they’re with someone else. Some of the more memorable performances from the previous episode get a second to shine as small cuts appear on the screen before the public is reminded of who was sent some. In a survival show, not all will survive.

“What were your thoughts on last week’s episode?” The interviewer starts asking the contestants. “I thought my heart was about to explode. No, seriously!” LEE SUWOONG lays a hand over his chest and feigns exasperation. “I was terrified,” CHWE HANSOL comments. “I really thought that it was the end of the road for me. The fact I’m still here… I’m grateful for it every day.”

It’s CHOI MINHO’s face on the screen now. “I think there’s a lot of talent on the show this season and it’s amazing that the judges can narrow down the top 3.” HWANG YEJI appears next. “Getting told by Tiger JK himself that I am a good dancer- made me really happy and honored, honestly, I never imagined that I would be mentioned in the top performances. Let alone chosen the best dancer?” She nods her head. “I was confident that I wasn’t going to be grouped in with those who were eliminated,” JEON HEEJIN says, “but I wasn’t expecting to be picked as the best that day- like, not at all. I can only hope to keep meeting their expectations as we go forward.”

The camera spins around the set, showing the small modifications for the new episode. The contestants are all seated next to their partners and, as majestically as always, the CEOs make their way to their seat, officially starting the episode. From one of the corners, a judge picks up his microphone.

“Let’s bring the first performance of the day, please.” Hyun Bin asks and a camera zooms in on the duo sitting in the furthest corner. It’s pixelated, but it’s clear that one is a tall man and the other is a much smaller girl. The two make their way to the stage, and their identities can be confirmed. “CHOI MINHO checking in,” the man says with a grin. “I’m LEE NAKYUNG! Please watch us nicely!”

There’s a couch prepared for them and the girl is the one to lay down on it while the man chooses to lay on the floor. Before the song can start, the screen shows Minho in his interview. “How was it working with your partner?” They ask him, and he opens a wide grin. “Nakyung is the best. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner for the duo stage.” And then it’s the girl’s turn on the interview. She places a hand on her chest, her eyes shooting up while she smiles. “Ah, I really…” She looks back to the front where the camera is. “I’ve been a big fan of Convex since before their debut so this is… this was really something to me!”

They focus on her face while she’s laying down before showing Minho again on the floor. The audio around them is of someone leaving, closing the door behind them, and then driving off. The man takes on the role of a dog and goes pester Nakyung, the cat. At the start, their performance is cute and theatrical, incrementing their animal’s behavior to the dance. Suddenly, instead of running to the other’s arms, the girl pretends to hit him in the face. With this, the song takes a complete turn to something more energetic and the duo truly gets to show off what they got. In the end, however, had left at the start of the song comes back, and Minho drops his partner on the floor before laying down as he had at the start. To pay him back, Nakyung steps on his stomach before reclaiming her spot on the sofa.

It all ends as it had started, and the man appears again on the screen for some final comments. “We got to show different sides of us. Doesn’t Nakyung make a cute cat? I hope we get to work together again someday.” And the girl appears again, adding her own thoughts. “I hope that if there are more group opportunities in this season, that they pair him with someone else. I think most contestants could really learn a lot from working with him, just like I did.” Before they can call out the next duo, the camera shows the two in their seat once again. “I think we did well,” she’s the one to whisper to him.

“I enjoyed their performance a lot,” PARK WOOJIN says, “and I think that kinda routine needs good teamwork to pull off.” He stares blankly at the camera before continuing. “From an audience’s standpoint at least, it was just enjoyable to watch.”

The second duo to perform is two girls who make their way to the stage together. On their way there, KIM MINKYUNG gives CHOI YEWON an encouraging pat on the back. For their introduction, the two speak in unison. “Hello, we are Minwon.” Then, they move on to their personal introductions. “I’m Yewon the cutie rapper,” she says her words as cute as possible before winking at the judges. “I’m… just Minkyung, but I’ve never received any complaints!” The other jokes and then both move to get in their positions.

Choosing a song from Global Icon meant that you needed the charisma to make it work, and both girls show no problem with it. Yewon is in charge of the rap, and Minkyung is in charge of singing, and the dance isn’t too hard for both of them to follow along. If that wasn’t enough, the dance break is given to their cute rapper who shows off the skill she decided to move away from the last episode. She does her moves cleanly before stopping with a hand on her hip and a smug look on her face.

Once the song ends, the two share a hug before leaving the stage. Soon it was time for another pair. CHOI YOONA and WANG JACKSON take on the stage, and before they get to introduce themselves, the man appears seated for his interview. “Oh, I really enjoyed working with Yoona! She’s a really nice person and she’s also dedicated.” The girl also gets her turn. “Jackson's a sweetheart,” she says smiling. “We got along great — I think I got lucky getting paired up with him.”

She’s the one to open up the stage, the rapper in their duo. Their standing side by side, holding to one of each other’s hands. They get close a lot during their performance. There are times when one will cup the other’s face, while others when someone will touch the other’s nose, or pull them closer together. Therefore, the dance choreography is saved mostly for the chorus. It’s nothing too challenging, probably to fit their skills. Overall, it’s clear that they’re having fun from start to end. The performance ends with finger hearts that are aimed at the judges up on their seats. They hurry off the stage when they're done, but their faces appear again for some final thoughts.

“I think it was easier to work with one person, rather than a group?” Jackson comments. “Last year… there were a lot of opinions, and a lot of tension, but when it’s only me and her, it’s really easy and fun to work. We can only hope we delivered a good performance.” Yoona is shown as well. “Is it okay if I say I think we did well? Jackson and I wanted to do something fun and upbeat, we wanted to enjoy ourselves onstage — and I think we did. I did, at least.” She says, smiling.

Two more make their way to the assigned spot on the floor. The girl makes sure to give herself a proper introduction. Waving both hands, she grins brightly. “Do you see me? I’m SIA KIM!” When the camera moves over to her partner, CHWE HANSOL, he’s smiling. “Hey, I’m Vernon. Hopefully, this gets you thinking about your first love in the best of ways.” While they get ready to start, the boy appears somewhere else. “How was it like working with your duo?” They ask him.

“With Sia? She’s amazing.” He says without hesitation. “It was like two peas in a pod. Our heads were always in the same space.” Sia gets to share her thoughts as well. “I was a little nervous at first? I’d never met him before. We ended up working well together, actually! I helped to pick a song that I thought was good for both of our skills. We just really complemented each other, I think.” And so the lighting changes to accommodate their performance.

The girl is the one who starts by singing. Instead of going with a complete cover of their chosen song, they do some of the smaller movements so that it fits their own skills. The colors of their outfits match as if they’re a real couple and their voices work together to show their puppy love story. It’s during the chorus that they truly make use of the original choreography. It isn’t too hard to keep up with and it matches their skills well while they have fun. In the end, Sia rests her head against Vernon’s and looks out to the cameras, her hands lifted up to show a pair of finger hearts. “How do you think you did?” It’s the boy on the screen again being asked questions.

“I mean… isn’t that for the judges to tell me?” He scratches his head lightly before they move on to his partner. “I think we managed to show a bright side of ourselves today, and it was really fun to work with Vernon. Either way, I won’t have regrets but I’ll… cross my fingers. I think it’s all I can do.” HWANG YEJI appears to share her thoughts. “Chwe Hansol’s performance with Sia really had me captivated when I watched. They looked like a couple in love, right?” She smiles.

Followed by them, is two boys this time: DO KYUNGSOO and KIM YUGYEOM. They introduce themselves briefly before getting ready to perform. The two wore plaid shirts, but Yugyeom had a beret on his head, while Kyungsoo simple let his hair messy. “I will admit, I’m a pretty shy person.” Kyungsoo is the one to say it in his interview. “So I was nervous about the fact we were going to work in pairs.” Yugyeom seemed to have shared some of these thoughts as well. “I was nervous at first, you know? He’s a singer who I haven’t seen any dancing from. We both went into this unsure of what to expect. A singer and dancer paired who can’t do the other skills? Talk about a work in progress.” He laughs a bit at his joke.

When their performance starts, though, it’s clear that they plan on showing all of the skills they own. They’re both dancing, and they’re both singing, even if there was a claim that they weren’t good at each other’s skills. At some point in the chorus, Kyungsoo walks forward and shows the palm of his hand. On it is a red heart taped right at the center, and the boy shakes his hand excitedly before returning to the rest of the choreography. Once the chorus is over, Yugyeom puts in more energy on his dance, showing what he got. The ending pose is a heart that the two make together. “This was the most difficult performance for me to date,” Kyungsoo says. “I haven’t danced much in the past and it was hard. I think it is important to keep challenging yourself. One does not grow by staying comfortable.”

Yugyeom says the last few words. “I think we really came together as a good team.” LEE NAKYUNG appears to comment. “Kyungsoo didn’t have the skills to keep up with Yugyeom and it didn’t feel like they had harmony at all. Kyungsoo’s performance last week was so creative and eye-catching… I’m sure it was Yugyeom’s fault, though. I don’t even remember his performances, at that. I doubt he’ll make it far, and if he brings Kyungsoo down with him then that’ll be a shame, really. I liked him.”

The camera zooms in on HA SUNGWOON as he wipes his palms against his tights. “Nervous?” He asks the one beside him, his partner for the week. NA JAEMIN looks over to him and smiles a bit, humming as he nods his head slightly. “It’s now or never, though…” It’s the first of the two who takes on the interview. “I only vaguely knew of Jaemin in previous rounds,” he admits. “When our pairing was first announced I was pretty anxious. I didn’t know if we’d be able to work well or not. And admittedly, some of my fears were valid — I mean, we definitely clashed in the beginning. We both have strong opinions and we’re stubborn not to back down.”

Returning to the two on their seats, their names are the ones called. Sungwoon gives his partner a double thumbs up and a smile. “Let’s get it done!” They make their way to the stage, and start off with introductions. “We’re your lucky stars, Sungwoon and Jaemin.” Sungwoon is the one to finish it. “We’ll be performing with our own spin, courtesy of Jaemin. We hope you enjoy!” They choose to perform a rearranged version of a song originally performed by a female vocalist. The change in keys makes it easier for him to sing it, and while he does so, Sungwoon looks Jaemin’s way from time to time. The rapper gets to show off his skills in a long verse, and after their performance is done, the two share a one-armed hug.

After them comes what could be considered one of the more unusual combos. HWANG MINHYUN and SONG YUQI stand on the stage together as partners for this week’s mission. “I had fun,” the male admits in his interview. “I wasn’t sure what to expect when the names were called, but we got along well, and I think it translates well in our performance.” They take their seats on the stage this time, Minhyun holding onto his guitar. He gives her a nod before he starts playing.

They chose an acoustic version of a group song and, while he plays, Yuqi moves her head around waiting for the cue to her first lines. While the lyrics are gloomy, they try to keep the melody somewhat upbeat. They change glances throughout the song and move their bodies along to the rhythm. After they’re done and have to leave the stage, the two hug each other. “I’m so proud!” Yuqi tells him. “No matter what…” the girl holds onto his hand. “You’re amazing.” And so they show the man back in his interview. “I’ll be cheering her on for the indefinite future. You can count on me, Yuqi,” he says to the camera with a thumbs up.

“I could’ve done better, shown more of myself maybe, and I have some regrets looking back. It was nice to be able to play on stage.” KANG DANIEL appears on the screen next. “I really liked Minhyun and Yuqi’s performance. Their arrangement was really nice, and I thought it showed off their styles well. They’re both really strong and it was… a bit graceful? Elegant.”

This time is for HWANG YEJI and PARK JUNHEE to take over the stage. “Junhee oppa has been amazing,” the girl nods in her interview. “He has a great voice and is very underappreciated. He is in the same boat as Minho… not as known maybe but he’s amazing as well.” Junhee introduces himself first, followed by the girl. “Today, I want to show another side of myself.” She looks over to her partner who nods her way, and just like that they’re ready to perform.

The boy starts in the center singing acapella. After his first four lines, the song starts to play, and Yeji appears from behind him. She starts to sing as well, this time also dancing along to her words. Even with their song being in English, the duo does a good job at it, expressing the strong feelings that came with the musical song. When they finish, the two are standing side by side. Junhee swings an arm around the girl’s shoulder as they bow, and then exit. “I’m so proud of you,” he says to her. “We did well, didn’t we?” The girl chuckles, this time back in her interview. “I don’t think I can talk about how thankful I am to Junhee oppa. Thanks to him and my hard work I can say that I’m proud of myself.”

“Yeji had a lot of confidence when she walked on that stage,” DO KYUNGSOO comments on the performance. “I think that helped with her performance. Honest, I think she might win this whole thing.”

The next few names are called: JEON HEEJIN and KANG DANIEL. The boy looks over at the one beside him and gives her a grin. “Let’s do this.” He slings his bass over his shoulder as he stands up, and the scene cut to show him in his interview. “Heejin is great. She’s younger than me, but I admire her a lot. She’s self-assured and knows she’s meant to stand on stage, and she is. I was really scared of her at first,” he admits with a laugh. “Just because she- she won the title of best singer! And that’s entirely justified!”

“Working with others has never been an issue with me,” the starts on her own interview. “But I will say I do tend to perform better when I’m able to do exactly what it is I want to do- no one knows your strengths and weaknesses as best as you do.” They both stand on the stage, each with a different instrument. While Daniel chose his bass, Heejin carries an electric guitar. Just as worthy of the title given to her, the girl starts off by singing. The duo also decides on changing a more popular song into a dance remix, making it their own. While Daniel sings as well, the boy is also given some rap to perform as he did in the previous episode. Their voices eventually echo around the room, finishing off strongly. “I’m really proud of this,” the boy is the one to say it.

“I feel like this is where I really shine. I’ve put ‘instruments’ as my main skill on my MGA form for two years ago,” he laughs. SOHN YOUNGJAE appears on the screen. “If I remember right, Daniel hyung was involved in a band remix last year as well… Doesn’t it feel like a repeat? Honestly, I can’t help but wonder what he’s doing in a competition like this. Him and the rest of the band guys as well. I mean are they trying to become idols or do they just want to promote themselves? If they’re just here to promote their band… I think they should have let people who actually want to be here have a chance instead.”

“Let’s do this,” LEE HOHYEON mutters under his breath, sending a small nod towards JO YURI, his partner. Once on the stage, they take care of introducing themselves. “Hello, we are Riot!” The boy continues alone. “I’m Riot’s cool rapper, Lee Hohyeon.” And the girl finishes it off. “Hello, I am Riot’s main vocalist — Jo Yuri.” She smiles and waves towards the judges. “Please enjoy our performance.” Before they can actually start it off, it’s time to show some of the boy’s interview first. “I have to admit, it wasn’t easy at first.”

He lets out a small laugh. “We really didn’t hit it off on the right foot. But we managed to make it work and with a lot of hard work.” The cameras are back on the stage, focusing on each of their faces before their chosen song starts to play. “I want to see you all moving in those seats.” Hohyeon starts by looking at the CEOs before turning towards the other contestants. Yuri is the one who starts singing, voice deeper than what she had shown before. While the girl is in charge of reaching each pitch, the boy takes on the rap. When their gazes meet, they smile. During the chorus, the duo decides on following the choreography which is simple but adds a little extra to the whole performance.

They bow in thanks at the end of their performance before returning to their seats. Yuri gets her moment, too. “I was honestly surprised that we ended up working together. Plus, we definitely killed that stage, so uh…” she shrugs.

The next performance is by two girls, KIM JUNGEUN and JUNG EUNJI. “We’re Kimjungeunji,” Jungeun says in the safety of her interview, not in front of everyone else. “I haven’t shown much of my singing yet but she encouraged me to do my best.” But then a rather different question is asked. “So, did Shin Yuna’s comment about your dye get to you?” The girl who, now, has brown hair rolls her eyes and the scene is perfectly cut to show one from the previous episode. “Jungeun was a trainwreck.” One of the eliminated contestants, SHIN YUNA, says in the black-and-white filter. “Even her dye job couldn’t help her performance.” Back to the present, Jungeun comments about it. “Well, it seems to have helped. I’m here still,” the girl states. “She isn’t. Maybe she should have dyed her hair blonde, so she could stay in the competition.”

On the stage, both Jungeun and Eunji stand with their back to the camera, a hand on each other’s hips. With the start of the song, the girls turn around, and Jungeun is the one who starts singing, something she hadn’t shown before. They dance throughout the song, but it’s after the end of the chorus that things get serious. There’s a switch on the song, and what’s happening is a dance break which incorporated many aspects such as floor choreographies, wacking, and tons of hair-flipping. When Jungeun attempts a high note, Eunji joins her soon after, showing off her own set of abilities.

“It was a perfect remix to showcase their vocal talent.” CHOI MINHO says. “I think I was hooked the whole performance.”

Next up is a couple of boys, KANG HYUNGGU and SEO CHANGBIN. “How was it like working with your duo?” They ask Changbin first. “Oh, with Ggu - I mean, Hyunggu-ssi?” He laughs awkwardly at his response. “Please cut that first part out.” It’s on his partner’s interview that the other’s supposed mistake makes some sense. “I was surprised that I was partnered with Changbin, actually,” Hyunggu says. “I didn’t think that out of all the people here that I would be paired with someone that I’ve known for most of my life?” He grins then cups his mouth, leaning closer to the camera. “Binnie-ssi, I know you like to pretend you don’t know who I am, but we both know it’s a lie.”

They are each standing on their spots before their introduction. Hyunggu starts by screaming, running, and then doing a cartwheel, before hopping into Changbin’s arms. “The floor is on fire!” His partner replies appropriately. “It’s okay, I’ll freeze the floor, then.” Changbin spins, pretending to get rid of the lava and sets down the other boy back on his feet. “Hello, we are fire and ice!” They properly get into position this around, waiting for their song to start. It starts off with them both singing together. There’s a choreography that goes along with it and they start together with it as well. While Changbin raps, Hyunggu stands to the side, adlibbing and moving his hands to the beat. The dancer eventually gets his own chance to shine with a dance break of his own.

After being done, they high five each other before sitting down.

“Prepared, hyung?” KIM SEUNGHUN asks the one beside him, KIM HYOJIN. “I’m as prepared as I could be,” the other replies. It’s their turn on the stage, and they stand there together before introducing themselves. “Hello, we’re Spicy Pork! I’m Kim Hyojin,” he says. “And I’m Kim Seughun!” The other says. “Like our team name and our hair colors,” Hyojin gestures at their head, his with a red color and the other with ash brown. “We’ll make sure to burn the stage with our spiciness!”

Before they can start their performance, Hyojin appears in his interview. “It was like a dream,” he laughs. “Have you seen Seunghunnie? He’s handsome, tall, good at singing, charismatic - wow. He’s like my soulmate. I love you, Seunghunnie.” The boy flashes a finger heart to the camera and the other side of this romance, Seunghun, also gets to add his own thoughts. “I call him my soulmate,” he can’t help but cringe. “I’m embarrassed!” The boy hides his face behind his hands, laughing at himself. “Hyung, I love you!” he ends it with a playful and exaggerated tone.

The moment the instrumental starts, the two begin to sing in harmony. They carry fiercer, more serious expressions than the ones they were showing off before. It’s a rock remix of a more recent song that plays, and they have to live up to the part. The playful duo of soulmates has a new intense gaze to show off. Their tones are different but they don’t crash. They harmonize for the high note and then intercalate. When it finally comes to an end, they hold their charismatic poses before leaving the stage.

The next duo walks over to the stage, LEE CHAERYEONG, and NAM JOOHYUK. “To the top, we’ll be iconic!” The two say at the same time before introducing themselves individually. “How was it like working with your duo?” They ask the male of the group, Joohyuk. “Honestly, a bit daunting,” he admits. “I mean, you know at the end of the day you’re working not just for yourself anymore but for someone else’s dreams too. But I’m insanely grateful to be paired up with Chaeryeong-ssi. She was amazing to work with and she’s one of the most talented contestants around.”

They smile at each other before the start of their chosen song. It’s a popular song even these days, proven by the fact they had chosen it. The two manage to carry the skills to execute it properly, Joohyun with singing, and Chaeryeong with rapping. Having ranked as one of the Top 3 in dancing the week before, she also manages to show off in that area, even if the choreography isn’t the hardest for someone like that. Once they’re done, the girl gets to share some words from her interview as well. “It was very interesting to work with a complete stranger, but I think we worked together well and created a really nice performance. It was also really nice to show everyone on stage!”

Two more appear for their turn. It’s LEE SUWOONG and WONG YUKHEI wearing matching outfits. “Prepare for trouble,” Suwoong starts. “And make it double,” Yukhei continues, both of them pointing to the camera. “I’m Lee Suwoong,” the first one introduces himself by pointing a thumb to his chest. “And I’m Wong Yukhei!” Just as it often goes, there’s a break for comments, this time starting with a few words from Suwoong’s interview. “It’s like we’re platonic soulmates! At first, I was a little intimidated, because he’s tall and handsome, but he’s easy to talk to and doesn’t get stressed at all!” An image of his partner appears on the screen, a heart matching the ones on their matching shirts floating around him.

Yukhei appears after him. “I hope we can remain friends.” The heartbreaks, but the boy continues to speak. “He’s a fun guy and I think we go well together. It was sort of like working with an old friend.” And so they’re back on the stage, a bench appearing behind them. Yukhei starts off by singing first. Suwoong brushes his chin, and this wouldn’t be the only romantic moment between the two of them. They take a few steps back, sitting on the bench. When Suwoong begins to sing, the two hold up a sign with ‘I ❤ U’ written on it and then pretend to kiss behind it. They dance together, and the romantic duet carries on like that. It ends with them sitting back on the bench and a hand heart.

Taking a bit of a twist in the performances so far, two beings walk to the stage. They both have boxes on their heads as they bow down and then finally take them off, revealing their identity. It’s MIYAWAKI SAKURA and SHIN RYUJIN. “How was it like working with Sakura?” They ask the other member of the duo. “It was honestly the best thing that has happened to me in this show so far!” Ryujin says. “I enjoyed my time with her the whole time and whether we were practicing, out shopping for our outfits or making our cute boxes I had a pleasant time.”

The song they chose is fun and different. Both girls get to show off their rapping skills, starting with Sakura, and then eventually getting to Ryujin on the second half. When it’s the chorus and instrumental is what takes over their performance, the two girls dance together in a dorky, goofy way, feeling the rhythm of the song. It’s silly but refreshing. When they’re done, Sakura appears in her interview. “She really complimented my style of rapping, she has a deep voice that meshes with my soft voice!” She giggles softly, placing her hand over her mouth.

“Ryujin and Sakura were both cute. DO KYUNGSOO comments. “I appreciated the change from regular hard rap songs.” HWANG YEJI also has thoughts to share. “I doubt anyone imagined two girls to pull that off so well. It was like made for them and they had fun on stage. It was contagious.”

After the two girls, come two men. There are only three duos left, and with the boys come two chairs to the top of the stage as well. They introduce themselves as PARK JINYOUNG and YOON JEONGHAN. They each take a seat but, right before the song starts, it cuts to Jinyoung’s face. “We worked on musicals together in the past. I looked forward to being with him on stage once more,” he pauses. “I think we connected easily and shared ideas that strayed away from our main comfort zone. We took a risk. He made taking that leap a lot easier.”

Back to the stage, the song starts to play, and the two follow the same choreography, except mirrored. Jeonghan is the first one to sing. The dance is sensual but not sexual, and the two try to keep it like that. Without the presence of backup dancers like in the original choreography, they are bound to use each other instead. Jinyoung cups Jeonghan’s chin, one of the changes needed to be made for them to fit. They stand up from their seat and the dance gets more intense while they harmonize together. Their expressions follow the concept of the song with intense gazes and grins. With its end, Jeonghan appears in his interview as well. “I’m very happy with the stage Jinyoung and I put on. I don’t think I could’ve had a more suitable partner.”

With each performance closer to an end, the next duo is composed of PARK WOOJIN and ZHOU JIEQIONG. “I hope I don’t embarrass you up here.” She grins, elbowing her partner as they rise from their seats. “Let’s have fun, yeah?” And to that, the boy replies with a “yeah.” They are up on the stage now, and the girl is the one who starts them off by speaking in Chinese. “Hello!” She greets. “We’re the Cuties.” As she says this, the look on Woojin’s face is of pure regret. “We spent the week choreographing this ourselves so we hope you all love it!”

The look on Jieqiong’s face is of excitement during her interview, though. “I was so. freaking. excited.” She says. “I love working with other dancers, and Park Woojin and I worked really good together. He’s a cute and a talented kid.” Woojin shares his thoughts right after. “Her talent for choreographing is really cool. I’m grateful to her for guiding me along. I know I must’ve been a bit of a drag,” he chuckles nervously, rubbing at the back of his neck. Back on the stage, the two are crouched next to each other, side by side while the song starts to play around them.

They interact with each other, which is a notable amount, just as much as they do with the audience at the start. The choreography starts strong, and that carries along as the song progresses. They aren’t scared to get close to each other either, but it all stays in the lines of playfulness. The fun and upbeat song seems to be a good pick and one that matches the name of their group with their dance. Even at the end, they get to play a bit, following the fading music.

“They did a great job.” LEE NAKYUNG comments. “There was a lot of interaction between the two of them. They didn’t worry with getting close and I think that helped make it very refreshing.”

When it’s time for the next duo, SON HYEJOO giggles as SOHN YOUNGJAE offers his hand for her to take. They link hands and sway between them on their way to the stage. They bow dramatically before the start of their introduction. The girl introduces him first. “Give it up for our main boy, Sohn Youngjae!” And then he is the one to introduce her. “And this is Son Hyejoo, AKA Olivia in the house! Together we are Sons of Anarchy!” The team name is a pun on both of their surnames. “Please take care of us!”

The girl takes her position on the floor and the boy remains standing. With the start of the song, the two start stretching and yawning. When Youngjae lays down, Hyejoo sits up and starts to rap. Youngjae had his lines to sing, and then jumps into the chorus, both figuratively and literally. The original choreography that served for nine people was adjusted to fit only the two of them. When the song ends, the two of them fall to the ground dramatically. “Noona is a really cool person, don’t you think?” The boy says in his interview. “I think girls who rap are totally awesome!”

Hyejoo speaks a bit as well. “I’m really pleased with how this week turned out. I think we were able to show a different side of us.”

The final performance arrives. “It’s nice to see you again!” TAKADA KENTA greets with his partner, YOO TAEYANG, by his side. “We are Taiyo. It means ‘sun’ in Japanese, which is our name because we’ll be burning you up today.” The other boy wraps up their introduction. “Please enjoy our stage.” They face away from the judges, prepared to start.

Kenta starts it off by walking away, turning around and walking towards the judges this time as Taeyang comes rolling in beside him. They move around each other, following the same routine but giving each of them the chance at the spotlight. Taeyang gets his time to dance alone, followed by Kenta’s turn. They reach toward the judges, making a gesture with their hands. For the last piece of the song, they dance next to each other, but with their movements mirrored. In the end, they stand back to back in the middle of the stage. “I think that we did good,” Taeyang comments with a few small nods. “I think we complement each other well.”

“I think, um…” Kenta says in front of the camera. “We were really sexy. That’s all I can think about.” LEE SUWOONG appears again. “When you look at them… you don’t really think ‘sexy.’ Taeyang is always too serious, and Kenta’s cute. I told them to show off their abs during this part, but they didn’t listen!” SON HYEJOO has some thoughts to share as well. “I really enjoyed the powerful dance duo. I think it’s the perfect opportunity to watch these amazing dancers both of who have their own styles within the same category come together and produce something that sharp and precise.”

Bringing an end to the performances, the camera pans over the judges slowly before Tiger JK picks up his microphone. “There were a total of 20 duos, and you were all judged as a package, not individually. All of you gave your best here today. Even so, we’ve come to an agreement that some did better, and some did worse.”

“Who do you think is the most likely to make it to the next round?” The interviewer asks. “I mean, isn’t it kinda obvious?” JO YURI comments. “I feel like everyone who placed first in their skill will. Other than that, it’s a game of chance, really.” DO KYUNGSOO adds his own thoughts as well. “I think SUWOONG and YUKHEI had great energy together.” He puts an emphasis on the last word. “I really thought they looked like a couple.”

LEE HOHYEON comes next. “Also…” he chews on his bottom lip. “I do think it’s a little unfair. Of course, Mason is going to be one of the best. He was previously a debuted idol and had proper trainee training. How is everyone else supposed to compete with that?” CHWE HANSOL appears on the screen this time. “People keep mentioning Minho having been in Convex before makes the playing field unequal but wouldn’t it be held to a higher standard for him competing with rookies when he already debuted? He had expectations that had to be met and now he has to exceed those plus the expectations of others here too. Plus his fanbase is no joke. Even I am a fan of Convex.”

The screen shows the set again, this time slowly coming closer to the judges. It was time.

“We’ll start off today,” Tiger JK continues, “by announcing the top 3 performances.” The camera shows the contestants this time, all of them probably wondering if it’s their name that will be called. “I’d like to invite to the stage three duos. These are CHOI MINHO and LEE NAKYUNG, CHWE HANSOL and SIA KIM, and LEE SUWOONG and WONG YUKHEI.” The man nods slowly as the top best contestants of the week make their way to the stage. On each of the duos, one half was part of the top 3 on the previous week, each for a different category.

With all of them lined up, the man proceeds with his speech. “All of you showed that you could not shie on your own, but that you could also complement each other well. The six of you managed to show your own skills, as well as highlight that of your partner and deliver a good performance. However, only one of you can be considered the best of the week.” He takes a pause, staring at the contestants below him before he shares what’s on his mind. “The best duo of the week is… CHOI MINHO and LEE NAKYUNG.”

The man nods again, the corner of his lips only raising slightly. “You did not only show off your abilities regarding performance skills, but you put on a creative performance. While the two of you are very different, you managed to come together and use that to your advantage.” His gaze moves to the other contestants on the stage. “Of course, the four of you also did a great job. Congratulations to all of you.”

With the end of the announcement, all were looking forward to, it was time to break the news people were trying to avoid. Another judge picks up his microphone getting ready to speak.

“Unfortunately, not everyone can win.” So Jisub nods, scanning the room with narrow eyes. “Just like last week, there will be eliminations today. You were all evaluated on your performance as a duo and, because of that, we’ll be eliminating both members that took part in the performance.” This was already known information but that the CEO makes sure to remind everyone of. “While last time 10 contestants had to go home, this time it’ll be 6 of you. This means that from the 20 duos here today, 3 will be eliminated.”

The camera pans over some of the contestants' reactions before returning to the judge. “And the first duo to leave us is…” The usual tense song that plays exactly in moments like these gets stronger, everyone in the room nervous to know who it’ll be. “PARK JINYOUNG and YOON JEONGHAN.” So Jisub nods in their direction. “While you two seemed to have worked well together and complimented each other, I think you just complimented in a way that made you both seem mediocre. You’re both talented individually, but it felt like your performance overall wasn’t as great as we had expected it to be. We hope that, in the future, you’ll find something that works best for you.”

Jisub looks down once he’s done, confirming who is next that he needs to call. “The second duo to leave us is… CHOI YOONA and WANG JACKSON.” The screen shows some of the random reactions from the other contestants. “While it was clear that you were having fun on the stage, there are more factors to a good performance than that which, of course, you didn’t get to reach. You can’t just do what you like because you like it, but it needs to be something good, too. We may have had some expectations for you so, this was truly a shame.”

And so there can only be one elimination left. “The last duo to leave us today is… HWANG MINHYUN and SONG YUQI.” If the last duo could have been considered a surprise, this is at least a little bit harder to believe. “Considering Yuqi was one of the top contestants on her skill last week, this was a tough choice to make, but one we all agreed with. We could see that your previous stages could be considered a bit different from the other, and we were looking forward to seeing what you could come up with. It’s safe to say that wasn’t what we expected and also not better than it, either. It’s a shame that the result had to be this, but it’s what it must be.”

When the man finishes speaking, someone else picks up the microphone. This is usually the time they congratulate the ones who passed and say goodbye to the ones that are gone, but Katie Lee says something instead. “Except… this may not be the end of your road just yet.”

To see all the of this season’s contestants, click here!

And now, let’s see what’s in store for our fourth episode!

After the announcement of the latest eliminations, those who moved on to the next challenge were once again organized in duos, but this time with different partners. Both of the people involved should show at least one of their performance skills. The theme is to impress and to manage to show your colors even when sharing the stage with someone else. A list of the duos can be found below:

#5050 - ZHOU JIEQIONG #5032 - LEE SUWOONG

#5048 - YOO TAEYANG #5035 - NAM JOOHYUK

#5047 - WONG YUKHEI #5038 - PARK WOOJIN

#5045 - TAKADA KENTA #5033 - MIYAWAKI SAKURA

#5043 - SON HYEJOO #5029 - LEE HOHYEON

#5042 - SOHN YOUNGJAE #5027 - KIM YUGYEOM

#5040 - SHIN RYUJIN #5026 - KIM, SIA

#5039 - SEO CHANGBIN #5011 - HWANG YEJI

#5037 - PARK JUNHEE #5023 - KIM MINKYUNG

#5034 - NA JAEMIN #5013 - JEON HEEJIN

#5030 - LEE NAKYUNG #5022 - KIM JUNGEUN

#5028 - LEE CHAERYEONG #5014 - JO YURI

#5025 - KIM SEUNGHUN #5002 - CHOI MINHO

#5020 - KIM HYOJIN #5017 - KANG DANIEL

#5018 - KANG HYUNGGU #5007 - DO KYUNGSOO

#5015 - JUNG EUNJI #5008 - HA SUNGWOON

#5006 - CHWE HANSOL #5004 - CHOI YEWON

Eliminations will be made in duos which means that if a performance is considered sub-par, both contestants will be eliminated. Therefore, make sure to work well together and choose something that fits the two people involved. Or not! Take your risks if you’d like to.

The twist this time seems to be that those eliminated on this episode may still have another stage to show what they got. Those six people were organized into three new duos and will arrive earlier than the rest for the recording of their part of the episode. Only one duo will be allowed to return. After the results are announced to them, they’re allowed to wait backstage where a TV can be found and watch the rest of the recording. Those who don’t get a chance back on the show will only be allowed to leave after the other contestants are already on set to avoid breaking the surprise that’ll be the revelation of the returning duo at the end of the episode. Both of the people involved should show at least one of their performance skills. The theme is to impress and to manage to show your colors even when sharing the stage with someone else. A list of the duos can be found below:

#5049 - YOON JEONGHAN #5010 - HWANG MINHYUN

#5046 - WANG JACKSON #5036 - PARK JINYOUNG

#5044 - SONG YUQI #5005 - CHOI YOONA

All contestants are supposed to make their own way to the recording studio prepared specially for this episode. The set will be the same as last round and will look something close to this. On each side, 18 chairs will be prepared for the contestants to sit on and watch each other’s performances. The duos should sit together and, to ensure so, the seats have been marked with their numbers. Starting from the first chair on the left and going all the way to the last one on the right, the numbers will follow the list of duos found above. There will be an empty pair of chairs which are to be taken at the end recording with the announcement of the returning duo. Just because most eyes will be on the performance doesn’t mean no one will be paying attention to you. A set of cameras will have their lenses ready to capture any sort of interesting reaction from those watching (beware of the evil editing) while a couple more will allow different angles of the main performance to be captured.

Sitting on the higher ground, much more comfortable chairs are lined in front of the stage — five in total. This is where the CEOs of each big company will be sitting to make sure only the most captivating contestants will continue their journey to make this the best season yet.

Tune in next Saturday, the 20th, for our fourth episode!

MGA Season 5 episode four preview: It’s the second week of duo performances, and things couldn’t be more interesting! Will the contestants get to work well with new people, or will this be their new demise? If your favorite contestant got eliminated on the last episode, will they manage to come back? Tune in next week to find out!

[ All of the performances were aired in their entirety. Cuts from the show itself were uploaded to Mnets’s Official Youtube Channel. ]

If you made it this far, either if you were eliminated on this episode or not, you may add +3 POINTS IN A PERFORMANCE SKILL to your points tally. Make sure to link back to this post for verification.

Contestants have until midnight EST at the end of Friday, the 19th, to post their 200+ words solos about the duos challenge in front of the CEOs. Please tag all related posts with #rkmga5 and #rkmga5duos2. They’ll have two minutes to perform their chosen skill to capture the attention of the CEOs (as long as it doesn’t break any laws). Good luck! Song choices should be submitted to the rkevent inbox. Two duos performing the same song will not be allowed and this will be chosen on a first come first serve basis. This applies to the returning duos as well.

After the last performance is done, the CEOs will leave to discuss their thoughts privately. While this happens, the contestants will be taken one by one into a small room to be interviewed on their thoughts of the current state of things. They will be asked a variety of questions and some may be included in the list found below! Feel free to come up with your own questions if you think they can be fitting.

What did you think of the results last week?

How was it like working with your duo?

How do you think you did?

Were there any performances you liked?

Were there any performances you didn’t like?

What did you think of ___’s performance?

Which duo do you think complemented each other the most?

Was there anyone you think that brought their partner down?

Who from those eliminated last episode do you think will return?

Is there anyone you are certain will move onto the next phase of the MGAs?

Is there anyone you are certain will be eliminated today?

Once they’re done, they’ll be taken back to their seat to wait, or may go to the bathroom if needed.

You may also write an extra 200+ words solo about your muse’s interview, as explained above, to also be posted until midnight EST at the end of Friday, the 19th. For doing so, you may earn +2 CHARISMA OR CREATIVITY POINTS and these can be added to your points tally as soon as it is posted. Please tag all related posts with #rkmga5 and #rkmga5duos2. Please link this post as verification.

#rkmga5 #rkmga5duos

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raywritesthings · 6 years ago

Text

It’s a Bird (Plot bunny/Preview)

My Writing Fandom: Arrow, Supergirl Characters: Laurel Lance, Kara Danvers, James Olsen, Alex Danvers, Winn Schott, J’onn J’onzz (Hank Henshaw), Eliza Danvers, Oliver Queen, John Diggle, Thea Queen, Quentin Lance, Damien Darhk, Cisco Ramon Summary: In a universe where another Kryptonian pod doesn't crash land to Earth, Supergirl and her friends receive a different otherworldly visitor; on a different world, Team Arrow loses one of their own, but not in a way that they can initially understand. Additional Notes: Hello everyone! Since this is a holiday weekend for me, I thought I'd treat you all to a plot bunny I had. I'm calling it a plot bunny because to continue it, I would need an interested beta reader who has actually seen seasons two of Supergirl and five of Arrow, which I have not. So, if this idea intrigues you, let me know and maybe we can work something out. I have a vague idea of certain plot points I want to move forward. The pairings as of now are listed as undecided because it could honestly go any direction at this point where I've left off in this first chapter. However, I will state that my interest in pairings that include characters I haven't actually watched anything of (i.e. Lena Luthor) would likely be small. Otherwise, feel free to weigh in. At any rate, I hope you enjoy this idea, and we'll see if anything else comes of it down the road. Thanks for reading, and let me know your thoughts! *Can also be read on my AO3*

It didn’t get much better than a night like this. Family and friends, along with the possibility of a new relationship she’d been longing for for months. Kara was still beaming ear to ear thanks to that.

But Supergirl didn’t get nights off for long. As she sat amongst the others, a distant sound caught her ear, rising in prominence until she couldn’t ignore it.

Kara looked up.

“Kara? What’s wrong?”

Everyone else had stopped talking, but she hardly noticed. She’d placed the sound. It was a scream, and of terror.

“Be right back.” She left James’ side and hurried out the door. There wasn’t time to change, so Kara took off straight into the sky.

It took her several precious minutes to find her target — judging by the volume of the scream, she had thought it closer. But at last Kara spotted it; a figure in black, falling fast. She put on a burst of speed to intercept, getting her arms around the person and continuing her flight at a gradually decreasing pace to ease out of the momentum of the fall.

Kara looked down at the woman, for it was a woman with long, blonde hair and a mask laid over her eyes. Her clothing was mostly leather, and there was some sort of stick or baton sitting in a holster on her thigh.

Kara’s brow furrowed. “Where did you come from?”

There was no answer; the woman must have passed out shortly before she had caught her.

She didn’t look injured otherwise, and Kara wasn’t sure what a hospital might think of the whole mask situation. More than that, though, if she turned this woman over to the authorities now, she might not find out just why she’d been plummeting through the air with no visible starting point or any plan at a landing.

Nothing for it then. Kara turned back for home, taking care to tuck the woman’s body in closer as she cleared the window. The others all turned around at her entrance, taking the sight in with varying degrees of surprise.

“Uh, Kara?” Winn took a half step forward. “Who’s your hot friend?”

“I’m not sure yet. She was falling through the air, but by the time I reached her, she’d fallen unconscious. I need somewhere to let her rest until she wakes up, and then we can ask.”

She shooed Alex and J’onn off the couch to make room, and the two of them exchanged a look.

“Kara, she’s wearing a mask,” her sister said.

“And she’s armed,” J’onn pointed out.

“Well, it’s not with kryptonite, so we should be fine.”

“Do we know who she is?” James motioned around his eyes. “Under the mask, I mean.”

Kara shrugged, then leaned over to lift the mask off the stranger — who was still a stranger. “Nope. Guess we’ll just have to ask her.”

“Kara, honey,” Eliza reached to touch her shoulder. “Are you sure you want that happening in your apartment?”

“Oh.” She looked around, then down at the sleeping stranger. Kara switched to her X-Ray vision for a moment. There was something puzzling about her throat, but otherwise… “Her physiology suggests human.”

Alex stepped up next to her and felt at the woman’s wrist and forehead. “Heart rate and temperature are consistent with one.”

“So the D.E.O. isn’t the right place for her, and she isn’t injured, so a hospital won’t take her.” Kara shrugged. “I don’t know where else this can happen.”

“Maybe if I have a look at her recent memories, it might give us a better idea of what we’re dealing with,” J’onn suggested.

Kara and Alex both moved back as he stepped forward, eyes glowing red. His brow furrowed, and a frown grew on his face.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Alex asked.

“Her mind. It’s not strictly inaccessible, but it isn’t as open as a human’s should be. I’m only getting flashes of images that keep cutting out.”

“What, like the signal’s bad?” Winn asked.

“She was somewhere like a jail, I think. There were people in prison uniforms. And a man with white hair. Then there’s the falling. I can’t get much else.” J’onn blinked and shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, J’onn,” She assures him. “So to all appearances she’s human, but something is interfering with your telepathy.”

“I can probably still use a psychic push to wake her up. It’ll get us those answers you want faster.”

Kara looked out at the others. She didn’t want to hand this woman over to an authority — there hadn’t even been a crime committed so far as she knew — but she also wanted her friends and family safe. Her eyes landed on James last, and he gave a single nod.

“It’s your call, Kara.” There was so much trust in his gaze, she nearly felt swept away.

But Kara collected herself and nodded. “Go ahead, J’onn.”

His eyes glowed once more, and on the couch the woman stirred. Her eyelids fluttered, and in the next instant she sat right up with a gasp, her arms flying out.

Kara caught them both.

“Easy, easy! You’re not in any danger.”

The woman looked up at her with green eyes. “Wha— Who are you?” Her eyes darted around the whole room, taking everyone in. “Where am I?”

“I’m Kara, and this is my apartment. Who are you?”

The woman stared at her like she’d asked something very odd despite repeating her own question. “The Black Canary?”

“Yeah, that’s not a name,” Winn remarked.

The Black Canary. Something about that name rang a bell, but Kara couldn’t seem to pin it down.

She was distracted as Black Canary tried to tug her arms from Kara’s grip, and she eased up to let her go.

“Wait. Am I not—?” She felt around her eyes where the mask had been sitting. “Oh no.”

“It’s cool, we still don’t know who you are,” Winn told her.

“Then this isn’t Star City?”

“Nope,” said James.

“I don’t think I know a Star City,” Eliza added. Everyone else shook their heads in agreement as well, leaving Black Canary looking very confused and distressed.

“If we’re going to help you, we need you to cooperate with us,” Alex said, her voice trending more toward the stern Agent Danvers than her big sister. “So who are you really?”

The woman drew in a breath. “My name is Dinah Laurel Lance, and I have no idea how I got here.”

—-

To say that Laurel felt lost was an understatement. She couldn’t even guess as to the sequence of events that had led her here.

She’d been at the prison with the others, fighting to get the riot under control. Then Andy had betrayed them. After she’d convinced John to give things a chance with his brother, she couldn’t think what he must be feeling — assuming he and the others were still out there, somewhere.

With his powers back, Darhk had frozen them all. He’d caught Oliver’s arrow and turned to her with it, and then—

The floor had vanished out from under her. That was the only way to explain it. She’d gone from standing in front of him to suddenly falling, and through air. How had that happened?

Laurel couldn’t remember much about that past the blind panic. She’d been screaming, and something about that... she cleared her throat. “Can I have some water?”

“Oh, yeah. Um, Eliza?” Kara asked. A woman who looked to be one of the two oldest in the group nodded and walked across the open floor of the room to a kitchenette area, getting a glass and filling it. Laurel accepted it with a nod of thanks and drank. One hand absently rubbed at her neck, but she froze as she realized something was missing.

Her Canary Cry choker was gone.

“Um, when I was found, was there a- a necklace on me? It had sort of a silver-colored piece on the front.”

Kara shook her head. “The only thing we touched was the mask.”

Laurel frowned. Maybe it had fallen off while she was falling? She couldn’t believe she’d lost it after all the effort Cisco had put into making and developing it. It also didn’t make her feel any better about being on her own amongst strangers in a totally different place from home.

And there was still the question of how she’d gotten from falling through the sky to a woman’s apartment. “How was I found?”

Kara’s eyes widened. “Oh. Uh, well…”

“It was Supergirl,” one of the men blurted. “She- she works with Alex and Hank, so I guess she thought they could help. So she dropped you off and took off just before you woke up.” He looked around at the others as if checking with them for confirmation.

“Supergirl?”

That got a lot of disbelieving looks.

“Well, yeah. Supergirl,” another man said. “National City’s resident hero? That’s where you are now, by the way.”

Laurel had never heard of a National City, much less the hero that protected it. “Is she new?”

“She’s been here a year,” Kara said. “Just about, anyway. No one’s counting. But, if you haven’t heard of her, you’ve probably heard of her cousin,” she added in a somewhat glum tone. “Superman?”

“Nope,” Laurel answered. “I don’t know any super-people. What do they do?” Were they metahumans like Barry and Cisco in Central or magic users like Mari?

“They save people,” the only unnamed woman in the room stated. Though maybe someone had called her Alex? “Supergirl also works with the D.E.O. The Department of Extranormal Operations, which handles extraterrestrials,” she added at Laurel’s raised eyebrow.

“Extraterrestrials.”

“Oh, come on, you have to have heard about aliens,” the first man said.

“The concept? Yes. Actual aliens? No.” As if it hadn’t been enough to learn that time travel was possible only a few short weeks ago. Laurel put her head in her hands.

“Um, well, Dinah—”

“It’s Laurel. I mean, I’m named after my mom, so everyone’s always used my middle name.”

“Okay, Laurel,” said Kara. “Maybe you just tell us everything you can remember up until your fall.”

“Well, it doesn’t make much sense. My team and I were trying to get a prison riot under control. Damien Darhk had orchestrated it, and he used a spy we had trusted to get his powers back. I thought he was going to kill me,” she admitted in a hushed tone. “But then, it was like the ground disappeared, and everything was really blue for a minute, and then I guess... I was here. Maybe Darhk did it? He, um, he has magic.”

“He does?” None of them seemed to look totally thrown by that.

Laurel nodded. “Yeah. Sorry, could I get all of your names?”

“Oh! Right,” Kara laughed. She gestured to the woman on her left. “Well, this is Alex. We’re sisters. That’s our mom, Eliza. And our friends Hank, Winn, and, um, James,” she said, her smile turning up just that bit brighter as she glanced at the last man.

“And you all know this Supergirl?”

There were various nods or sounds of assent.

“I mean, we’re not super close. Maybe Alex,” Winn said. “But she’s a hero, so, you know, we all love her.”

Kara was grinning quite widely at that, and if Laurel wasn’t mistaken, her chest had puffed out a little.

“You said you were part of a team fighting a prison riot,” Alex said. She looked at Laurel with her arms crossed over her chest. “But you wear a mask.”

“Yeah.” Laurel glanced down. “Some people, they call us heroes. There’s plenty of others who just see us as vigilantes. But we’re just people trying to help bring justice to a city that has trouble finding it on their own.”

“If you were in trouble back home, maybe we should lend you a phone so you can call your team,” James suggested.

“Yes, thank you.”

He passed her his, and she stood on just slightly unsteady feet to walk to the other end of the room as she dialed. She could see the others talking amongst themselves about her. Laurel didn’t know what to do about that. They’d helped rescue her, but they knew her identity.

An automated voice told her Thea’s number did not exist. Laurel frowned and tried again with the same result, then tried her father to get the same message again. The only other number she had memorized anymore was Ollie’s.

It rang and rang. Laurel held her breath, waiting for the familiar voice, something to ground herself, comfort her. Finally it was picked up. “Hello?”

It was a man’s voice, but not his. Laurel hesitated. “Hi. Um, could I speak to Oliver?”

“You must have the wrong number.”

She didn’t, but she also did not know this stranger. “Okay. Well, thank you.”

Laurel turned back to the group. “I couldn’t reach anyone.”

“They weren’t answering, or…” Winn began.

“Either their phones have been disconnected, or someone else has the number now.” Laurel shook her head. “I don’t know what to do.”

“I’m sure we can help you find them,” Eliza promised. Laurel tried to smile in gratitude, but she was still thrown by the lack of ability to contact her friends and family. What had happened? Where was she?

—-

He didn’t know what had happened. None of them did. He’d been forced to watch the whole thing, but Oliver couldn’t begin to explain it.

Darhk had had them all frozen once Andy had restored the last piece of the idol to him. Laurel had been the closest. Oliver’s last action had been firing an arrow, futilely, for Darhk had caught it. He’d turned back to Laurel.

“I want you to give your father a message from me. I want you to tell him—”

Yet just as he had moved to strike his blow, a...thing had opened up in the ground. A hole. A temporary one, but a hole.

Because Laurel had fallen through.

Her eyes had reflected a moment of shock and then terrible fear as she had dropped out of sight. Oliver had felt the yell of her name he could not voice rumble through his very bones.

The blue circle in the ground had disappeared, leaving the floor where she had once stood intact. Like she had never been there at all. Damien Darhk had paused, looking down at it.

“Well, that was odd.”

He didn’t know if it had been a break in Darhk’s concentration or just pure rage, but without any warning at all, Oliver had been able to move.

His fist had connected with Darhk’s face, and the man went tumbling to the ground. Oliver had hauled him back up and slammed him into the wall.

“What have you done? Where is she?”

“I’ve done nothing!” Darhk had claimed, one of his characteristic laughs on the end.

“Liar!”

Darhk’s eyes had glowed as he’d managed to get a hand raised up between them, yet Oliver’s arm had not stilled. His fist had connected. Again and again.

“How—” the man had coughed.

“Bring her back!”

“Oliver!”

John had caught his arm before he could land another blow, and Darhk had slowly slid to the ground, his eyes drooping shut and his breathing heavy.

“You’re gonna kill him if you keep that up,” John had muttered. “And whatever happened, it wasn’t him.”

But if it wasn’t… “She’s gone, John.” His voice had trembled. Oliver had looked around, his view and his standing unsteady. His eyes had landed on the idol sitting on the table, and with barely a second thought, he’d swept it off to smash on the floor.

Andy had gone when he’d looked around, and Malcolm had moved to check on Thea. “Get away from her, Malcolm,” he’d snarled, making great strides to cut him off from his sister. Oliver had scooped her up into his arms.

Malcolm has calmly raised both hands. “Oliver, I swear I didn’t—”

“I don’t care. You’ve chosen your side.” How many times had Malcolm used and betrayed his family and friends? How many times had Laurel warned him?

He’d left the prison with John once the authorities arrived, some in ARGUS attire to cart Darhk away as he knew their secret. Back at the base, they’d set Thea on a medical cot and Oliver had dropped into one of the chairs by the computers.

He was sitting there even now, his head in his hands. Laurel had disappeared in some blue light, not of Darhk’s origin. But how could it have been anything other than magic? And where was she now? He refused to consider the idea that she might simply be nowhere. No, Laurel still had to be alive.

The elevator opened and Quentin Lance hurried out. Oliver’s heart jumped into his throat.

“I got your call,” he said to John. “Is Darhk still in custody?”

“He is. ARGUS took over it,” John said. “But that’s not everything that happened.”

“What do you mean?”

A groan from Thea’s cot interrupted them, and Oliver went to her bedside. “Hey, it’s okay. Careful sitting up.”

“Did we get him?” His sister asked groggily. Under better circumstances, it might have pulled a smile from him. Right now, the best he could manage was a nod.

“We did, yeah.”

“Where’s Laurel?”

Of course Thea would notice because of course Laurel would be there on the other side of the bed, holding his sister’s arm to keep her steady and checking her head for any bruise. If she were here.

He swallowed down a lump in his throat and looked from her to Lance. “We don’t know.”

Lance almost scoffed. “You don’t — what do you mean, you don’t know?”

“She disappeared, straight through the floor,” John replied, and without his helmet on Oliver could see how disturbed he looked by just the memory. “There was this blue light, and she was gone.”

“Gone where?” Lance stared at him, expecting something more when Oliver had nothing. “What- what floor were you on?”

Oliver shook his head. “She wasn’t in the prison. I’m sorry, Quentin.”

“But she’s not dead. I mean, she can’t be, right?” Thea asked, her eyes wide and afraid.

“We don’t know, Thea.” Oliver turned away. “We don’t know anything.”

The only thing they did know was that Laurel wasn’t here.

—-

Cisco sat up, an arm outstretched and a wordless cry on his lips. He stayed there for a moment, waiting for the harsh breaths he took to slow his heart rate down.

The same. For the seventh night in a row he had had the same dream. On some level, he felt it could be called a nightmare, but he just didn’t know why.

Nothing especially bad happened in it. It was just, there was a bird. A dead bird. And for some reason he always got a terrible sense of dread at the sight of it, building worse and worse with each successive night. This was the first time he’d woken up seemingly reaching for something, though.

He searched around on the bedside table for his phone, checking the time. It was an ungodly hour, of course. Why couldn’t his powers be the kind that let him sleep?

Cisco checked his messages and emails, then scrolled through the news app. Nothing of note, except a prison riot outside Starling City that had been fought by Team Arrow. At least he wasn’t the only one keeping late hours.

He set his phone aside again and rolled over with a sigh, closing his eyes and willing himself back to sleep.

For the first time in a week, the nightmare did not find him.

#laurel lance #kara danvers #oliver queen #cisco ramon #arrow #supergirl #james olsen #alex danvers #winn schott #j'onn j'onzz #eliza danvers #john diggle #thea queen #quentin lance #damien darhk #black canary #green arrow #vibe #my writing

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