#i am sure i’ll love jack next year but HE DID NOT DESERVE A SEAT AT THIS TABLE

[oh-great-authoress]

Firstly, awwww.

Secondly, cACKLINGGG

Thirdly, just when I thought it was already great, it got even better—

landonorris: 2024 dinner! and yes, the two your thinking about were sat as far away from each other as possible 🤣😁

[paisley-print]

9:00pm / A Better Wife Than Most

About: The night of Emily and Jack’s Anniversary 

Warnings: Marriage problems, infidelity, alcohol, grief.  

Rating: 18+

Characters: Agent Whiskey x Reader

Note: AHH ALMOST DONE 

Series Master List

@scorpionerd  @just-here-for-the-moment@sherala007 @jediknight122 @pintsizemama @kenbechillin @elegantduckturtle @hearttbreak @tintinn16 @showbuckysomelove @somenerdyuser @kesskirata @ohyeasam @athalien @spideysimpossiblegirl @littlemisspascal​ @sheresh0y​  @voteforpedro09​ @greeneyedblondie44​ @feel-it-on-the-way-home13​ 

“He’s where? Alright, I’ll be right over. Thanks.” You hung up the phone with a heavy sigh and pulled back the covers, making for the closet to wrangle on the pair of jeans you had been wearing earlier. 

-

The woman working reception recognized you immediately; it was a small town after all. She had you fill out some paperwork and take a seat in one of the hard wooden chairs. You had never been inside of a police precinct until that evening. It was scary almost, the utter silence that filled the place. 

You stood as the sheriff came in; he was an older man with greying hair. When the bakery was still up and running, he used to come in often and get breakfast and a coffee before work. He was a nice man and a step up from the one who retired a year before. 

He took his hat off as he approached you. “I sure am sorry to call so late Mrs. Daniels.”

“No apologies necessary,” you said waving him away, “thank you for picking him up. I appreciate it. He’s okay?”

The man drew in a breath, fingers tapping against the velvet of his hat, as if he had more to say, but felt awkward approaching the subject. “He’s fine, ma’am, just a bit too much to drink. We found him sleeping in the cemetery up near the railroad.”

You knew it was their anniversary tonight, but Jack had never done anything like this within the span of time you’d been together. Despite yourself, you were embarrassed. What the fuck was he thinking? After a moment of reflection, you let your feelings go and allowed empathy to take over. It had been a hard year for you both; he was still dealing with a lot of trauma. Maybe this was the straw that broke the camel’s back. 

 “I see,” you said, nodding slowly, then added, “Well, thank you for picking him up.”

The sheriff hesitated again, rocking on his heels a little. “He’s safe here, you know, for the night, I mean. You can always pick him up in the morning if that’s what you prefer.”

Your brows knit “is he being charged with something?”

“No, no, nothing like that, ma’am. I just know he’s not in the best state of mind. Mix that with alcohol. Some men get rowdy. If you’re comfortable picking him up tonight, then by all means, if not we’ll just tell him to call you tomorrow.”

You didn’t like what the sheriff was inferring, even if it was out of genuine concern. Your husband was a lot of things, but never abusive. He wasn’t some drunkard that beat his wife; he was grieving, and he needed help. 

“I think I’d better take him home with me. He has a bad back - can’t imagine what a hangover and night of sleeping on steel would do to it.”

The sheriff laughed. “Well, you are a better wife than most. You’d be surprised how many men walk home after a night spent here. Right this way.” He said, then started to lead you into the back. 

The sight before you made your heart break, your disheveled cowboy sitting on the bench of the cell, head dropped in quiet contemplation. He looked up when he heard the two of you enter. When your eyes met his, you could see him visibly soften, though there was shame in his features as well. 

The sheriff produced a key from a loop attached to his belt and swung the door open. Jack stood, wincing a little. He gave the sheriff a nod before joining you. You looped an arm around your husband so you could walk with him to the car. Before you left, you glanced behind you to give the sheriff a last look of thanks before stepping into the chilly night. 

“You okay?” you murmured, glancing up at your husband. 

He simply nodded, refusing to meet your gaze. 

-

The car ride back was silent, just the two of you staring at the seemingly endless stretch of black asphalt that unfolded before you. 

“I’m sorry,” he rasped out.  

You reached up to scratch the back of your neck. “About what?”

“Everything,” he shook his head, “being a shitty husband. You always deserved so much fukin’ better.”

“You’re not a shitty husband, Jack. The good shit along with the bad? Remember?”

His speech was slow, southern drawl becoming more pronounced. “Every chance I get, I miss the mark with you. I should have never led you on like this.”

The sentence struck you as odd “what does that mean?”

He paused and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I know you kissed him, I saw. I’m sorry.”

Your grip tightened on the wheel. That was a week ago. Why was he bringing it up now? If he knew, why didn’t he just confront you before? And why wasn’t he upset? After the night at the lake, he pulled away from you again, leaving you more confused than ever. You did have some part to play in that though; you felt yourself withdrawing from him too in the last few weeks. Instead of fixing things like you had hoped, that night made things more awkward. You shouldn’t have slept with him. You were stupid for doing that. Stupid for a lot of things you did in the past few weeks. Sometimes it felt as if you didn’t recognize yourself anymore. 

Your voice barely above a whisper, “Jack- I”

“Does he make you happy?”

The turn to your driveway was only about twenty feet ahead of you, you had to stop short in order to make it. “Jackson, please. We both had a rough night. Why don’t we talk about this in the morning when your head is clear and I don’t feel like I’m about to fall asleep at the wheel.”

“You deserve to be happy.” 

“I am happy Jack. I’m very happy. The kiss, it was. It was a mistake. It meant nothing, and I regretted it immediately. I haven’t even spoken to him since.’’ you were unsure whether you believe it to be true yourself. “It was a bad year, but it’s almost over. We have the next one to look forward to too.”

“You are one of the very best things to ever happen to me” there was a sincerity in his eyes that struck you so hard, it rendered you speechless. You never thought you would see the day that Jackson Henry Daniels would say something like that…. and mean it. 

You shook your head, looking for the words. “What did you do?”

His brown eyes were full of sadness as they watched you. “You know I love you, right?”

 “I know.”

“So much.”

“I know.”

He lifted a hand, fingers just ghosting over your cheek in order to push a strand of hair behind your ear. “I’ll always love you and I don’t regret a moment of this. And I’m so fuckin’ proud of you. Please remember that.”

“I love you too….” as you looked at him you were unable to hide the concern on your face. “You’re scaring me Jack”

He took your hand gently in his, “I didn’t mean to scare you darlin’”

“Not like that, I mean… why does it feel…” the words you were looking for were, why did it feel like something has died? But, of course, you were not brave enough to ask that question. “Can we talk about this in the morning?”

He nodded, and you continued on down the driveway with the knowledge that there would be no conversation in the morning. The two of you would return to wallow in the deafening silence that had become normal in your home. At least tonight you could run him a warm bath, lay out some clothes for him and fall asleep with the knowledge he was safe beside you and not out in the cold. Sometimes life was about making do with what you had and tonight you would be content with so little. 

[allzelemonz]

Mr. Mayor: Vlad Masters X NSG Reader

Decided to make it gender neutral despite the request because I love Vlad and I know other boys and enbys do too. Also made the reader Jack Fenton’s sibling because I think there’s a slap in the face situation part 2 later on.

Visiting your brother’s family was always great. Jack rambled on about something ghost related while Jazz caught you up on her academic successes and Maddie told you about the big new events you’d missed since visiting last. Your favorite part of the visit was taking Danny to hang out. Your nephew was your favorite, not that you’d ever say it out loud.

So taking Danny to the Nasty Burger to meet with his friends was right in your wheelhouse. Sam and Tucker seemed like really nice kids. You admired Sam’s taste in the weird things and Tucker’s understandable love for technology. In talking to the kids you remembered what Maddie had told you.

“So, the new mayor, not your favorite person?” You looked around at the high schooler's faces.

“He tried to make us wear school uniforms, started a curfew at four o’clock, and we almost lost the Nasty Burger.” Danny explained.

“Does he have some sort of vendetta against you or something?” You asked as you went to take a bite of a fry.

The teens looked at you skeptically. As if you knew something you weren’t supposed to.

“What?” You looked around. “Am I missing something?”

“He’s just a bad guy, that’s all.” Sam clarified.

“He’s the guy that’s been chasing after Danny’s mom since they were in college, other than that he never seemed that bad.” You set down the fry you were never going to get the chance to eat. “He and Jack always spent summers between semester doing stupid ghost expermments in th attic.”

“So you knew him before…” Danny stopped himself from finishing.

“Before?”

“Before college?” Tucker filled questioningly.

“Yeah, yeah, you knew him from when my dad went to college?”

“Not really.” You answered. “Just caught glimpses of him. I was in high school so I didn’t really pay attention to what Jack did.” You shrugged. “He seemed nice, but he stopped coming over so often for some reason.”

Once again the teens looked at each other as if they knew something special.

“All right, who wants to tell me?” You broke their little staring contest.

“Tell you what?” Tucker spoke in more of a series of squeaks rather than words.

“Yeah, there’s nothing to tell.” Sam covered.

You turned to Danny. “Nephew.”

He gulped and let out a nervous laugh. “It’s like Sam said, he’s just a really bad guy now.”

“Explain.”

The look of a disappointed (Aunt/Uncle/Auncle-This is the most common gender neutral term I’ve found) was something that could move mountains. Danny shifted in his seat clearly trying to come up with a convincing lie.

“Daniel, tell me.” You narrowed your brows and the kid looked white as a ghost.

Hold on, no. His hand was gone. The one that was resting on the table. Gone.

“Is this a ghost thing?” You asked.

Danny looked down at his hand and tried to play it off as if it was just a weird angle. It didn’t work. With all the nervous muttering and poorly formed excuses it was obvious they were lying.

“You’re half ghost?” It was hard to believe, but it was the only thing that the kids didn’t sound like they were lying about.

“Yes, just keep your voice down.” Danny warned. “Vlad is half ghost too, that’s how he became mayor and got all of his money.”

“So he’s bad because he played to his strengths?” You muttered to yourself.

You gathered up the trash around the table.

“Why don’t you introduce me to him, Danny. I’m sure he’s not that bad of a guy.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Sam chimed in.

“I may be related to Jack Fenton, but that doesn’t mean I’m an idiot.” You looked at Danny who seemed to forget that he could do ghostly things and was trying to hide in his shirt. “Come on, Danny.”

Reluctantly Danny left his friends to introduce you to his arch nemesis. A fourteen year old with an arch nemesis and it had to be your nephew. Town hall was busy, but that’s what town halls are like. Danny helped you walk through a few walls until you were outside of Vlad’s office. The fact that your nephew could just walk through walls was going to take some getting used to. Danny opened the door to see a rather handsome man sitting at a large desk with a fluffy white cat in his lap. He looked up at the sound of the door clicking open.

“Why Daniel, to what do I owe the pleasure?” His voice had a calming effect.

“My (Aunt/Uncle/Auncle) wanted to meet you.” Danny seemed tense in the way he spoke. “I’ll be at home.’ He muttered to you before leaving the room.

You closed the door as he left.

“Good to meet you Mr. Masters, I’m (Y/n), Jack’s (Brother/Sister/Sibling).”

“Oh, yes, I remember seeing you around.” Vlad recalled. “Please sit.”

You did so, taking the seat across from him.

“I wanted to meet you because I’d always been a fan of your work.”

“Oh, thank you, it's always nice to meet a fan.”

“And because I never got the chance to really meet you when you and Jack were friends.”

“I must say, I do regret not meeting you sooner.” Vlad leaned forward and rested his chin in his hands. The cat scurried away to a small tower by the window.

“Why did you and Jack stop talking?” You asked.

“Oh, college passed and we went separate ways.” He waved off the issues.

“That’s it?”

“Well, I used to have a bit of jealousy toward he and Maddie, but I feel it passing more and more with each word.”

“Each what?”

“Each day.” Vlad corrected himself.

“Right…” Your eyes wandered to the framed Packers jersey on his wall. “You’re a Packers fan?”

“Why yes.” Vlad smiled fondly at the jersey. “I’ve tried to buy the team itself, but no luck.”

“I’ve always been a bit of a fan, and I love the jersey.” You complemented.

“Say, would you like to accompany me to a game this season?”

You blushed red. A very attractive man just asked you to go to your favorite team's game.

“I, uh, I’d love to.”

“I have my own box, bottle service and all of the perks.” He bragged. “Afterall someone with your looks deserves nothing less.”

You let out a nervous half laugh. “Thank you, Mr. Masters.”

“Oh, please, Vlad.” He insisted.

“Right, Vlad.”

The name rolled off your tongue in such a pleasant way. Jack might kill you for this, but come on.

“If you’d like we go for dinner tonight as well.” Vlad offered.

“Sure.” You answered right away.

After having to interrogate Danny and his friends you realized you never really got to eat.

“Shall we then?” Vlad waited by you with his arm out to take.

You walked with him to a limo reserved just for the mayor. He sat next to you and gave great conversation. You discussed the Packers, politics of Amity Park, and personal preferences. Dinner was much of the same, but with more food. Vlad wasn’t like Danny had said. He was a gentleman. He may have acquired his money by not-so-legal means, but he was a nice guy.

The ride home was more conversation. Vlad bought the ticket to the game he’d promised and inquired about why you were in Amity Park.

“It was just time to visit, catch up with Jazz and Danny.” You explained. “I try to tune out Jack, he calls every week or so anyway.”

“And how long will you be staying in our fair city?”

“Around a week.”

“And I couldn’t persuade you to stay any longer?” Vlad offered.

“I, uh, I don’t know.” You thought. “Maybe.”

“There is a position open at city hall if it interests you.” He met your eyes. “I’d be happy to pull some string to keep you around.”

“I wouldn’t mind that.” You nodded along.

You hadn’t noticed how close the two of you were. Until Vlad’s hand was already cupping your cheek. He gave you a moment to react before he leaned in and pressed your lips together. It was a sweet kiss, timid. As if he hadn’t done it in a long time.

You scooted closer to him on the seat and wrapped your arms around him, one of your hands finding his pony tail to play with. Vlad rested his other hand on your side and pulled you a bit closer. You pressed further and intensified the kiss. Vlad obliged and kept the pace, kissing you with as much passion.

The car came to a stop and made you both separate. Time was cut short.

“I suppose I’ll see you soon?”

“Of course.”

“Lunch tomorrow?”

“I’d love to.”

Vlad opened the door for you to step out and gave you one last smile before the car drove away. You were definitely going to see him again.

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

15x20

Spoilers for Season 15x20 finale

Summary: This is a semi-rewrite of episode 15x20...

Pairing: Dean x reader (reader is treated more like an OC than a typical reader)

Word Count: 2,000ish

Warnings: language, major 15x20 spoilers

A/N: I wrote this for myself honestly. I know it is idealistic and was never going to happen. Again, I’m sharing simply if you’re interested but please feel free to ignore. This picks up from a very obvious point in the episode...

______

Dean POV

“Fuck,” said Dean, his hand over his chest. Something big was stabbing into his back. This felt wrong though. A dull, achy pain trickled up and down his spine and across his chest. His heart was racing up and slowing down when it wanted and Dean shut his eyes as he recognized the feeling in his bones.

He was dying. The kind of dying a doctor can’t fix.

“Jack!” shouted Sam, Dean peeling open his eyes as he realized Sam was besides him, hand covered in blood. A few seconds later Jack appeared in front of them eating a bar of nougat. “Jack fix him. Please.”

“He said he was hands off,” said Dean with a wince, his whole body shaking. Jack cocked his head and walked over, touching Dean’s forehead. The next thing he knew, Dean was sat on the ground and taking a deep breath, the pain gone as he looked up. “You said you were hands off.”

“You’re my dads. Why wouldn’t I help you?” he asked, a confused look on his face. Dean chuckled and nodded, still holding onto his chest. “You seem upset. I’ll pop you guys home.”

“Kid there’s-”

“Those boys are okay,” said Jack, snapping his fingers. Dean was suddenly sat on the steps up into the library, Jack mentioning something about taking some nougat from the pantry before he headed out. 

“You alright?” asked Sam. Dean shook his head and he took a seat. Dean rubbed the heel of his palm against his chest and shuddered. “Jack got there in time.”

“If he hadn’t-”

“Dean-”

“If he hadn’t...because it was bad, Sammy. If he hadn’t...I’m so proud of you and I love you, so fucking much. I couldn’t have asked for a better baby brother, a better best friend. You just gotta tell me something. When the time comes, you’ll be okay without me. Tell me Sam. Please.”

“I’ll be okay,” said Sam quietly. Dean nodded and moved his hand to his lap, Sam scooting closer. “Let’s get out of here.”

“What?”

“Let’s get a house. We can get a big yard for Miracle. Run an operation like Bobby did, do the occasional case. Let’s go live more,” said Sam. Dean paused but rubbed his chest again and smiled.

“Dibs on the master bedroom,” said Dean. Sam chuckled and nodded. “Yeah. This place is home but I wouldn’t mind an upgrade.”

Two Months Later

“Miracle!” called Dean when he ignored the ball Dean had just thrown across the yard and ran around the corner of the house. “Miracle!”

“I think your daddy’s looking for you,” Dean heard a voice giggle. He walked around the house and saw a woman knelt down and ruffling the dog. “You’re so cute. You’re so cute.”

“Yes, I am,” smirked Dean as the woman popped her head up. “So, how can I help you and why are you parked in my driveway?”

“I’m Y/N. Y/N-”

“I heard of you. Hunter out of Alaska right?” he asked as she nodded. “You work a lot of Canada cases.”

“I did,” she said with a shrug. “I was thinking of retiring down south. Wondering if you got any tips on how to adjust.”

“A dog helps,” he said and she smiled, Dean looking her up and down. “You do realize this is Austin, Texas right?”

“This is south to me,” she said. “I know Donna through a friend of a friend. She said it’d be cool if I came and talked to you?”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” said Dean, Miracle running over to the ball and rushing back with it. He nudged Dean’s hand and Y/N smiled. “You mind chatting while we do some fetch?”

“Not at all, Winchester.”

“Kinda funny how Eileen and Y/N know each other,” said Sam, Dean looking out the back window to where the girls and Miracle were sat on the back deck after dinner drinking a beer. Dean hummed and dried a plate, Sam nudging his arm. “You like her, don’t you.”

“You like her.”

“Dean.”

“Yeah, I like her. What’s the big deal?”

“Oh, I don’t know. A gorgeous, former hunter with your kind of humor, love for pie, muscle cars and classic rock that’s single just happens to have stuck around long after she got done talking to you.”

“I invited her to dinner.”

“She understands the life Dean. All the shit we carry. You’ve never tried with a hunter. Give her a chance.”

“Tried what?” said Dean, putting the plate in the cupboard. 

“You can have a relationship Dean. I’m pretty sure she likes you too,” said Sam.

“Hello, Dean,” said Castiel, both guys jumping as they spun around. They stared at the angel as Cas looked around. “I enjoy your home. The air is fragrant.”

“It’s a candle,” said Sam, pointing to the flickering light on the countertop. He blew it out and Dean walked around the island, shaking his head. 

“Where the fuck have you been?” said Dean, giving Cas a hug. Sam joined them and Castiel shrugged.

“Rebuilding heaven is labor intensive process,” said Cas before turning to Dean. “I felt you would be coming there soon a few months ago.”

“Why didn’t you pop down when you knew he was dying?” asked Sam.

“You are humans,” said Cas with a pout. “You will die someday. It’s an inevitable fact. Time is very strange in heaven in its relation to earth. I assumed you were an old man.”

“No, not old,” said Dean.

“Would you two like for me to prevent your deaths until a certain age?” asked Cas. 

“No,” they both said, Dean smiling. 

“But if we ask for help, you will help?” asked Dean.

“Always,” said Castiel. He tilted his head and looked out the back window. “Who is the woman with Eileen?”

“Y/N. Hunter from the Yukon area. Dean has a crush,” said Sam. He smirked when Dean whacked his arm, Cas still cocking his head. “You know her?”

“She’s quite drawn to Dean. Metaphysically speaking.”

“Yes cause whatever you just said was very clear. Like I’m five Cas,” said Dean. Cas sighed and pursed his lips.

“Jack has given me some extra power to help assist him better. I can see more of a person now,” said Cas. “Their energy, soul, things of that nature.”

“Okay...so what does that mean?” asked Dean.

“Oh your souls are quite intertwined. She’s your soulmate,” said Cas.

“Really?” said Dean, allowing a brief smile to cross his face.

“She also has a growing inoperable mass in her head that will kill her in the next few years. She suffers from headaches quite frequently,” said Cas. Dean sat down at the counter and stared out the back door, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Why can’t I be happy?” he breathed out. “For a fucking minute I can’t even be happy before the rug gets pulled out.”

“...Did you not want me to heal her?” asked Cas. Dean rolled his eyes and Cas’ glowed blue for a moment. “She’s fine now. You seem...emotional.”

“Well I am Cas,” said Dean. 

“You’ve been off since that hunt and the barn,” said Sam.

“Sam I shouldn’t be alive,” said Dean. “I got lucky.”

“You have sacrificed your entire life for others, Dean,” said Cas, Sam taking a seat next to Dean. “You should take advantage of your powerful friends. Let others care for you now. I will speak to Jack about the remaining monsters and their relocation to somewhere better suited for them, perhaps a new world.”

“Everything alright?” asked Y/N, slipping in through the back door with an empty beer bottle. 

“Yeah, we’re all good,” said Sam.

“Liar,” she said, smiling at Dean. “I’ll be right back.”

She excused herself to the bathroom, Sam and Cas going outside. Dean got another set of beers out just in time for Y/N to return. 

“Can I ask you a question?” she said.

“Shoot,” said Dean, handing her the drink.

“Your friend, the angel, did he just heal me? I’ve had constant headaches for awhile now. Brain tumor. I feel different. You guys wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with that would you?”

“You deserve to enjoy your retirement,” he said. “A very long retirement. You’re fine now.”

“I won’t be mad about that,” she said, leaning against the counter by him. She took a long sip and smiled. “I like you, Dean.”

“I like you,” he said.

“I’m gonna stick around town for a bit, see if things work out,” she said. He nodded and smiled, watching her smirk. “So there’s really no more monsters?”

“Uh, what?”

“I overheard Castiel when I walked in. Guess we’re really out of jobs now,” you said.

“I got an offer for a construction manager,” he said. 

“You gonna take it?” she asked.

“I think so. What do you think?” he asked.

“I think it’s a great idea,” she said. “Gotta keep busy somehow.”

“What’s your retirement look like?” he asked. She shrugged and smiled. “Now that death isn’t imminent.”

“Maybe I’ll find a guy, try the domestic thing,” she said, a soft smile staying on her lips. “Know anyone who might be interested?”

“I’m sure I can think of someone, sweetheart.”

One Year Later

“So what do you think?” asked Sam as he spun around in his suit in the family room.

“What do we think junior?” asked Dean, the baby on his lap clapping his hands. “He says dad’s gonna score tonight.”

“I fear for you teaching my son things when he’s a teenager,” chuckled Sam.

“That’s what Uncles are for,” said Dean as Y/N got up from the couch and started fixing Sam’s tie.

“And what Aunt’s are for to rein them in,” she said, smoothing it out. 

“Thank you,” said Sam. “Hey, when you two gonna have a kid?”

“Who says we aren’t?” smirked Dean. Sam went wide eyed and she rolled hers.

“We’re trying just recently. You will literally be the first to know once we do,” she said. She winked and Sam narrowed his eyes, looking back and forth between them then down to her stomach. 

“You’re so pregnant.”

“Ugh, we were gonna surprise you guys. Let us surprise, Eileen at least,” she said.

“You guys are pregnant!” said Eileen from over the balcony upstairs. Y/N laughed and headed up, Sam taking a seat next to Dean and plucking his son into his arms.

“You’re gonna be a real good dad. You got a lot of practice,” said Sam. Dean shrugged and Sam gave him a side hug. “I’m really happy he gets to know his Uncle, Dean. You’re gonna do great.”

“I’m really happy I get to be here too,” said Dean. He sat back and shut his eyes. “I owe you one.”

“For what?”

“The barn. I thought Jack wouldn’t come. I didn’t even bother. I thought that was gonna be it,” said Dean. “I didn’t want to go yet.”

“You don’t owe me for that,” said Sam, handing the baby back when he heard feet on the stairs. “Be good for Uncle Dean, baby boy.”

“Go have fun on your date, Sammy,” said Dean.

“You have fun on your stay at home date,” chuckled Sam. “See ya later, De.”

“Later, Sammy.”

_________

[binunus]

college bf!bin

a/n the duality of this man??? i’m deceased...anyway i did not think this would go this long but uh my hand slipped...happy birthday binnie!

word count: 5k

genre: fluff, smut, (tiny) angst _________________________________________________

ugh yo

bin is so??? infuriatingly hot??? yet cute at the same time

major: exercise science

and because I love mermaid prince/the beginning, he’s been on the swim team since first year college

swam varsity starting his second year

besties with eunwoo, they were roommates their whole college career

alright so bin loves making friends

he’s so playful and talkative once you really get to know him

but his aura?? tbh very intimidating

like he has an rbf and just like he’s so tall, broad shouldered, built, like he just carries himself very strongly that you will get intimidated when you first meet him

very well known in the university

literally has a professional photographed banner of him hanging in the athletic building with the gold medal he won freshman year

a little embarrassed about it

not really, only when the boys (as in literally the other five) tease him

myungjun: woOoOw bin that guy on the banner really looks like you, don’t you think?

rocky: we geeeeet it you’re a star athlete

blah blah blah you know the vibes, they’re endearing

so how do you meet bin?

basically you’re a friend of a friend—you’re eunbi’s (sinb) friend

you’ve only met bin briefly from time to time, but otherwise you never really had any reason to get acquainted with him

your only encounters of him are when he wants to annoy eunbi and she immediately puts him in his place

but then suddenly in the spring semester of your 2nd year, you and him are in the same 8 am

a boring statistics gen ed class that everyone needs to take in order to graduate

you were running a bit late during the first class meeting—you woke up 30 minutes after your alarm and literally rushed out of your apartment—you made it to class with 2 minutes to spare

most of the seats were filled up already, except that one seat in the back left corner by the window next to the one and only moon bin

oh would you look at that

you felt a bit relieved honestly, you didn’t know anyone else in that class so at least you saw a semi-familiar face

he grinned at you when you sat down

“hey y/n”

you were a bit taken back, “you know my name?”

he laughed a little, “yeah of course, you’re one of eunbi’s really good friends, why wouldn’t I know your name?”

before you could respond, the professor started class and ceased your conversation

one thing you realized as the weeks start to go on

you and bin could not give any two fucks about statistics

no offense to stats lovers

every 8 am on mon/wed/fri, neither one of you would pay attention in class

you both enabled each other to not pay attention basically

so when the professor announced the content and date for the first exam

you and bin literally looked at each other with the same expression

you were both fucked

after class was dismissed, instead of the two of you quickly packing your things and fleeing the room immediately, you both lagged a little bit

you: so...do you know anything that’s going to be on the exam?

bin: uh...no? y/n you’re literally right next to me, you know I don’t do jack shit in this class

you: well fuck, how are you gonna study then bin?

bin: I was probably gonna ask my roommate to help me, he passed with a 96 when he took this class

you give him the best puppy dog eyes you could muster up, you lean in and clasp your hands together like you’re praying

“can he help me too...? please?”

bin’s eyes go a lil wide bc you were a bit closer than he was used to and shit was his heart racing rn?

bin: uh...yeah...sure, i’ll text you to come over when we’re gonna study

you beam at him and like in your excitement you give him a hug

“thank you thank you thank you! i literally cannot fail this class. I’ll see you on friday bin!”

with that you grabbed your bag and just left, leaving bin shocked

he’s surprisingly a shy boy okay!

he always thought you were cute from when he first saw you hanging out with eunbi, but ofc he never thought any more of it

until you guys had this class together and he started to think every day, that wow you are really cute

bin texts you the next day

coincidentally, eunbi texts you too

bin: hey this is bin, if you’re free in an hour my roommate’s gonna help me go over the material in ch. 1

eunbi: why did bin ask for your number

you to bin: yes! send me your addy and i’ll be there :)

you to eunbi: we’re in the same stats class lol and we’re gonna study for our exam next week

eunbi: lol moon bin studying? you might wanna bring some wine with you for emergency y/n

you: lol what do you mean by that?

eunbi: binnie hates studying, but good luck!

ahh, eunbi becomes unhinged when it comes to bin

but you know it’s bc they’re that close, they’re literally childhood best friends, more so like siblings

still, studying w him couldn’t be that bad right?

spoiler alert, it went alright

you felt bad showing up to bin’s apartment empty handed so you picked up some coffee before you arrived

you officially meet bin’s roommate, eunwoo, and you’re floored for like 2 minutes bc literally how can a man like him be real?

cue bin being a bit jealous bc yeah he knew his roommate’s perfect but like damn did you have to be affected by him too :(

eunwoo’s a good teacher alright? you actually understood the material from him

you: idk what eunbi’s talking about, you’re actually not that bad at studying bin

bin being offended: oh god what did eunbi say about me

eunwoo smirking: maybe it’s because you’re here y/n, bin usually doesn’t focus this much when it’s just me trying to help him

you: ???

bin in his head: i can’t trust anyone huh 

before you left his place, you and bin planned to meet up and study one more time before your stats exam

it was just you and bin this time

although you’d never admit it, yes you tried to look good for meeting up with him

yeah he’s a friend?? at least you think you were at that level?? but still, he’s a cute friend and you really didn’t want him to see you looking crusty

you and bin end up studying for a whole 5 hours

granted, half of that time you two were messing around, eating food, trying to procrastinate for as long as you could

bc even though you two had a good handle on the material now—thanks to eunwoo—you both still hated statistics

you knew bin started to get more comfortable with you bc he started teasing you

it made you happy hehe so ofc you started to quip back at him

not at the intensity that he and eunbi do but it’s enough for you :)

he walks you back to your apartment after your study session

wow what a gentleman

bin waving bye at your door with the cutest smile: see you in class y/n :)

mayhaps your stomach did a little somersault

anyways

on the day of your exam you were freaking out

you have test anxiety ah ha ha

you woke up at 5 bc you were paranoid about being late to class

you’re like hastily looking over the notes again when you get to class like are you really prepared omg you’re psyching yourself out hella

bin comes in with 2 cups of iced coffee and he’s like woah are you okay

you: i woke up at 5 bin, idk if i can do this omg

you are like visibly in distress rn and he feels like a pang in his chest 

he was gonna mess with you and say like “bet im gonna get a higher grade than you” but he smartly decides against it

instead, he just takes your hand and gives it a little squeeze: y/n, take a deep breath. you’re going to do great, you studied your ass for this and we both know that you got this material down—even eunwoo hyung said you were gonna ace this exam. just trust your instincts, okay? breathe with me.

he was staring at you so intently and genuinely when trying to calm you down

your anxiety yeeted and suddenly you felt shy

you: th...thanks bin...

bin was worried about you while taking the test rip, he kept secretly glancing at you (while also trying not to make it look like he was cheating) just to make sure that you were okay

he walks you to your next class after you both finished your exam

bin: you sure you’re okay? you said you woke up at 5, did you even eat breakfast? let’s get food after your next class.

you were feeling better after the test but like you got so endeared at his fussing

yes you and bin got lunch that day

your exam results were uploaded the next day

you immediately called bin: I GOT A 95

bin: i told you that you would ace it! i got a 90 hehe

you: bin i literally owe you and eunwoo my life, lemme buy you guys food or something

you hear a little bit of bickering over the phone and suddenly you’re talking to eunwoo

eunwoo: i would love some sushi, but since bin can’t eat seafood, why don’t you come watch his swim meet this weekend :)

you: o...h...o-okay yeah i’d love to watch, what time is it? :)

eunwoo: it’s saturday at 10 am

you: okay! i’ll see you there bin

bin already planning on drop kicking eunwoo

cha eunwoo—best wingman™

you basically beg eunbi to go with you to bin’s swim meet

eunbi: i know bin can swim, why do i have to watch him flounder around under water

also eunbi: faster bin! don’t you fucking dare lose!

bin places first this meet

are we shocked? no

okay you mentally prepared yourself for seeing him shirtless, but clearly you didn’t prep enough bc you’re on the cusp of drooling when you’re watching him from the bleachers

and let’s face it, you’re not subtle and eunbi knows everything so she’s literally closing your jaw for you and like messing with you

eunbi: y/n, you’re really sure you like bin? he’s a good guy but c’mon, i think you deserve better

you: since when did i say that i like him ???? and what do you mean ??? i think he checks...all the boxes...for me...

eunbi: maybe it’s bc i’ve known him since when he used to wet his pants so i don’t understand why people are attracted to him, but like...really, you’ve been checking him out since he removed his shirt. even the ref can see that you’re simping over him

you and eunbi meet up with eunwoo and the rest of bin’s friends—that you haven’t met yet but know of

jinjin: oh so you’re the y/n that bin’s been talking about *wink wonk*

baby you’re blushing

even more so when bin comes up to your group

mmm middle parted wet hair, muscle tee and white sweats, towel around his shoulders

he’s so hot ???

you’re all congratulating him blah blah, but like bin keeps glancing at you and all you can do is just smile and like nervous laugh

sanha: y/n! eunbi noona! you should come eat with us to celebrate bin hyung’s win

eunbi glances at you, little smirk on her face: i have plans, but i know y/n’s free! bin you make sure they get home safe after y’alls dinner plans :)

hwang eunbi—best wingwoman™

dinner with the boys was chaotic, you were talking and joking around with them as if you didn’t just meet them today

*you about to get your wallet*

bin, not even able to look at you: it’s okay y/n, i got you this time

cue the boys teasing

astro: kings of making fun of each other

rocky as the group is splitting up: walk y/n home safely hyung :) don’t stay out too late

bin: sorry about them, they’re a bunch of loud idiots...ah haha...

the walk back to your apartment is actually pretty sweet

he didn’t know if you would actually come watch his meet or not but he was excited when he actually saw you

you talk about small random things about yourselves, but it’s not like useless information, you bet that both your subconsciouses are keeping track of whatever y’all are talking about

you give each other a “friendly” hug goodnight...that lasts like a minute or so

and while you’re hugging, bin just can’t help but think that wow you fit so perfectly in his arms

and on the other hand, you’re thinking he feels so warm? so safe? you don’t want to pull away?

but ofc the hug has to end and you’re thanking him for walking you home and he’s like glued to his spot waving goodbye sweetly and waiting for you to go inside so that he knows you’re safely in your apartment before leaving

bin sighing dreamily as he walks back to his and eunwoo’s place

eunwoo waiting on the couch with a glass of water: how was your date ;)

bin: it wasn’t a date, i just walked y/n home

eunwoo: yeah, but you want it to be a date

bin: ...shut up

god why is the pining stage so long

alright everyone knows you and bin like each other

it becomes pretty obvious after the swim meet

you and him fall into this little routine of switching who buys coffee for your 8 am

and then he’d walk you to your next class afterwards

you both still don’t pay attention in stats, sorry

but that means more outside study sessions dates

you come watch his swim meets, whether astro’s there or you’re just watching by yourself

and then you and him get lunch?? early dinner?? right afterwards, it depends on whenever his meet ends

but like??? neither of you have confessed your feelings for each other

even though you both have like a little hint that yeah the feelings are mutual

you and bin are literally like this for 3 months, like damn the semester is almost over

eunbi and eunwoo are tired of your shit, they’re both just like: when the fuck are they getting together? we’re sick of this.

alright so the masterminds literally pay one of eunwoo’s friends from his major to ask you out while you’re studying with bin

let’s do mingyu why not, he was in your korean history class last year

you and bin are in the library, half studying half goofing off per usual

eunwoo, eunbi, and mingyu are at the opposite side of the floor

mingyu: u sure bin won’t clock me for trying to ask out y/n

eunwoo: probably not??

eunbi: just do it please

mingyu giving them both the finger before walking up to your table

“hey y/n...i was wondering if you’d like to get dinner with me...as a date?”

you: o_o huh?

mingyu: i always thought you were cute from when we had class together last year, but i never had the balls to ask you out or anything...you’re not dating anyone, right?

you glance at bin to find that he’s already looking at you with an expression that you don’t really know how to read

you: um...well no I’m not-

bin: actually, we’re dating so y/n can’t go out with you mingyu, sorry.

mingyu’s not even phased, he just gives you a thumbs up and then leaves

you’re confused like literally what is going on—and then you process what bin said and you whip your head to look at him

bin: sorry i said that...i just felt...jealous i guess when mingyu asked you out

you: I wouldn’t have said yes anyway...I sorta like someone else

bin: fuck it, the topic already came up...y/n I’ve liked you for a while now but uh...I don’t know I guess I was scared to tell you because I’m scared of rejection

you just laugh, but not mockingly! more like bin you’re so cute wtf

“bin, why would I reject you when I’ve literally been into you for the past four months?”

it’s safe to say that you and bin officially began dating after that

eunwoo texting in their gc: bin and y/n are finally together

myungjun: fucking finally

bin: how...did u know that eunwoo...?

*eunwoo has left the chat*

alright but bin’s charm?? flirting?? teasing?? sweetness?? up 1000%

bin is touchy y’all, in private his hands are always on you, whether it be sexual or not sexual is up to you

he restrains himself in public ofc, the most he does is put a hand on your waist or hold your hand

eunbi threatens bin early on in your relationship: bin you’re like my brother, but y/n’s one of my dearest friends and if you as much make them cry i will kill you

ofc bin is still eunbi’s punching bag, but when you three are hanging out, he’s dramatic and acts like he’s hurt so he’s like whining to you

sometimes you play along and coo at him like: aww binnie, where does it hurt baby?

other times you’re like: you really think i believe that?? with the size of your biceps??

eunbi: excuse me while i vomit

okay but binnie? bestest sweetest boy

yes he looks all big and intimidating

but he’s soft—especially for you

your nicknames for each other are either “bub” or “baby”

yes will join in making fun of you with the boys, but when you start pouting he’s a goner and will defend you

bin is also a big cuddler, but i mean you’re not complaining hehe

he’s the big spoon, no questions asked

okay but being in bin’s arms is like your favorite place in the world

his frame literally just envelopes you and all you can feel and smell is him and it’s so??? content, you feel at home with him

you feel bad in the morning bc like his arm has to be sore from your weight so you try to like get out of his grasp, but he literally just whines and hugs you tighter

okay but just imagine you and bin napping and his arms are around your waist, his nose is buried in your neck and he wakes up like nuzzling his face in your shoulder like a puppy

im soft

one week you’re staying over at bin’s apartment and then the next week he’s staying over at yours, the cycle goes like that

if you’re one of my ladies with a ~vagíne~, he will buy all your cravings and your tampons/pads, literally anything you want that week, it is yours

doesn’t really get jealous now that you two are official, he knows that you’re his and he’s yours

you two lightly bicker like friends, but you’ve never had a terrible fight before

you were really close to though—or...like you did?? but it was resolved really quick

one of the only problems of bin is that he hates showing weakness and it takes him a whole lot to truly fully 100% be vulnerable with someone even if it’s someone close to him

he pulled a muscle in his arm and it cost him one of his swim meets

he had to go to rehab for like a month and you knew that mentally he’s been off bc of it

you try to ease talking him into telling you about how he’s really feeling but he just kept dodging the subject

one night after one of his rehab sessions, he came back to your place and you’re just like

“hey bubbie, how was rehab? how are you doing?”

and he just snaps at you: stop asking me how I am, y/n, it’s getting really annoying

you’re taken aback, like what the fuck where did that come from?

your eyebrows furrow and you cross your arms bc you are not going to get spoken to like that

“so me worrying about you and wondering how your recovery’s going is annoying? that’s what a partner is supposed to do, moon bin. what’s going on with you?”

bin: you’re being suffocating! it’s the only thing you ask me about nowadays, sometimes I—

oh boy you got mad

you: I ask you because I know you’re not telling me things! I know you’re suffering by yourself and I want to let you know that I’m here for you, I want to help take some of the pain away or at least help you deal with it because I’m your partner! but how can I if you can’t even let me in?? we’re fucking dating moon bin, we’re supposed to go through rough times together. and you call me suffocating...? 

bin’s silent and he’s looking at the floor

you sigh, tears are building in your eyes because you’re frustrated and a bit hurt by what he said, and your voice cracks when you speak again: if i’m suffocating you, then you should leave. text me or something when you can breathe again, I don’t know.

there’s a bit of spite in your words, hidden by the pain

bin sees the tears rolling down your cheeks and that’s when he knows he fucked up

he’s never seen you cry before—besides like from a sad movie or something

so like the fact that he made you cry and hurt you with his words? damn he hates himself rn

he immediately wraps his arms around you, and you like try to push him to get away bc why is he hugging you? didn’t he just say that you were suffocating? why is he confusing

bin: baby, I’m sorry...I shouldn’t have taken out my frustrations on you, you’re not suffocating me I promise...you’re right about everything, I should be sharing things with you and telling you how I’m really feeling...I’m sorry.

you don’t say anything and just like sniffle and he picks you up and brings you to your bedroom and then he just lets it all out

he tells you how rehab is hard and like yeah his muscle pain is going away, but he doesn’t know if he can swim as fast as he used to and that scares him

and he tells you that sometimes he’s thought of giving up swimming since his injury, but then he thinks of you and that’s how he’s still going through with rehab

you’re his motivator and comfort but he doesn’t want to show you his weak side bc he hates that part of himself

and at this point, bin starts tearing up and you’re like stroking his hair to try and comfort him

bin: I’m not good at telling my feelings baby...probably why I didn’t tell you I liked you until 4 months later...but I promise I’ll work harder and at least try and tell them to you.

ugh pain

anyway your communication with serious things got better after that encounter

eunbi finding out that you and bin argued and he made you cry and she literally punched his stomach

you: omg eunbi stop

bin: it’s okay...I sorta deserved that

eunbi: why...are you not swearing at me? shit, bin are you okay?

he nods to the girl and just puts an arm around your shoulder: we talked things through, don’t worry. I’m all good now, but I did deserve that punch because I hurt y/n when I promised you I wouldn’t

bin ends up having a full recovery and bam his first swim meet after he got the clear from the PT, he gets first place again

all the boys and you and eunbi were there supporting him

bin was hella nervous before the meet started, but you gave him a little good luck kiss and was like: I believe in you bub, no matter the result, as long as you give it your all and don’t hurt yourself again, you’ll be the winner to me :)

this was actually when the first “i love you” was said

after your little pep talk in the locker room, bin’s just hugging you and holding you for comfort

and he just went out with it

“I love you y/n”

you blush hella hard bc you were not expecting that

obviously you’ve been feeling it like yeah your feelings for bin have grown into love for a while now

you just bury your face in his chest and hug him tighter

“I love you too binnie, now go get em bub.”

he smiles and kisses you and tells you that he’ll see you after the meet is over

you come back to the crowd where the boys and eunbi are and you just have a huge smile on your face, you’re literally glowing

myungjun: please tell me you guys didn’t fuck before his swim meet

speaking of fucking

okay let’s get down and dirty ladies and gents wink wonk mmm grr bark bark

bin is so sexy y’all like i dont need to tell you that

he’s 100% a tease

you have a little muscle kink hehe

which bin very much uses to his advantage

if bin is wearing a sleeveless shirt, you bet he wants to smash that day

will walk around shirtless after a shower or after a workout just to turn you on and then depending on his mood, he might tease you for like an hour or you’ll just get right to it

he’s very proud of his body and the work he put into it and knowing that you get turned on from one look of it?? gives him an ego boost, he loves it

one time at a party, he wore a crop top (mm hello bad idea bin) and you literally went feral

you dragged him inside the nearest bathroom and just started making out

he’s an ass guy

...all of astro are ass guys, it’s just obvious with how much they slap each other’s asses and poke each other’s assholes

okay you know how he’s touchy right? i mentioned that earlier

he always wants you on his lap

even if there’s a space available, nope your seat is his thighs

ofc when the situation allows, like you’re not gonna sit on his lap in class duh

most of the time in public like if you’re hanging out with the boys or something, it’s innocent

but if he wants to be a tease, he’ll literally just tighten his grip on your hips and grind you down onto his cock

subtle, he won’t straight up thrust into you

just enough to get his dick stirring and make you feel the outline of it through your pants

and then he just stops and hugs your waist again?? wtf

his major’s exercise science right? will ask if he can practice on you for anatomy and physiology, but you know after touching you in a couple places, y’all will just end up fucking

likes to bite and mark

very proud seeing the hickeys he leaves on you

you can bite, but you can’t bruise, idk his upper body is exposed a lot bc swimming so you can’t really leave any marks on him unless it’s the off season

foreplay’s cool, but he prefers the main event, he just wants to be in you

as much as he loves doggy, his fav position is the hook

(it’s when your legs are on his shoulders ohoho and it just lets him fuck you in a deeper angle mmm)

also in the hook, he can choke you

if i have a choking kink, you have a choking kink

okay little tangent, choking is so hot?

like just imagine you and bin are making out, he pushed you against the wall, literally grinding his hips into you, and his hand just comes up and squeezes your throat? that’s so sexy

likes butt stuff oops

i don’t make the rules, he just does

daddy kink, but no power play

will not degrade you (even if you really just want him to call you his dirty slut) bc he really values seeing you as equals

seeing your face when you cum is a must

almost always: you cumming → bin cumming

nothing gets him off more than knowing that he’s making you feel good

after !! care !!

sweetest boy!!

will clean you up with a warm towel after sex

and if you’re one of my ladies, he will always remind you to pee so that you don’t get a UTI

if y’all had a marathon or something, he will draw a bath and carry you to the bathroom and you will bathe together, so soft

always ends sex with an i love you :’)

okay let’s get back to the soft stuff

special thing about swimmer bin: pool dates

sometimes when he’s practicing and it’s just him, he asks you to come to the aquatic center and you two end up splashing around and being cute together

he like knew that you were the one for him some time during senior year

it was the holidays and his parents invited you to spend christmas with their family since your parents were out of the country this break

his parents and sister liked you immediately—which you were so scared about, but bin just knew

you woke up early christmas eve (and bin was out like a rock) so you just went downstairs to brew some coffee or something and you saw that his mom was already starting on making food

naturally, you offered your help and she was like no, you’re a guest y/n, but obviously you started helping

bin comes downstairs like an hour or two later to see you, his mom, and his dad just cooking and listening to christmas music and talking and his heart just like swells??

you: morning binnie :)

his mom: how can you be sleeping when y/n’s here helping us with christmas dinner

his dad: what kind of boyfriend are you, son?

just kidding all jokes

but that’s the moment when he knew

best boyfriend bin ugh

he becomes a legend in the school for swimming

but doesn’t continue after college, he’s all about becoming a physical trainer after graduation

he goes to grad school, while you’re out working in business

bin moves in with you after graduating, it was the obvious next step

you do talk about the future together, but obviously bin’s still in school and you’re both fresh from undergrad so there’s no rush yet to tie the knot

doesn’t stop his or your parents from talking to you two about marriage tho oops

ugh but the domesticity after bin moves in with you? superb

like yeah obviously you both basically lived together anyway when he still roomed with eunwoo just from how much you and him spent at each other’s places

but like your apartment is now both of your place and it’s like your home is finally complete

your apartment becomes the reunion place for the boys and eunbi

at this point everyone knew you and bin were gonna get married eventually

eunwoo and eunbi: we did that ;)

and that’s how you and your college bf!bin live happily ever after uwu

happy birthday binnie moonbob ♥

1-25-21

[clumsyclifford]

OKAY. how about "This wasn’t meant to be a date, but we’ve had such a good time and now it’s 2 a.m. and I should really go home…" with ur teacher alex/ambiguous office job jack? (or any version of jalex) (we just love jalex in this house)

well hello, she said casually, nine months later. thank you for the excellent prompt, sorry it took me so long to get to it, but you can thank yourself for that too considering going to ssf is what inspired me to finally write this one. bellawritess clumsyclifford pictures is proud to present: the tshirt jalex meet-cute :)

read here on ao3

-

Later, Alex learns that the boy at the barricade who’d elbowed Alex in the face trying to snatch the thrown guitar pick out of the air is named Jack.

“I’m so sorry,” Jack says for the millionth time, even though Alex has laughed it off every other time. He laughs it off this time, too.

“Seriously, it’s fine. And hey, you caught it.”

Jack holds up the guitar pick, triumphant. “I did catch it,” he says. The blink-182 logo flashes its dead and frozen smile at Alex. Alex finds himself smiling back, though not so much at the pick.

The leaving crowd parts around the two of them. Headlights flood the night, filling the street before them with light and noise. There’s a line of cars backed up further than Alex cares to imagine. Those at the front must have left the show significantly before the set was over. Quitters.

“What I didn’t catch was your name,” Jack adds. His lips quirk, like he’s proud of such a smooth line.

“Alex,” says Alex. “We should probably get out of everyone’s way. Are you waiting for someone, or…?”

“No, no, I came alone.”

“Yeah, me too. Was supposed to have a friend but he bailed on me last-minute.”

“Seriously? Bailed on a blink concert?”

“I know, right?” Alex grins. “Eh, whatever. If he’d been here you probably never would have elbowed me in the face and then we’d never have met.”

“But I would’ve never elbowed you in the face,” Jack says. “Don’t you think you’d have preferred that?”

“Not if it means we’d have never met.”

Jack’s smile slowly grows. “Fair enough. Did you know there’s a 24-hour diner literally five minutes from here?”

“Oh, man, I like the way you think,” Alex says, shoving his hands into his pockets to protect them from the cool late-night breeze. “I didn’t want to sit in this traffic anyway.”

“And I don’t blame you.”

“Well, lead the way,” Alex says, nodding down the sidewalk, and he falls into step with Jack as they both start to walk.

-

The Tastee Diner is charmingly diner-y — neon lights, stools at the bar, the whole nine yards — and, more attractively, it’s mostly empty at this hour. It’s past midnight, later even than Alex’s usual bedtime, but between the buzz from the concert and Jack the attractive stranger across from him, he’s not really feeling tired. If he’s going to flush his sleep schedule down the drain, a post-concert Friday night seems like the best time to do it.

And Jack is really cute. So that helps.

“Breakfast,” Alex says reverently when they’re seated. “Oh my God, a fucking giant waffle.”

“Wow, everything you say makes me like you more,” Jack says, leaning his elbows on the table. Alex glances over the top of his menu but Jack’s eyes are focused on his own menu on the tabletop. He’s smiling a little. So is Alex.

“It’s a giant waffle, Jack! How the fuck do I say no to that?”

“You don’t. This table is pro-giant waffle. At the exclusion of anything else.”

“You’re damn right it is,” Alex says. “Do we also happen to be pro-chocolate milkshake?”

“We’re pro-vanilla milkshake.”

“Ew, seriously?”

Jack rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I know, how can I like vanilla when chocolate is right there—”

“Yeah, how can you?” Alex reaches over the table and covers Jack’s hand with his own. Their eyes meet. Very seriously, Alex says, “How do you look at yourself in the mirror, you monster?”

A beat. Jack chews his lip, clearly trying not to smile. “With great difficulty,” he says. He’s humoring Alex, but sincerity sparkles in his deep brown eyes. His earnest gaze holds Alex’s and he doesn’t pull his hand away. After a moment, Alex does.

“Well, if I looked like you I’d never stop looking in the mirror,” he says instead, and brings his gaze back to the menu. A laugh escapes Jack.

“You can’t turn it off, can you?”

“Turn what off?”

“Your flirty brain-to-mouth pipeline?”

“I could,” Alex says breezily. “I choose not to.” It feels like a subtle rejection, a quiet dig, but it’s hard to be sure. Jack’s smirk seems to suggest otherwise.

The waitress comes by to take their orders of two giant waffles and two milkshakes — chocolate for Alex, vanilla for Jack, though Alex is sure to give Jack a judgmental look as he’s ordering. When she goes, Jack laces his fingers together and leans back in the booth. “So,” he says. “Your name is Alex, you’ve got fantastic music taste, and you seem to be more or less my age, but that’s about all I know about you. Are you from around here? What do you do? Likes, dislikes?”

“Are you trying to build me a dating profile?”

“That wouldn’t be very opportunistic of me, would it?” Jack smiles innocently. Alex’s heart gives a little leap. “I’m trying to get to know you. You know, like any normal stranger would if they found themself at a diner with another stranger.”

That’s fair. They are effectively strangers, although Alex can think of a shorter word to describe what they’re doing right now. He glances around at the jukebox-esque machine bolted to the wall next to their booth, at the empty swivel stools at the bar, at the marble tabletop where Jack is absently tapping his fingers. The decor of the diner is very classic, and he and Jack, both dressed in blink merch and black jeans like the perpetual emo teens they’re no doubt trying to emulate, stick out like sore thumbs.

However unintentional, it sure as hell feels like a date to him.

“I’m from Baltimore,” he starts. Jack lights up.

“No shit! Me too.”

“Really? Whereabouts?”

“Well, I work by the harbor.”

“No shit, I work in Highlandtown,” Alex says excitedly. “Highlandtown Middle. I’m a teacher.”

Jack whistles lowly. “That’s fucking awesome. What do you teach?”

“Music,” Alex says, and Jack groans, although he’s smiling as his hands move to cover his face.

“Of course you do,” he says.

Alex tilts his head. “What, are you not a fan of music teachers? That’s insane.”

“No, no, it’s not that, it’s just.” Jack laughs. “Of course the hot guy I meet at a blink-182 concert is a middle school music teacher. I feel like God is punishing me for refusing to play anything but bad drums in middle school band.”

Alex also laughs. Being called a hot guy by a hot guy is making his stomach do gymnastics. He’s too old for his stomach to be doing things like that, but his stomach clearly doesn’t care. “Well, if I’d been your teacher, trust me, you’d have been playing solidly mediocre drums. But I’m sorry you feel that way.”

Jack’s hands fall to his lap. “I’m sure I’ll get over it,” he says with a slanted smile.

Alex swallows and grins. “So did you look up surrounding diners before you came, or are you just…inexplicably familiar with Silver Spring geography?”

“I come to a lot of concerts here,” Jack says, nodding in the general direction of the venue they’d just vacated. “Venue’s awesome.”

“Yeah, it really is. Honestly, I’m still amazed that you caught that pick.”

“I have a lot of practice. From aforementioned many concerts.”

“I can see that.”

“Trust me, it’s a very specific skill. I’ve got awful hand-eye coordination,” Jack says with a chuckle. “My dream of being the youngest Oriole inducted into the Hall of Fame was crushed at a young age.”

Fizzy champagne fills Alex’s chest. He can’t stop smiling. “Fuck yes, you’re an Orioles fan?”

“That’s my team,” Jack says, looking excited. Possibly at the prospect of meeting another person who’s equally interested in both music and baseball. That’s why Alex is excited, anyway.

“It’s my team,” he says enthusiastically. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, they fucking suck—”

“Oh, no, yeah, they’re the worst—”

“But I’d take a bullet for them. I happily go down with ‘em every year.”

“Yeah, they’re my boys,” Jack agrees. “Here’s hoping this season is better than every single other one.”

“Yeah, all my fingers are crossed, but between you and me I don’t have a lot of faith.”

Jack shrugs and nods. “It’s good for my ego to be so loyal to such a bad team. Keeps me humble.”

“That’s the best attitude I’ve ever heard,” Alex says, and Jack’s smile is so radiant Alex could swear he can feel the glare off the shiny marble tabletop.

-

“Between ‘All The Small Things’ and ‘Going Away To College’ how the fuck am I going to choose ‘Small Things’?”

“Yeah, but it’s such a classic! ‘College’ is, like, emo and…emo.”

“No more emo than ‘I Miss You’ —”

“That one is a classic—”

“I’m not saying it’s not, I’m just saying ‘College’ is their best song and it deserves its spotlight.”

“That’s ‘Feeling This’ erasure and you know it.”

“Besides ‘Feeling This,’ but they always play ‘Feeling This.’ I stand by what I said. I’d swap ‘Small Things’ for ‘College.’ Deal with it.” Alex tongues his milkshake straw into his mouth. “Your turn.”

Jack glares at him for another long moment, like he has to properly make his point about it. “Fine,” he finally huffs. His gaze shifts sideways, off into the distance like he’s thinking, and he swirls his own straw around his milkshake cup. Alex can kind of see his reflection in it. While Jack is thinking, Alex quickly checks his phone.

(21:47) Rian Dawson: How’s the concert? Fuckin bummed I couldn’t make it :/

(21:48) Rian Dawson: Hope you’re having a good time anyway. Text me whenever you get home so I know you didn’t die or get trampled by a mosh pit or whatever the case may be.

Alex smiles and turns off his phone again.

“I feel like I can’t choose a song off Enema now that you did,” Jack mumbles.

“You can,” Alex says. “It would just be kind of a lot of Enema.”

“No, but Enema is a legendary album. I’d go to a show that was literally just all of Enema.”

“Why were you complaining about ‘College’ then!”

“I’m not complaining about ‘College’ itself, I just would never trade it for ‘Small Things’!”

Alex scoffs. “They play ‘Small Things’ all the time. I’ve never seen ‘College’ live. I’d literally kill.”

“Oh my God, I know what I’d do,” Jack says. “‘Shut Up’ instead of ‘Down.’ That’s the only thing that could make this set list more perfect.”

“Ohhh,” Alex says, “that would be fucking sick. Imagine two thousand people just shouting ‘shut the fuck up, she said’ at the top of their lungs.”

“I cannot think of anything cooler than that.”

Alex hums thoughtfully. “So you went with Take Off Your Pants instead of Enema in the end.”

“Alright, don’t get it twisted. If I could add the entirety of Enema to the set list, I would. But if I only get one song, it has to be ‘Shut Up.’ More Enema is never a bad thing.”

“Why wouldn’t you trade ‘College’ for ‘Down’ then?”

“Because that was your set list move, and this is mine,” Jack says. He slaps the table. “Yeah. This is the answer. Someone get Mark Hoppus on the line, stat. I have to tell him I’ve figured out the formula for the perfect set list.”

“‘Shut Up’ live would be awesome,” Alex concedes. “Good move.”

“What can I say, I have extremely good taste,” Jack says airily.

Alex snorts. “Okay, Vanilla Milkshake.”

“You’re just afraid to taste it because you know deep down that it will be better than your chocolate one,” Jack says, pointing his straw accusingly at Alex. Drops of milkshake fall onto the table. Alex sweeps a napkin over the mess.

“You had an advantage over me, though,” he observes. “You said your favorite blink song is ‘Feeling This,’ which was already on the set list. My favorite song wasn’t, so my hands were kind of tied.”

“It’s among my favorite blink songs,” Jack says. “I have many. Most of which are set list staples, yeah. But that’s on you for only having one favorite song.”

“Wait, what? You can’t have many favorites, that defeats the whole point of having a favorite.”

“I can have multiple favorites, what the fuck are you talking about?”

“No way, man. You only get to have one favorite. You can have second-favorites or close favorites but there’s always one that’s better than the rest.”

“Sorry to burst you bubble, Al, but I have more than one favorite blink song,” Jack says, shrugging. “I also have more than one favorite color and more than one favorite food and more than one favorite song.”

Alex shakes his head through Jack’s speech. “I reject this out of hand.”

“You can’t.”

“Well, Clearly Enema is your favorite blink album.”

“Tied with Take Off.”

“Seriously?” Alex narrows his eyes. “Come on, there must be one thing you have just one favorite of.”

“Yeah, there is,” Jack says. “My favorite movie is Home Alone. No other movie comes anywhere close.”

Of course it is. Alex grins and inclines his head in accordance. “That…is extremely good taste.”

“Thank you,” Jack says graciously, and slurps loudly from his milkshake.

-

The next time Alex checks his phone, his brain takes a moment to catch up. “Holy shit, it’s already one a.m.?”

“Oh shit,” Jack says, checking his phone as well. “Time flies when you’re having fun.”

That adage has never felt more true. Slowly working through giant waffles and milkshakes while exchanging questions and random conversational topics with Jack has been the most fun Alex has had in a long time. Diners, he muses. There’s something about diners. Time feels frozen within these walls, and Alex kind of wants to stay in the time bubble forever, laughing with Jack until the sun comes up.

He could do it. Tomorrow’s a Saturday. Nobody works on Saturday, not even Jack at his “boring office job” (his words).

But he knows there’s a reason that nothing gold can stay. It wouldn’t be valuable if it lasted forever. The night will crystallize as something special in Alex’s memory, but it can’t do that until it ends. And it has to end eventually.

“We should probably go,” Alex says reluctantly. Jack nods once.

“Yeah,” he says. He signals for the check and looks back at Alex. “My treat.”

“Uh, no way. I’m paying.”

“Nope, not happening. I will elbow you in the face again if I have to. I’m paying this check.”

“Jack—” Alex wavers. Jack looks so insistent, eyebrows raised like he’s daring Alex to argue, and there’s nothing to do but smile. “Okay. If you insist. We’ll call it even for you assaulting me earlier.”

“Exactly,” Jack says, and he happily accepts the check when the waitress hands it to him.

“Did you guys get everything you need?” she asks the two of them.

Alex glances at Jack, but Jack’s scanning the check. “Pretty much, yeah,” he tells the waitress. She leaves them with the check, and they vacate their table to go pay it at the front.

Alex wonders what someone might think if they saw this table. Whether anyone could even begin to illustrate the story of the night using only two empty milkshake cups and two plates that formerly held waffles. It would be impossible. Not even Sherlock Holmes could work this one out.

Alex smiles. They’re a fossil in amber, preserved in memory. Even if it turns out not to be a date, Alex knows he’ll look back on tonight fondly, and he can count on this exact same smile every time he does.

Jack finishes paying and turns to face Alex. One arm outstretched, he says, “Shall we?”

Alex links their arms. “After you, good sir.”

They’re laughing as they leave in a glow of neon light.

-

“This is me,” Alex says, gesturing half-heartedly at his car. They both stop short behind it.

“Ah,” Jack says, nodding. “So I guess this is where I leave you.”

Alex swallows. “I’m glad you elbowed me in the face,” he admits, which sounds strange to say out of the blue. “I had a good time tonight.”

“What, at the concert?”

Jack is obviously teasing, but Alex doesn’t mind being more clear. “Actually, I think I had more fun after the concert,” he says, smiling a little. “You’re good company, JB.”

Jack smiles, and if Alex isn’t mistaken, he’s also blushing. “Same to you,” he says. “Despite your wrong opinions about the set list.”

“I hate sounding like a cliché,” Alex says, ruffling a hand through his hair. Jack cocks his head. “But, um, I’d like to see you again. If that’s okay.”

“So okay,” Jack says. “And totally plausible, considering we apparently live within twenty minutes of each other.”

“True,” Alex says. “The universe really wanted us to meet, I guess.”

“Thank you, Universe, for putting Alex in harm’s way,” Jack says solemnly, looking upwards. Alex laughs. “Can I have your number?”

“Yeah, yes, of course.”

Alex recites his phone number for Jack to enter into his contacts. “I promise I’ll call,” Jack says. His gaze flits around Alex’s face like it can’t find a good place to land. He drags his index finger diagonally over his chest. “Cross my heart and everything.”

“I have to ask,” Alex says, shifting on his feet. “Were you— was this supposed to be a date?” He hesitates; maybe that’s the wrong question. “Was it a date?”

“For the sake of anniversaries, let’s say yes,” Jack says. Immediately his face puckers in regret. “Pretend I didn’t say that. I’m— my brain gets ahead of me.”

“No, it’s all good.” It’s more than good; there’s a horde of butterflies in Alex’s ribcage that won’t fucking quit, not now that he knows Jack is thinking of anniversaries when this is only maybe their first date. A person who is not only anticipating a future for them but preparing to celebrate it. So far, so fucking good. “You’re a practical thinker. I can appreciate that.”

“And I appreciate that you aren’t deleting your number from my phone even after I just said that to you,” Jack says, grinning. His grin melts away when he sighs. “I should go. It’s late.”

“Yeah,” Alex echoes. “Late.”

“Please drive safe,” Jack says seriously. “If I’m the last person to see you before you die, that’ll make me look really bad.”

Alex laughs. He likes that Jack keeps making him laugh. His friends make him laugh, too, but Jack makes him laugh in a different way, like he can’t stop himself. Like the delight refuses to stay trapped.

“I promise to drive safe,” he vows. “I owe you a date. I would hate to lose the chance to impress you.”

“Oh, wait, that reminds me.” Jack reaches into his pocket and presses something into Alex’s hand. It’s the guitar pick, warm from Jack’s pocket. “You’ll probably use it more than me,” Jack explains, ducking his head. “You know, being a music teacher and all.”

“Oh,” Alex breathes, flipping the pick in his palm. “That’s, um…thank you. Thanks. I’m…”

“Yeah,” Jack says, licking his lips. “Of course. Um, okay, now I really should go. But like I said, I’ll call.”

Alex nods, still staring at the guitar pick in his hand. His head snaps up and he breaks from whatever trance he’d fallen into. “I’m counting on it,” he says, stepping closer to Jack. He hears Jack inhale as he leans closer, brushing his lips to Jack’s cheek.

When Jack speaks, it’s a hoarse whisper. “I had a good time too, you know.”

Alex leans away and starts walking backwards to the driver-side door. “Good,” he says, smiling warmly. He’s not really trying to smile so warmly but he can’t help it. “Get home safe, Jack.”

“Yeah,” Jack says. “You too, Alex.”

[we-are-inevitable]

bright lights, bright lives // javid

SMALL TOWN AU PART: One

A/N: AHHHH IT’S HERE IT’S HERE !! THE FIRST INSTALLMENT !!! AHHH !!

tag list: @angstyfangirl32 @orestes-fasted @angelslibrary @yahfancyclamwiththepurlinside @tarantulas4davey (if you’d like to be added to the list, send me an ask!)

Read On AO3!

***

The lights in the arena are blinding, casting harsh shadows on the dirt below. It’s intoxicating. The heat, the adrenaline, the anticipation- it’s addicting, captivating, and this right here, right here in this arena, is something special.

Special as he unloads the trailer. Special as he gets ready in the stalls. Special as he waits eagerly at the railing, watching his competitor make the traditional cloverleaf pattern in the dirt.

Everything moves in slow motion, and he feels his heart pound deep in his chest. He straightens his shoulders as the rider goes past him, heading to the stables again, and then, he’s moving toward the gate. And then, he takes a glance up at the crowd, taking in the faces and the excitement.

And then, the ‘go’ signal sounds through the speakers, and everything picks up the pace.

Jack Kelly is barely aware of pulling the reins and giving Dolly’s underside a gentle nudge, and then they’re off. The roar of the crowd is deafening as they go through the tight turns, the continuous loops around three barrels in the middle of the arena, and Jack is smiling- he’s smiling so wide it hurts, because this is where he belongs. Where he wants to be.

Here, under the blinding arena lights, at the best local rodeo in the state, with his favorite horse and a crowd cheering his name.

It feels like hours have passed by the time he reaches the finish line, and a loud blow horn sounds, signaling the end of his ride. Jack is panting now, watching the judges table with wide eyes, watching the timekeeper write down four little numbers- and then it’s announced.

“Jack Kelly’s time is: fourteen-point-three-two seconds.”

The crowd erupts into an uproarious applause. Jack lets out a breathless laugh as he watches his score be written on the blackboard, and covers his mouth with his hand. He hasn’t had a time that good since last summer- most of his times this year have been in the fifteen-to-seventeen second range- and knowing that they still have a long rodeo season ahead of them… It’s hard not to focus on the prospect of potential wins, but Jack gives himself a few moments to bask in the attention before coming back down to Earth.

There are still racers waiting for their turn, Jack reminds himself. You haven’t won yet. Don’t get cocky.

Regardless, Jack keeps his head held high as he drops off of Dolly and begins walking her back to his trailer. He rubs her side all the while, smiling wide. “I knew ya had it in ya, girl,” He whispers once he’s away from everyone else, and runs his hand along her back.

Jack’s quick to tie her reins to a post just behind the trailer. He drops the gate carefully, and walks up inside to check on her feed and water situation. Once he pours her some more water into the trough and adds some more hay to the feed container, he walks back out of the trailer- though he stops in his tracks when he sees someone standing next to Dolly.

A certain someone, with curled red hair, settled over her shoulders perfectly, with a black western hat seated snugly on the crown of her head. Someone wearing tight Wranglers, with a studded belt and a white button down with purple accents tucked into the jeans. Someone with dusty boots and a stare that could make even the strongest man weak in the knees.

“‘Scuse me, ma’am, I’m gonna need ya to step away from the horse,” Jack says with a smirk, leaning against the edge of the trailer. “What are you doin’ back here? Shouldn’t ya be gettin’ ready?”

Katherine makes eye contact with him, and flashes a grin. “There’s still six riders ahead of me. I just wanted to congratulate you on your race, Kelly.”

“Mhm. Sure.”

“Besides, I wanted to see what you look like before I wreck your time.”

“There she is! Atta girl,” Jack grins wide and laughs, then walks forward with open arms. “C’mere, Kath, give me a hug. I’ve missed ya, smartass.”

Katherine hurries toward Jack with a megawatt grin, squeezing him hard around the torso. “I’ve missed you too, Jack. We need to get together sometime!” Katherine huffs as she pulls away. “I’ll be around for a while, but we’re leaving again soon. I have a few races down in Texas that I'll be going to. You up for dinner at Cattleman’s this week?”

“When am I ever not up for dinner at Cattleman's?" Jack shakes his head. “I'm good any day this week.”

“Good,” Katherine smiles. She leans up and gives Jack a kiss on the cheek- an affectionate gesture. “Hey, I need to go get ready, but I'll talk to ya in a bit, okay?” She says with a smile, backing up. “I'll text you. Bye, Dolly,” Katherine gives the horse one more stroke along her side, then nods toward Jack. “Bye, Jackie.”

“Good luck out there! Give Shakespeare some love for me!” Jack calls after her while she walks away, then shakes his head with a grin as he walks toward Dolly. He unties the reins, leads her onto the trailer, and works on getting the saddle off.

Part of him wishes he had help, but… No, he has himself. He can do this. He’s been doing this since he first learned how to pull a trailer. It’s fine.

Fine, Jack remembers, as he sighs and hangs the saddle on the hook. He stays in there for a few more minutes, checking her over while humming to himself. There’s a lot left to do, and he still has to drive home, but eventually, Jack leaves Dolly safe in the trailer and goes out to walk around the booths set up outside the arena.

The rodeo is in full swing, and the energy is buzzing all around him. There are people lined up to get food at the concession stands, countless others milling from boutique booth to boutique booth, and kids playing in the dirt down under the stands. As he walks through the crowd, he hears bits and pieces of conversations- one little kid is going to be mutton busting, according to his enthusiastic comment to his buddy; a teenage girl has a crush on one of the bull riders; a mother and father plan to leave early so their children aren’t out too late.

It’s domestic. It’s a community. It’s a family that Jack is proud to be a part of.

Jack finally comes to a stop at the end of the concession stand’s line. He stuffs his hands in his pockets and squints to see the menu; it’s all typical food, like pulled pork sandwiches, loaded hot dogs, and burgers that rival even the best sit down restaurants. The sign says that the proceeds are going to a local 4H and FFA chapters, too, so… that’s better than getting something shitty at McDonald’s for a higher price, right?

Right.

Jack is still weighing his options when he hears a small voice from behind him ask, “Are you Jack Kelly?”

Blinking, Jack turns around, and he’s met with a young boy. He can’t be any older than ten, Jack notes. He has brown eyes, freckles, curly hair, and a crooked smile- he seems to be missing one of his front teeth as well. He’s wearing a cowboy hat, too; it looks a little cheap, which Jack can appreciate. He remembers how proud he was of his first one, too, even if he did get it from the dollar store.

“That’s me,” Jack responds with a smile, then tilts his head. “What’s your name?”

“My name’s Les!” The kid responds with an enthusiastic smile. “Les Jacobs! I watched you, earlier- you’re really cool!”

And, oh, if that doesn’t make Jack’s heart burst. He kneels down so he can look up at the kid- Les- while he talks. “Well, thanks! That means a lot. Y’know what?”

“What?”

“You seem pretty cool, too.”

The kid’s face lights up. His smile gets impossibly wide, and he giggles- an airy sound that makes Jack chuckle. “Really? You think so?” Jack nods, and Les bounces on his toes. “Can I get a picture with you?”

“‘Course ya can,” Jack affirms with a laugh. “Do ya got a phone?”

“I got a brother!” Les exclaims, and not even a second later, he’s gone. Jack watches him as he races through the crowd, and he grabs the hand of someone standing off to the side- a tall someone, Jack notes. A tall someone with dark hair and light skin that rivals Jack’s own dark tan. A tall someone with a piercing gaze that makes Jack take in a deep breath when they lock eyes.

He looks calm and collected, until Les starts running and pulls the older boy behind him. There’s a flash of panic on his face and, suddenly, his cold expression is gone. Instead, he seems to be scolding the boy, but he quickly calms down as they approach Jack.

“David, take a picture! Please?” Les asks, and the older boy- David, presumably- raises a brow.

“Did you ask for a picture first?” He asks, giving Les a look, and Jack steps forward.

It takes him a second to find the words, feeling a bit thrown off by the boy’s voice, but he soon nods and clears his throat. “I don’t mind if you don’t,” He says easily, and even goes as far as to put his hand on Les’ shoulder. “It’s alright. He’s a good kid.”

“He’s a menace,” David replies, though he’s grinning- until he winces when Les punches his arm. “Ow! Okay, don’t hit the one with the phone.”

“You deserved it!”

“I think that statement is incorrect,” David deadpans, then gestures for Les to get closer to Jack. “Let’s do this,” He grins, then pulls out his phone.

Jack squats down again and throws his arm over the younger boy’s shoulder. Before they take the photo, though, Jack reaches up and takes off his hat. He then hands it to Les, who looks at him with wide eyes. After nodding, Les races to put the hat on. It’s a little big and a little lopsided, but his smile is worth it.

With that, Jack looks over at the camera and shoots his best smile, as well as giving a little thumbs up. He doesn’t move until David puts the phone back in his pocket. He stands and looks down at Les, who is holding out his hat. After a split second decision, Jack says, “Keep it. It’s yours, bud.”

Les blinks, then looks down at the hat in his hands. “Wait- Really?”

“Yep,” Jack says with a grin, popping the 'p'. “Keep it! You deserve it, little guy. Like I said, you're cool."

“You’re awesome!” Les yells, jumping up and down. He then puts the hat on, looks at David, and says, “I’m gonna go show Smalls!”

With that, the boy runs off, leaving Jack in a fit of laughter. He smiles wide and shakes his head, then turns to face David. “Your brother’s sweet,” He says with a grin, taking a step forward. After a moment, he holds his hand out to shake. “Jack Kelly. It’s nice to meet ya.”

David stares at his hand for a moment, then grins and shakes it. “David Jacobs,” He replies, and bites his lip as he pulls his hand away. “Thanks for that hat. Les isn't going to shut up about that for a while," David laghs softly, and Jack does, too, giving a small shrug of his shoulders. David looks over Jack for a moment, head to toe, then clears his throat. "You, uh… You were really good out there.”

“Thank you,” Jack says with a smile, then rubs his arm. “Are you from around here? I ain’t seen ya before.”

“We just moved here,” David nods. “A few weeks ago. Uh, like… the first week of summer.”

Jack nods and clicks his tongue. “Nice, nice. I’ll make sure to remember that, Davey,” He responds nonchalantly, the nickname rolling off of his tongue. He can’t help it; giving nicknames is his thing, and it’s a thing he’s good at.

“Davey?” David repeats with a chuckle, and crosses his arm. “That was quick. Not unpleasant, though.”

“Well,” Jack starts, and looks David up and down. He’s pretty cute- for a guy, that is. Not that Jack is interested, because Jack doesn’t like guys, not like that, but… “Meetin’ you has been a very pleasant experience so far. I ain’t complaining,” Jack smirks, and shoots David a wink. He’s about to speak again until he hears a name call over the loudspeaker, and he quickly straightens up. “Shit-- Hey, I gotta go, my friend’s ‘boutta go into the ring, but-- I’ll see ya around, okay?”

David nods, and Jack gulps when he sees him smile. God, that smile… It’s nice, and Jack hopes he can see it again. “I-- Yeah! Yeah, I’ll see you around,” David responds quickly. “Uh- Good luck with the, um, scoring stuff! I hope you did well.”

“Thanks,” Jack says with a laugh, then points his thumb over his shoulder. “I’m gonna… I gotta go, but--”

“Yeah, that’s-"

“Yeah- Okay, uh-”

“Sorry, I- Bye!”

“Bye,” Jack says with a breathless little laugh, and he stands there for just a few more seconds, holding David’s gaze, before he nods and takes off running back toward the arena, all thoughts of getting food flying out of his mind. He reaches the guard rail just as the signal goes off, and even climbs onto the first rung of the railing to cheer Katherine on. She’s going fast- really fast- and Jack can see that cocky smirk on her face. She knows she’s good, and Jack is undeniably proud of her.

But, even so, he can’t help but laugh when the timekeeper calls out her official time. Fifteen seconds.

Jack: one. Katherine: zero.

This will be fun to bicker over at dinner.

[stephspurs]

A Family Affair | Euro 2020 Football Fanfiction

Hi besties!! here is the long awaited part 9!! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did whilst writing it!! a big thank you goes to @emwritesfootball for proofing this part & making sure its up to scratch for all of you lovely readers! Let me know what you think babes hehehe!! Love Always, Steph xx

Part 9. | nona parte

word count; 2006. writing tools; third person until dashed line, first person thereafter. next update; Friday 13/08 5pm AEST. Updates are three times/week (Monday, Wednesday & Friday)! tags (as requested by users); @footballffbarbiex @obsesseds-world @abysshaven link to fic masterlist here

The season kicked off in the middle of August and Amelia had been more than prepared for her first match in the premier league. She spent day after day analysing the players in the first team, introducing them to the magical world of rehearsed tactics. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the brilliant girl; she had to learn how to implement the plays coupled with the speed of the game. But so far, so good. Chelsea have been winning and her plays have been working, the boys were getting the hang of it - no matter how apprehensive they were at the start.

Jorgi played a big part in demonstrating the success of the play, performing best in his midfield role to guide the game and direct the change in play to his teammates. By the time they had played a few fixtures, they had really gotten the hang of her approach to set pieces and began to put their trust in the young girl. They were starting to see results and wanted to keep the winning streak going while they could. The fourth fixture in the new season was one that Amelia was looking forward to, personally: Chelsea v Aston Villa, Stamford Bridge, 3pm kick off.

Jack and Amelia had grown closer and closer, FaceTime‘dates’ as Jack would call them, a weekly occurrence. She had spoken to him just as much as she had spoken to Jorgi - and they were still carpooling to and from Cobham together. Her friendship with Jack was full of easy conversation and flirtatious banter, teetering over the line of friendship but being that they were kept physically apart, the friendship line remained largely intact. One person that had drifted even further away from her, despite her believing that it couldn't be possible, was Ben Chilwell.

Every time she walked into a room that he was in, if he didn't have to be there he would immediately leave. Amelia didn’t understand what the problem was. Yeah sure, they were flirty together in Mykonos but they never crossed a line together, no matter how many times the wine went straight to their heads. If anything, she should be the one running away from him. She was the one who sent him a couple of messages here and there that he just opened. She spoke to Mason, Jorgi, Billy Gilmour - who was another one of the boys she had developed a strong friendship with - and all of them insisted they didn’t understand their friend's strange behaviour.

On the evening before the Villa match, Amelia was laying on the couch in her townhouse binge watching yet another docu-series on Netflix when her doorbell rang. This was strange, most people that came past the house these days had their own set of keys (her parents, her brother, Jorgi) or they texted to let her know they were outside. Her townhouse was three stories high, so if she was upstairs on the top level vacuuming the chances of her hearing the door were slim to none. Either way, she got up off of her loveseat  and walked to the front door, peeking through the peephole - she lived in London, alone, she wasn’t opening that door until she knew exactly who was on the other side.

______________________________________________________________

“To what do I owe this visit, Benjamin?”

“Hi, Mils.”

“Wow, nickname basis already - I thought only friends called each other by their nicknames.”

“Did you think we weren’t friends?”

“Well, friends don’t treat friends the way you’ve treated me since the evening I left Mykonos.”

With a sigh, Ben looked down at his feet. I did feel a small bit of guilt for that one, but he deserved it. Continuing to find the cracks in the marble step of my door’s threshold more interesting than facing my expression, I took a step back and forced Ben to look up at me.

“Well, are you going to come inside? I’ve got the kettle on and a really good series going that I would like to get back to.”

With a charming smile, Ben took a step forward, took the door handle out of my hand and shut it behind him. Slipping out of his shoes, he followed me down the short hallway to my kitchen and pulled a seat out at the island bench.

“So, really now - why are you here? Nervous about tomorrow?” I questioned as I took two cups out of the cupboard and brewed one tea for him, one coffee for me. 3 years in Italy and coffee in the evening became the norm for me. It was my comfort drink.

“I’m here to apologise for the way I've been acting towards you for the past six weeks. I’ll be honest, I don’t know why I’ve been like this”

“Cut the crap Ben, you know exactly why you’ve been doing it. Now tell me the truth or, as far as I'm concerned, you never came here tonight and tomorrow we will be back to how we were yesterday - you running away from me and me pretending that it doesn't bother me. Even though all it does is bother me.” Not expecting that outburst to come out of me, and to be fair neither did I, Ben looked me in the eye and stayed silent, choosing his next words carefully.

“The first time I saw you, the night you told your brother off in the rec room at St. George’s Park, I thought you were the most determined woman I had ever seen in my life. Not scared of the 30 grown men who were very obviously all on the same side, literally. Then the next time I saw you, after the final match, how you comforted your brother when you were at the highest of highs and he was lower than low, I thought you had more compassion than every person in that stadium put together.”

“When you came to SGP again the next day and delivered the tactical analysis of the game you won, I thought ‘wow she is so intellectually brilliant’. And then when you turned up in Mykonos, all sunkissed and relaxed, sitting next to me and involving me in conversation with my pals but making me feel like you wanted my contribution...I remember it like it was yesterday. Amelia, you smiled at me and my heart did a somersault in my chest.”

“You shut me down outside the club that evening, and when we came back inside I caught the end of your conversation with Jorgi about Fede. Putting two and two together, I understood all that I needed to. The few days after that we carried on like normal. Then, you left and I didn't know if I would ever see you again to be fair. When you messaged me, I got too nervous to reply because I didn't know how to just be your friend. And then when I thought I had finally gotten through a day without thinking about my friend's little sister, you showed up at Cobham as my tactical analyst. I didn’t know what to do Mils, I don't know how to be just your friend when I've had nothing but unfriendly thoughts about you since the first time I saw you command that room of men you had never met in your life.”

The whistle of the kettle ringing out behind me is the only noise filling the kitchen. I’m staring at Ben; he’s staring back at me with nothing but truth behind his eyes and his heart on his sleeve.

“Benj, what you were feeling, what you are feeling is totally valid and I never want you to feel like you can’t share those feelings with me. You’re right, Mykonos changed things for me. What you were feeling was reciprocated, but Ben, I was going back to Italy. At that exact moment, I had no idea I would end up here. I thought I was enjoying a break before another high-intensity season in Italy. I wanted to kiss you so badly at the club that night, but I knew it would only hurt you. I’m used to being hurt, it's a feeling I've grown to expect. But you, you’re too pure to experience the kind of hurt that comes along with knowing you’re making a bad decision, but doing it anyway, because I wanted to be selfish with your heart.”

“Amelia, can I ask you something?” I nodded, holding my breath as I braced myself for the question poised behind his eyes. “If you were in the mood to be selfish, what would have come from that evening?”

“I can probably show you better than I can tell you,”

Walking around the island bench, I pulled the back of Ben’s chair slightly so he pivoted towards me. Standing in between his tracksuit-covered legs, I ran both hands up his arms until I got to his neck and finally beside his face. Threading my fingers through his hair, I pulled his face towards mine and our lips met. It was as soft as a butterfly kiss but as powerful as anything I had ever felt before. His hands wound around my waist and settled themselves on the small of my back before travelling down and giving my backside a gentle caress, forcing a laugh out of my lips and straight into his mouth. Pulling away slightly, so we both had a bit of breathing space to sort out our lightheadedness, Ben spoke his next words very softly.

“I need you to promise me something, Amelia.You need to promise me that you will stop thinking about my heart before your own. I am old enough to make my own decisions, and the decision to ignore you for these past few weeks has been one of the worst ones I've made in a really long time. But I did make it, and it was because I got scared, and I hurt you, and I am so sorry. The decision to come here tonight however, I feel like it more than makes up for that one very very stupid one”

“You’re such a smooth talker, Benj.”

“Say my name again, Mils, you don’t know what it does to me.”

“Down boy, your tea is going cold and I need to find out who killed Sophie in West Cork.Meet me in the lounge.”

A few hours had passed and it was nearing 10pm, well past Amelia’s bed time, but Ben was still sitting on her couch, feet on the table (despite her telling him to remove them) and arm around the back of her shoulders.

“Chilly, I don’t want you to think I'm not interested in you because I so am, I just don’t want to rush into anything. What I left behind in Italy was complicated and heavy; I'm still trying to learn how to exist without him if I'm honest. I want you to just give me the space I need to grow into my own here in the city, if that’s okay with you.”

“Of course it's okay, Mils. From what Jorgi has told me about Fede, I can understand why you want to take it slow now. But please, don’t call me Chilly. My friends call me Chilly, and Mills. I thought I made it clear before that I don’t want to be your friend.”

“To me, you’re Benj. Thank you. Wait - what do you mean what Jorgi has told you about Fede?”

“I may have asked a couple times about you, and for the record, he is team Bamelia.”

“Bamelia? That is the ugliest word I have ever heard. Never use it again.”

“How can it be ugly? It's mostly your name, and nothing associated with you could ever be considered anything less than beautiful.”

“Stop being so smooth Benj, you’re going to make me blush in a minute.”

“Good, can’t wait to see how you could possibly look even cuter than you do right now.”

“That’s enough Benjamin.”

“Okay I’m done now.”

Part 10. | parte dieci

[lanshappycorner]

This is my Deubek fic ✨ feel free to read and tell me what u think

Pairing: Deuce/Sebek

Warnings: character death, angst, f to literally every first year

In which Sebek realizes time sucks

What color were his eyes?

The sounds of leaves rustling reached Sebek's ears as the young man sat calmly in his seat, his eyes drifting over the red roses, the black thorns that had curled around the garden.

He had planted the roses himself, hoping to grow big green bushes of red roses. However, nothing in the Valley of Thorns seemed to grow so splendidly, and he could only make do with a bushful of thorns, littered with red buds.

He took a sip of his drink—coffee, extra sweet. Sebek had never liked coffee too much, but one too many cafe outings with a certain human had gotten him accustomed to the flavor, although he couldn't say he adored it.

A sigh escaped Sebek's lips and he set down his cup, his eyes drawing towards the seat across from him. Closing his eyes, he could recall a vivid scene, a garden full of red blooms, and a man sitting before him, wisps of his blue disheveled hair falling over his eyes. The man looked to be much older than him, perhaps in his late twenties or early thirties, although there was a delicate charm about him that captivated many.

This man was none other than his former classmate and current lover, Deuce Spade.

He recalled Deuce smiling as he always had—and Deuce's smile was quite pretty, or so he recalled thinking so—and laughing over a cup of coffee. Deuce always did like the drink, perhaps a little too much even.

He recalled himself hesitating, his voice uncharacteristically quiet, "Hey, Deuce. Does it...bother you?"

Deuce blinked, tilting his head as he rested his cheek against his palm, his tone gentle, "This again? You ask me that every week now, you know." He smiled, ruffling Sebek's hair, "You're fae. I'm human. Our appearances aren't something that can be helped, and I don't love you any less for it."

He pulled his hand back, laughing softly, "If anything, I should be the one asking you that. I'm growing older by the day...all my officer work has given me wrinkles you know?" He gestured jokingly to his face, "At this rate, when we go out together, I'll be asked if I was your grandpa."

"N-no!" Sebek raised his voice, "I don't...I...Deuce, you look just as good as before. You'll always look good." He furrowed his eyebrows, a prominent frown upon his lips, "Don't say that…"

"Sebek, I didn't know you were so romantic." Deuce teased, "But I'm just joking." The smile on his face faded, and he trailed his fingers along the rip of his half empty cup, his voice quieting down, "I guess I haven't been taking this as seriously as you want me to."

A sigh. "You know, one day I won't be here anymore."

Sebek began to fidget with the handle of his cup, his fingers turning white from gripping it so tightly, "...We don't have to talk about that if you don't want to."

He'd been trying to bring it up for months, yet he supposed a little part of him didn't want to accept the truth.

"No. We can talk about it now." Deuce hummed, "I don't know when's the next time I'll be able to talk to you so leisurely, so now is as good of a time as ever." Deuce did dabble in quite a dangerous profession, he never knew when was the last day he'd live, and Sebek knew that.

"One day I'll be gone, and when that time comes…I don't want you to feel burdened." Deuce continued. Before Sebek could respond, he said, "You can live for hundreds of years while I might not even live to 90. The world is full of people…Sebek, if one day I am gone, I want you to know that it's okay to love someone else. It's okay to move on."

The fae sharply inhaled, "That's what you want to tell me? I won't love anyone else. I won't, ever. You can't make me." He looked to Deuce, as if begging him to not discuss this further, "I don't want to love anyone else."

"You don't have to, but I want you to know it's okay." Deuce shook his head, "You deserve happiness. Even if it's not with me."

Sebek recalled arguing with Deuce often afterwards about the same subject, time and time again. With each visit, Deuce seemed to grow older, more worn out.

He was sipping on coffee again, his voice a little hoarse, "You should've seen Ace the other day. A headful of white hair. I told him he was gonna bald out one of these days."

A constant reminder that all of them were growing older—all except Sebek. The fae smiled, and glanced down into his cup, his drink reflecting a green haired man, no older than his early twenties. He felt a little self conscious, "I wish I could've seen it."

Deuce laughed, "I'll take a picture for you next time. You should really come to our gathering next year, Epel and Jack keep asking for you." His smile grew dimmer, and his fingers traced upon the rim of his cup again, a bad habit, "Epel...doesn't have much time left."

Sebek's blood ran cold, "So soon?"

"Hm...well." Deuce could only look down, "Not that soon."

Oh right. They were all...really old weren't they? Only to Sebek did it seem like they had only been in class together a year ago, doing stupid things, getting into trouble.

"I...didn't realize." Sebek could only mutter. "I'll come next year."

Deuce merely took Sebek's hand in his, rubbing his knuckles comfortingly.

Sebek recalled next seeing Epel through a picture frame, upon a white table as the people around him, people who looked much older than him, shedded silent tears, surrounding a coffin decorated with white roses. 

He couldn't recall much of what happened next. Only that the years passed by in a blur, and that loss soon grew familiar to him. Jack...Ace...Silver...everyone around him began to leave.

Eventually, even Deuce too, left him. But even then, Sebek found he couldn't recall his last words to him, he couldn't recall their last moments together or how old Deuce was then. He couldn't remember.

On most days, it was okay. He could function well enough to work, to do his job. On other days, he would lay in bed, crying himself to sleep, although the comfort of the cushion below him just reminded him of his former sleepy companion. Malleus and Lillia had told him that it would get better, that it would get easier, but it never did, not really. At least that was what he thought at first.

But that was hundreds of years ago.

As time passed, he grew to realize that perhaps they were right. The coffee in his cup had grown cold as he spaced off. And he frowned, perhaps he should've iced it.

His gaze landed back to the seat before him, the seat that Deuce used to occupy hundreds of years ago.

His memory seemed to gradually fade as time passed, and he trailed his fingers over the rim of his cup, a bad habit that he'd developed from somewhere he couldn't recall. He could faintly remember the warmth of Deuce's laughter, and the feel of his fingers raking through Sebek's hair. He could barely remember the flush of Deuce's cheeks, and the way his hair fell over his face as he spoke, his words falling upon deaf ears now that Sebek could no longer recall his voice.

The wind picked up once more, caressing through green locks like a familiar warm hand, and Sebek hummed softly, a small smile graced upon his lips as he mused to himself, his thoughts drifting off to Deuce once more, the person he once loved, the distant memory he had surely romanticized beyond recognition.

What color were his eyes?

[navigatrixnarrations]

Sometimes Always, Part 5: Thief In the Night

Catch up here

Warnings: Canon-typical violence, language

Word Count: 2841

The night is moonless and the road is blocked by branches and debris. From out of the gloom, a rasping voice rumbles “Stand and deliver! Your money or your life!” The coachman’s lamp reveals a broad-shouldered man standing beside the makeshift barricade before the stopped carriage, completely swathed in dark clothing, face hidden, a cutlass at his waist, aiming a pistol.

The adrenaline sings in Charles Vane’s blood; he’s missed the thrill of the plunder. This promises to be a rich prize, one that will assist in repairing the Adventure. One that may make Margaret see him as a partner rather than a burden, an obligation, or worst of all, an object of pity.

The coachman is older, with a soldier’s bearing, but seems disinclined to put up any resistance. In the coach, a man made rich off the blood and toil of those he claimed to own. His shaking hands are trying to load a pistol, which Vane snatches from his hand. To think this sniveling, scared weakling who would call him a scoundrel had the confidence to travel unguarded with this amount of coin — there’s the difference between those who dwell on land and those whose home is the sea, he supposes. The ocean is unforgiving and even wealthy men cannot stay sheltered in its domain.

Vane hoists the sack of coin over his shoulder. A pistol shot rings out, but misses, and despite the snow on the ground, he’s into the trees and out of sight before the coachman or the mark could reload. By the time he pushes his skiff from the riverbank, he almost feels like a proper pirate again.

The night is bone-achingly cold, even more so on the water. If he hadn’t botched things so terribly, he’d be warm in the West Indies. He’d be known and feared, not a thief in the night with his face and name hidden. He’d have a crew, and he’d be sailing under the black with Margaret at his side...

Can he pinpoint it, the moment he started to trust her? Perhaps it was when he awoke aboard the Revenge and she told him he was free.

“What kind of weapon made that?” She pointed at the brand on his chest.

“Hot iron.”

“Why?”

“So the person who owned me” -- he felt his face twist as he said it -- “could tell I was his slave. Find me and take me back there.”

“I won’t let him,” she said with a ferocious scowl, her voice surprisingly dark for one so young. “I won’t let anyone.” And he believed her. He was right to believe her.

He shakes himself from his reverie. He’s got to focus on the task at hand. There’s little traffic in the harbor tonight, but still enough for him to blend in as he sails around the horn of the Battery and makes his way back to the garret. With his hair tied back, a woolen cap pulled low and his laborer’s clothes, with the sack of coin slung over his shoulder he looks like any other longshoreman coming home from a long shift of loading and unloading cargo.

He imagines the look on Margaret’s face when he shows her what he’s robbed, and smiles as he climbs the stairs.

His smile fades as the door handle is jerked right out of his hand by her, her expression one of worry and anger. “Thought you’d have been back hours ago. Was out looking for you.”

“I told you I’d be back.”

“I was afraid someone recognized you! I was afraid you’d been captured or killed!” Her chest heaves under her coat, and he feels his body warm more than the small fire in the hearth should have allowed.

“Well, I wasn’t. And look what I’ve brought us.” She was worried? About him? He drops the sack on the table and opens it. “Coin, Magpie, more than enough to complete the repairs to the Adventure.” When she doesn’t respond, he repeats “It’s coin. We won’t even need to fence it.”

Margaret sits down heavily and wrestles her temper. “Where the fuck did you get all this?”

“A bit of highway robbery.”

“Charles. Next time, if there is a next time, take me with you.”

“Didn’t want to put you in danger.”

She narrows her eyes and her lower lip juts out stubbornly. “Says the man whose life I’ve saved how many times now?”

They stare at each other, neither willing to back down.

“I’ve got things to do besides make sure you don’t get yourself killed,” she informs him. And then, more quietly, so quiet as to be nigh inaudible, “I lost Sully. I can’t lose you too, not again.”

“You won’t.”

The table is between them, and he’s about to upend it, coins and all, just to get it out of the way, when Margaret gets up to stoke the fire. “It’s not that I’m ungrateful, Charles. But you’ve a recent history of getting yourself nearly killed to help friends.” She pauses. “They’d never say so, but Anne and Jack are beside themselves with guilt about what happened.”

“How the fuck do you know about that?”

“Idelle told me.” Margaret fixes Vane with a fierce stare as she returns to her seat across the table. “She loves you dearly, you know.”

“Idelle is a good woman.” He’d sensed sometimes that she did, and not only because she didn’t always charge him in full for her services, though at the time he’d mostly put that down to being one of the few who took care to make sure she enjoyed herself as well. And he respected her directness and sharp mind -- traits she shared with Margaret. Yes, there was the rub.

“She almost broke when you shook your head no from the gallows.”

Vane doesn’t reply.

“I wouldn’t have thought you’d be one to give up, regardless of your pretty speech about fearing death being a choice.” He can almost hear in her accusatory tone the words Margaret once cried out: I thought I knew you, Charles! More fool me.

“Didn’t want to risk more of us getting killed trying to save me. Thought my death would drive a rebellion.”

“It wasn’t at all because some part of you no longer wanted to live?”

Sometimes he swears the blasted woman has the ability to see into his mind. Though if that was the case, perhaps things between them would have taken a different path. “I was worth more dead than alive. Had to leave Nassau. Fucked over your father a second time to help Flint fight England. And…” he trails off and stares into the middle distance.

“And?”

“The woman I was in love with loved another.” Vane’s voice is low, confessional, but there’s an edge of challenge in it.

“The woman you were in love with loved only power. Control. Wrapping her soft, weak little hands around whatever bits of influence she could grasp,” Margaret says waspishly.

Vane’s thin lips curl back, baring his teeth. “I’m not talking about Eleanor.”

“No?”

“No!” Vane slams the palm of his hand into the table for emphasis. Fucking hell, why can’t she understand what he’s telling her? He’d stopped loving Eleanor well before her final betrayal, well before she battered his face in his cell as he awaited hanging, well before he saw the sickening, smug look on her face as he stood at the gallows, though that certainly drove the point home.

His arm tremors, and from the slight furrowing of Margaret’s brow, she noticed. He wonders if she takes any satisfaction in seeing him like this, broken and brought low. He can’t say he would blame her if she did. But her lips part in concern, and her eyes are worried. She wraps a hand, callused and graceful, around his forearm.

“I need you to know that I took the shot the moment I was able; I didn’t delay or let you hang any longer than necessary.”

“I never doubted that, Magpie.” And he didn’t. Margaret never struck him in anger, never lied or broke her word to him. The scar on his brow is his own fault for startling her when she was holding a marlinspike; as for the scars on his heart, well, perhaps those are his own fault too.

It was barely dawn when Sully staggered shirtless out of Margaret’s tent, reeking of drink. Vane, up all night on watch duty in the Revenge camp, wanted to gut him. How dare he go to her drunk like that? Vane felt sick to his stomach, as though he’d been sucker-punched while nauseous. Hearing him approach, Sully turned to him with a grin. “Morning Charles…” His smile turned to a look of surprise when Vane shoved him, knocking him over backward into the sand, his long plait flying over his shoulder as he fell.

“Charles!” Margaret yanked on his arm, spinning him around to face her. She was fully clothed, though she looked like she just woke up, and she was livid. “What the fuck did you do that for?”

“You’ve a right to fuck any man you wish to, Magpie, but you at least deserve one who isn’t stumbling drunk.”

“Charles.” Margaret’s voice was patient, as though speaking to an idiot or a recalcitrant child, “I didn’t fuck Sully. I’ve never fucked anyone, of any state of sobriety. I’m likely the only virgin in Nassau.”

He didn’t smell sex on either of them, it was true, and Margaret didn’t even smell of rum. But even so. “What was I to think, when he stayed the night in your tent?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but he decided to drink on an empty stomach, and I dragged him in there to sleep it off.”

Sully hauled himself to his feet. “I was a perfect gent to our Maggie-Pie, I was,” he announced. “And I’ll knife anyone who isn’t.”

Margaret whirled on him. “If you call me Maggie-Pie, I’m going to call you Mick.”

“I hate it when you do that,” Sully said cheerily. “Look sharp, here comes Hands.” The three of them straightened their postures; it was important to present a united front before that bastard.

******

The first year after Sully was killed passed in a haze of agony. The second year, Margaret was mostly numb. By the third year, the grief had become sneakier, creeping up to knife her when she least expected it. She could go days feeling what now passed for fine, and then something -- the scent of the tobacco he’d favored, a snippet of a song he’d liked -- would rip open the wound.

What a fool I am, thinking Charles might care for me, Margaret berates herself. Her flirtations the night of the skiff race went uncommented-on, unacted-on. Of course she should have expected that: the moment there was a girl fawning over him whose body was unscarred by blades and musket balls, whose hands weren’t roughened by rope and salt, whose face wasn’t bronzed by the sun, he’d stopped paying her any attention, hadn’t he.

He’s finally asleep, and she can weep. Quietly. She forces herself to stay silent despite the sobs wracking her body. Then a hand, Vane’s hand, reaches for her in the dark, finds her own, and holds it. She glances at him, crouched beside her bed so as not to loom over her. She hadn’t even heard him come into her room.

“Turnabout is fair play,” he says. She sits up, and he sits beside her, using his free hand to wipe her tears. Margaret tries to affect a steely dignity, but his voice, honey over gravel, cuts through. “You held my hand in the dark. I was a fool to have let myself ignore that. A man should never forget who held his hand in the dark.” She lets him gather her in his arms; it’s been so long since the last time she’d been held. She feels the stubble of his cheek pressed to the top of her head, his long hair hanging over her arm, the deep inhale he takes. She allows herself to lean into him, to nestle her face into the junction of his neck and shoulder and inhale the smoky scent of him. “Now,” he continues, “do you want to tell me what this is about?”

“Of course I fucking don’t.”

One of Vane’s hands is stroking her hair while the other rests between her shoulder blades, heavy and warm and anchoring. “I recall,” he says, his voice a purr reverberating through her torso, “a smart girl once telling me that there is nothing wrong with accepting help from people who care for me. That I’m not alone in the world.”

Margaret raises her head and looks at him sharply. Did he just say he cares for her? She had been telling herself that she’d laugh in Vane’s face if he showed any signs of being sweet on her. But here, in this moment, in his arms, she can’t bring herself to be cruel to him on purpose, not when his gaze is so gentle, so uncharacteristically unguarded. God knows they’d caused each other enough pain already, however inadvertently. “And turnabout is fair play, Charles?”

The strong shoulder that her cheek was just resting upon lifts in a shrug. “You ought to take your own advice.”

She leads him into the main room, where it’s warmer. Brings out the rum bottle. Vane is leaning toward her, letting her have her silence, but his own silence has a questioning quality to it.

“I’m thinking of the nature of promises. How to keep them. What it means to keep them.” Vane is simply watching her, waiting for her to continue. She takes a swig of rum; she wants liquid courage for what she’s about to tell him. “When Sully got killed, I threw everything he owned overboard. Any reminder of him was too much to bear.” She’d been certain she’d lose her mind with grief if she saw a shirt of his on someone else. She sees Vane trying to connect what she’s saying. “He once made me promise if he should die first, that I wouldn’t spend my life in mourning. That I’d find a way to be happy again.” And someone to be happy with, Sully had emphasized, though she’s not ready to tell Vane that part. “But I can’t see a way forward.”

“You were happy, though. With him.” He isn’t asking a question.

“Yes.”

Vane nods to himself and stares down at the coin he’s rolling back and forth between his fingers. “That’s all I ever wanted for you, Magpie. For you to be happy.”

For a moment, Margaret is afraid she’s going to burst into tears again, and she forces her expression into one of stoicism. “Were you happy? With her?”

The coin ceases its glittering dance across Vane’s knuckles. “I thought I was, for a time.”

“Do tell.”

He raises his face with a scowl to meet Margaret’s eyes, but his expression softens when he sees the real curiosity there. “In the beginning, she pursued me hard, lavished me with what I thought was love. Then she’d withdraw her affection, and I’d try to regain it. I see now that was her strategy.”

“To hear Idelle and some of the others tell it, Eleanor had you dancing like a puppet on a string.” Vane recoils as though she’d slapped him, and Margaret wonders if she pushed him too far, twisted a knife in him that she hadn't meant to insert, truly she hadn’t. “Charles, I…”

He cuts her off. “I assure you that I’ve got long-overdue clarity about the manner of woman she is.” He closes his eyes for a moment and sags slightly in his chair. He huffs out a short, mirthless laugh. “She’s a shit and everything you told me was correct.”

Margaret stands with an unstifled yawn. Damnation, but she’s exhausted. She considers telling him it took him long enough to figure out what she and Sully saw from the start, but what purpose would that serve? “I’ve got to be up early. Tide’s coming in about five, and the Adventure should be coming out of drydock with it. Got to move her to a proper slip.” Vane rises as well and they stand for a moment, looking at each other with uncertainty. He looks like he’s about to step towards her, so she simply says “Good night, Charles.” In response, he reaches out to squeeze her hand, ever so briefly.

As she settles herself back into bed, she smells him brewing coffee; he’s gotten in the habit of fixing a pot of it so that it would be ready when they woke, something she appreciates. If she could see through the door, she’d note him sitting before the fire, elbow on his knee and chin in his hand, staring into the flames, a man lost in thought.

Tag List: @whenimaunicorn @n3rdybird

[youtuberswithalex]

PRVL, Vol. 3, Ch. 5: Never Miss A Beat

Summary: As the tournament picks up speed, our heroes get a chance to relax and connect with their loved ones.

Word Count: 3,567

Warnings: Family argument, a bit of implied self-hatred

(Sorry for the short chapter, but future chapters will make up for this! Promise!!)

Masterpost – Volume 1 – Previous

------

BEEEEEEP!

Roman leapt out of his seat, screaming at the top of his lungs. “Yes!!! Yes, Yang!! I knew she was gonna beat them, I knew it!!”

“Wow,” Riad said. “I did not think she would be able to put up a fight against Flynt’s trumpet. That thing packs a punch.”

“That’s Yang for you! Always the biggest, strongest blondie you could ever lay eyes on!” He flopped back down, letting out an energetic groan. As soon as he was settled, he hooked onto Riad’s arm and cuddled in. “I’m absolutely ecstatic that she’s going to the finals! I can’t think of a single person left that’s deserving of the championship!”

“Not even Penny Polendina?”

Roman looked to his other side, where Thomas was shooting him an amused look. “No way!” he exclaimed. “I don’t care if she’s got those psychic swords or whatever they are; Yang could beat her no problem!”

Joan leaned forward raised an eyebrow. “What about Pyrrha?”

“Not even a chance.”

Riad chuckled. “Didn’t you say Pyrrha beat her in a match in Glynda’s last semester?”

“Shhh…” Roman reached up and put a finger to his lips, silencing him. “We don’t have to talk about that. Yang cannot be bested.”

“Uh, excuse me, did you forget that your sister is still in the fight?” Trix huffed, leaning down from the row behind to press her cheek to Roman’s.

He paused for a moment as his face heated.

“…I can think of one person who could maybe best Yang.”

“That’s what I thought.”

Next to her, Abeba nudged her with their elbow. “Come on, let him root for who he wants. Besides, you haven’t even had your match yet; we don’t know if you’ll be in the finals or not.”

Trix raised an eyebrow. “Very bold of you to assume Eve and I wouldn’t be able to take down a couple of first-years.”

“Yeah, and did you see their match against NDGO? It was a complete luck of the draw that they managed to win!” Keahi added from Trix’s other side. “STER’s going to wipe the floor with them, no question.”

Abeba leaned forward to look at her, narrowing their eyes. “Aren’t you from the same school as Team SSSN?” they asked. “How come you haven’t given them any pointers on their strategies and stuff? Help them prepare, you know?”

Keahi scoffed. “Come on, you think I actually pay attention to other people in fighting classes? I don’t know jack about them.”

Trix and Abeba immediately deflated and slumped against each other.

“Well, it was worth a shot,” Trix sighed.

“I tried.”

As the next teams filed onstage, Roman dropped his cheek against Riad’s bicep and let out a breath. Riad stared at him for a beat before taking one of his hands with his free one. When Roman looked up, he offered a soft smile and pressed their foreheads together.

“Hey,” he whispered.

Roman smiled back, but despite the red dusting his cheeks, there was pain behind his eyes. “Hey.”

“You’ve been awfully clingy these last couple of days,” he pointed out. “Is there something going on?”

He hummed and buried his face back into his arm. His eyes flicked around, and his lips pressed together; one could almost see the gears turning in his head as he thought about the words he wanted to say next.

“Are you… worried, at all, about this?” Roman softly asked.

Riad raised an eyebrow. “About what?”

“Us,” he replied. “Like… Do you worry that things are going to end soon? Badly?”

The soft smile fell from Riad’s face; he frowned, shaking his head.

“No, not at all,” he said, leaning to try to catch Roman’s eyes. “I wouldn’t be dating you if I thought that. What’s this about, babe? Where’d this come from?”

Roman gave him the quickest of glances before looking back at the battlefield. There was a moment of quiet between them; Riad didn’t rush him, despite the nerves beginning to build up inside.

Finally, he let out a soft sigh. “Anole really doesn’t like us being together.”

Riad felt his heart drop into his stomach. He opened his mouth to reply, but Roman pushed on before he could get a word out.

“We were talking yesterday morning, and he… he really thinks we’re going to hurt each other,” he continued, “As if we’re doing this just to mess with him. And, Riad, I…” He shifted to look into his eyes. “I need you to know that that is not why I said yes when you asked me to be your boyfriend; I really, truly do adore you and Anole has absolutely nothing to do with it!”

“I know,” Riad answered, having to force his words through a thick wall of emotion. “I never worried about that for a moment. I do feel the same way about you; please don’t worry that that’s why I asked.”

“I wasn’t,” Roman replied, despite the way his shoulders fell.

Riad paused for a moment, pretending he was watching the start of the next fight as he sorted through his thoughts. “…Anole really said that?”

Roman nodded. “And he implied that we dove into this without thinking… That I was being reckless.”

“You are,” Riad said. “That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s something I really like about you.”

Scoffing, Roman rolled his eyes. “Tell him that.”

“I don’t need to. You’re the only one who needs to worry about how I feel about you,” he firmly replied. “And that’s something Anole needs to learn. Not you.”

Roman slowly nodded in understanding and leaned back in his seat. “I just wish he would leave us alone,” he quietly admitted.

Riad wrapped an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders and pressed a kiss to his temple.

“I’ll talk to him.”

 -------

Logan didn’t know how long he sat at the ocean docks after his parents left.

It was certainly more than a few minutes, if the ebbing stinging of his eyes was anything to go by. He could very faintly hear the announcers and buzzers from Amity Colosseum far, far in the air above; at least a couple of matches had come and gone, but he wasn’t paying much attention. Not when he could watch their boat disappear over the horizon.

While he felt no obligation to see them off after they set sail, he found that he wasn’t quite ready to head back to the dorm, or the arena, or… anywhere, really. At least not anywhere that he would have to interact with people. A weariness settled in his chest just at the thought.

He knew his parents needed to go. Vacuo and its citizens needed the two of them more than he did, and the ever-persistent Grimm weren’t going to let up during a worldwide tournament that just so happened to include their son. The fact that they were even gone for a couple of days was worrying; who knows what might have happened to the people they were protecting while they were away?

Logan knew this, and yet… he couldn’t stop himself from being sad to see them go.

So here he sat, in the midst of the stench of fish and tourists bustling around, watching a boat sail away as if it could grant him a few more minutes with his family before the long wait until they could see each other again.

Someone sat next to him on the bench, and he nearly leapt out of his skin; a coffee cup was offered as if nothing happened. Logan blinked and looked up to see Thamir softly smiling at him.

“Thamir,” he dumbly stated. “What are you doing here?”

“I saw you when I came by earlier on my way to my family’s house. Didn’t think you’d still be here on my way back,” he laughed. He pushed the cup towards Logan again as he took a sip of his own. “Figured I’d get you some coffee, since it didn’t seem like you’d be leaving any time soon.”

Logan glanced at it, and then back to him. “I… thought I was the one who owed you coffee after Team AMBR’s match?”

He shrugged. “Consider it a freebie,” he said.

Logan felt the corners of his lips tug up, and he finally accepted with a word of thanks before taking a sip. It was pleasantly warm, but not scorching hot, and just barely sweet and creamy— exactly how he liked it.

“So… Did your parents head out?” Thamir asked.

Eyes flicking to the boat, Logan nodded. “They weren’t able to stay away for long. Really, they probably shouldn’t have come in the first place,” he admitted, “But… I do have to say, I am… very glad they were here, even if they did have to see our loss. Perhaps even more so for the same reason.”

“They seem cool. It was really nice to meet them,” he said. “It must be intense, having a full family of Huntsmen.”

He sighed and looked down at his cup, where his fingers idly played with the rim of the lid. “It is rather extraordinary; I’ll give it that. I’m sure Roman and Calanthe could attest to my saying that it can get a bit overwhelming at times. There’s always training and jobs to be done, and hardly any time to rest.”

Thamir nodded. “I can imagine.”

“And that’s not even mentioning the impacts of being separated for long stretches of time,” he continued. “I was fortunate in that my parents could afford to stay home and take on few jobs while raising me; my mother originally insisted upon it, and Father wanted to keep that after she was gone. It was one of the most important things to him when he and Esther began to see each other. Very few children of Huntsmen are able to have that, unless they find a stable job in one place, such as the Reptilias.”

“Calanthe’s told me about that,” Thamir informed. “Her older sister had to take care of her when their parents were on missions, and then she was on her own after she left for Haven. She said it got pretty lonely.”

“Well… I suppose it’s just another part of the job,” he quietly replied. “Another sacrifice we make for the safety of humanity and faunus.”

Thamir fell into silence for a moment, staring over the ocean. He took a deep, weary breath.

“It’s not just a sacrifice for Huntsmen.” He turned to Logan. “It’s a sacrifice for the kids, too. I know time with your family isn’t the same as a life, but… It’s alright if you grieve it. You’re allowed to, even if you know it’s worth it.”

Just like that, the stinging in Logan’s eyes was back. He pressed his lips together and tightened his grip on his coffee, trying to keep his breathing steady. A lump formed in his throat, and it was harder to swallow it away than it should have been.

The echoing of a buzzer and a roaring crowd bounced around the buildings behind them, giving him just enough of a distraction to ground himself. He took a calming breath as music began to play.

Thamir bumped his shoulder against his. “You know… I remember you making a pretty hefty sacrifice a few weeks ago,” he said.

Logan frowned and raised an eyebrow at him. “You do?”

“Well, it wasn’t as big as leaving your family behind or anything, but it was still something you gave up to be ready for anything.”

“What was it?”

He pointed his thumb at the streets behind them. “The Vytal Festival Ball,” he stated, giving Logan a half-smile.

Logan scoffed and rolled his eyes. “That was not a hard decision to make,” he huffed. “Our missions were far more important.”

“Would you have gone if it was a different night?”

He blinked and looked at Thamir, who simply watched him with a soft curiosity on his face. Logan took a moment to consider the question before opening his mouth.

“I… do not know,” he admitted. “The chances would have increased, of course, seeing as the date was the main reason I chose not to attend, but, well… I still would not have had any preparations as to what to expect. I still don’t know how loud or crowded it would have been, nor how overwhelmed I would become.” Huffing out a weak laugh, he added, “I don’t even know how to dance, to be completely honest with you. For all I know, it would have been a disaster.”

Thamir hummed. “So… What you’re saying is, in two years, when we have the next Vytal Festival…?”

“I would not be able to tell you if I would go or not,” Logan finished.

Thamir nodded, and then he set his coffee to the side, getting to his feet. He turned and held a hand out to Logan.

“Well,” he said, “I can help you with one of those worries, at least.”

He furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?”

“Let’s dance.”

If he’d had any coffee in his mouth, Logan was sure he would have choked. “W-What?”

“Yeah!” he laughed. “C’mon, I’ll teach you how. We can start small.”

Logan stared at him, frozen in place; after a moment, he let out a breath and took his hand.

“Well… Alright.”

He set his drink aside as Thamir pulled him up, taking both of his hands and holding them an arm’s length away. They started to sway to the music echoing through the area.

Though I can’t find what to say, I know that you’ll hear me If you’re in this game I play, I can tell you when I need you more…

Logan couldn’t help but chuckle as Thamir started getting more and more invested in the song; his shoulders moved, and his head bobbed back and forth. Thamir caught him watching and laughed, yanking Logan’s arms forward and back to the beat.

“The more you get into it, the more fun it is!” he exclaimed. “Try it!”

He rolled his eyes, but the smile didn’t leave his face as he attempted to copy Thamir’s movements. When he beamed, he couldn’t help but notice his face warming.

“I feel ridiculous,” he said.

“A step in the right direction, then,” he replied.

Thamir took a step and began to lead them into an achingly slow rotation around each other. Logan stumbled a bit at the first step, but was quick to follow. When they made it around a full circle, Thamir pulled one hand away and lifted their connected hands, taking Logan through a careful twirl.

Taking both of his hands again, he smiled. “You’re getting the hang of this pretty quick.”

Logan grinned.

 --------

Virgil threw his fist in the air and let out a cheer, nearly throwing his scroll out of his hands. “I think that’s the best score I’ve ever gotten!”

“There’s platinum?! I thought gold was the highest one!” Patton yelped.

“Nah, not even close. There’s a diamond tier, but you can only get it when you play a level on Multi-Extreme mode,” Virgil replied. He turned to Patton and reached across the space between their beds, holding his scroll out. “You sure you don’t want to give it a try? It’s pretty easy to get the hang of, even if you don’t know the music.”

Patton shook his head and waved him off. “It’s okay, really. I’m having more fun watching you!”

Virgil shrugged before looking back to his desk, where a rented gaming console projected his score. “Alright. Just don’t think you’re going to make it through break without playing a round with us. Ever since I showed him the game, Dad won’t let a person into our house without making them compete."

“Your dad plays Rhythm Hell?” Patton asked with a laugh.

He scoffed, rolling his eyes as he looked through the game’s available songs. “Dude, you have no idea. He dedicates a solid two hours every Saturday to touch up his skills.” A grin formed on his lips. “Any time we have a family event, he brings it along, and there’s a whole competition— he and Papi’s mom are, like, mortal enemies because of it. It gets intense.”

Patton grimaced. “Oh… Is she… Not a great person?”

“Huh?” Virgil frowned and looked at him, brow furrowed; when he realized what he was asking, he sucked in a sharp breath and waved a hand at him. “Oh, no, no! Not like that! Abuela’s really cool, she’s really chill usually! She just gets competitive like Dad does when it comes to video games. But it never gets aggressive, don’t worry.”

A sigh of relief tumbled out of him. “Good. Okay.”

Virgil offered a soft smile before turning back to the game. “Yeah, you won’t have to worry about anything like that when we’re on break,” he said. “We do have plans to head to Argus for a reunion, but no one is gonna be anything bad. Everyone’ll be excited to meet you.”

Finally settling on a level, the two settled into a relaxed silence. Heavy guitar and drums played through the speakers, just loud enough to hear, but quiet enough to not disturb the others in their hall. Patton watched as Virgil’s face dissolved into concentration; when the artist began to sing, he shifted and lay on his stomach, resting his chin on his arms.

“I am weak; can’t save myself, from my own flaws…”

“Can’t you see, I can hurt you…?”

An grin started to form on his face as he listened to Virgil’s soft singing. He buried his face in his arms to hide his huff of laughter.

Apparently, it wasn’t quiet enough.

“Are you making fun of me?” Virgil asked, no bite to the accusation.

Patton giggled. “No! It’s cute!”

A scoff rang out. “I’m not cute! I’m edgy.”

He bit his tongue to keep his argument back, not wanting to ruin whatever score he had at the moment.

There were a few more seconds of silence before Virgil’s humming resumed. Patton beamed and pulled his face up, turning to look at the screen, but sunlight glinted off of a picture frame behind it and dragged his attention away.

The photo showed a much younger version of Virgil nestled in the middle of their four-person family at a professional photo shoot. He was dressed in an outfit that Patton couldn’t dream of Virgil ever agreeing to today; a gray button-up, black dress pants, and a soft, purple sweater vest. His hair was short and spiked up, and his grin wide and front-toothless, but there was no mistaking it was him.

His younger sister sat next to him in a lavender blouse with puffy sleeves and light blue tights. Her hair looked like it might have been styled into a nice set of low pigtails at some point, before being ruffled and tumbled around. She and Virgil held each other’s hands tight.

On either side of them were their dads, looking exhausted but proud. Their matching white dress shirts were a bit wrinkled. They each lay a hand on one of their children’s shoulders, and a close look to their Papi’s arm revealed he was seemingly holding Crina in place.

Despite the frame of the photo looking relatively modern and clean, the actual photograph was worn and faded at the edges. A couple of creases circled what had once been their family. It was the only crooked one of three hanging on the wall, between one of Virgil and Chao at a graduation and another of their team in the cafeteria, taken early in their first semester.

Patton’s eyes drifted over to his own bare walls above his desk, looming over the clutter and mess below. His scroll sat on the corner of a stack of textbooks; it blinked with a silent unread message notification. He made no move to get up and check it.

On the shelf above, a picture frame lay face-down.

“Let it latch to the hope that I’m controlled…”

He glanced at the scorched handprint stained to the door frame. Guilt and shame built up in his stomach before he could tear his eyes away. He gripped his forearms tight until a dull ache began to make its way through the muscle.

“I’VE GOT A MONSTER IN ME; IT’S TEARING THROUGH MY HEART!”

Patton just about jumped out of his skin as Virgil began to scream-sing along to the music, leaping up onto all fours and staring at him with wide eyes. Virgil either didn’t notice or didn’t care, as he only continued and started to dance along.

“It won’t stop ‘til it breaks free, so make it stop before it starts!”

Forcing himself to release his breath, Patton lowered himself back into a sitting position and watched. Virgil’s score began to go down as the beats flew by unnoticed. His eyes squeezed shut, and a grim formed on his face around the lyrics. He lifted his hands into fists and bounced them to the rhythm of the drums that were practically shaking the speakers of the gaming console.

Patton huffed out a little laugh before glancing back at his scroll.

The light wouldn’t stop blinking.

I fear the monster in my soul, I fear the monster in my soul, I fear the monster in my soul, I fear the monster…

[hotchgan]

Stalker

Summery: Aaron has a stalker and the team has to find out who is it.

A/N: I actually don’t really like this but I’ll still post it anyways. I might have some spelling errors in this because I didn’t really proof-read this. Also, sorry for the crappy title,

Taglist: @ellyhotchner @unionjackpillow @eleanorbloom

Warnings: stalking/stalker, character deaths, murder, knife, gun, poison, mention of death,

Aaron walks steps put of the elevator with a frown on his face. It was his day off and Strauss had called him in for some reason. She said it was urgent but he didn't care. He had to miss one of Jack's soccer games. Aaron planned on getting ice cream and apologizing after this is over.

Aaron walks across the building. He sees people state and glance at him. The last time this happened was after Haley died. He looks around, confused, before going into the bullpen.

"It's my day of Strauss, what is it that's so urgent-", Aaron starts saying before he freezes. The team looks at him and then to the bulliten board. Aaron looks like he had just seen a ghost.

On the bulliten board was hundreds of pictures of Aaron. Him coming home from work, taking Jack to the park, and even one of Haley greeting him at their front door for him.

"What .. who did this?" Aaron asks the team. No body said anything for a second.

"We don't know. Garcia came in because she left something and saw this. She called Strauss and she called us in", Derek explains.

"Did you check the security camera's?" Aaron asks as he steps closer to the board. The pictures go back as to seven years ago. Hi come he never noticed that someone was stalking him?

"I checked but someone shut it down for an hour before it came back on", Garcia replies.

"Ok, I want fronseics to dust this for fingerprints or any DNA on here. I also want to know-" Aaron starts ordering his team.

"You're not on this case", Strauss interrupts him. Aaron looks at her.

"What?" Aaron asks.

"Agent Morgan will be leading this investigation. You're the victim and we can't have you working this case", Strauss explains.

"I'm sorry, these pictures go back as to seven years. Maybe even more and you want me off the case?" Aaron asks.

"Yes", Strauss says simply. Aaron was about to say something before his phone rang.

"I- excuse me", Aaron says as he takes the phone call. He steps put of the room and into the hall.

"Jessica, is everything alright?" Aaron asks.

"N-no .. it's dad", Jessica replies. Aaron can tell that she has been crying.

"Roy? Is he ok?" Aaron asks. Jessica chokes out a sob.

"He's- he's dead", Jessica replies.

Aaron watches the the body bag gets taken away from the crime scene that was once Jessica's house. Jessica was in the living room, crying while Jack is sitting next to her silently. The last time Jessica had cried this hard is when Haley died. And like Haley's death, this was his fault too.

"Hotch", JJ says to Aaron. Aaron snaps out of trance and looks at her. He nods and walks over to the living room and sits next to his son.

"Hey buddy, how are feeling?" Aaron asks Jack. The blonde boy shrugs. Aaron sighs and pulls his son into a hug. Jack holds on to his father's shirt tightly and he softly begins to cry. Aaron looks at Jessica who was standing up and leaving the room. Aaron felt a small pang in his heart but ignored it.

Derek then made eye contact with Aaron and gestures to come over there. Aaron nods and tells Jack to let go of him so he can talk to Derek. Jack nods as Aaron grabs a tissue for him. He then walks over to Derek.

"Looks like he was poisoned. Someone drugged his drink", Derek says to Aaron.

"Do you think my stalker killed him?" Aaron asks quietly so no one else would hear.

"I don't know but there is a possibility it might", Derek replies. Aaron then feels guilty of all of this.

"Hey, this isn't your fault", Derek says to Aaron. Aaron doesn't say anything back but stares at the chair where his father in law died in.

"Are you agent Hotchner?" A man ask as he walks up to him.

"Yes, why?" Aaron asks. The man then gives him a letter that is in a plastic bag.

"This is for you. It was left at the crime scene", the man says before leaving. Aaron and Derek both read the letter.

Dear Agent Hotchner,

You probably don't know who I am. That's probably for the best. My life was going perfectly. I had met the perfect women but then you came along. You dragged her into your mess and you killed her. And I vowed for the rest of my life to destroy you. So for the past five years, I have been stalking you and now I will destroy your life. Just remember that this is your fault.

Sincerely, Your Stalker

Aaron gulps silently after reading the letter. Derek looks at him shocked. He then takes the letter from Aaron's hand and gives it back to forensics. Derek tells them to dust for any prints or DNA. Aaron stands there in shock. He did this because of him. It was his fault.

"Hotch, are you alright?" Emily asks as she notices Aaron frozen into place.

"I- .. I don't know", Aaron admits, quietly. Emily looks at him sadly.

"Well, I'm here if you need anything. We'll catch this bastard", Emily says to Aaron.

"We're going back to review what we know. Do you want to come with us?" Emily asks. Aaron looks at her and then at Jessica. They both make eye contact before Jessica looking away.

"I'll come with you", Aaron replies.

Aaron and the team go back to he briefing room to review the case. Strauss doesn't approve but she knows that Aaron can't sir around and do nothing. He also can't stay with Jessica knowing that she probably hates him right now.

Aaron doesn't know what to feel. Roy has been his only father figure that hadn't let him down. But the last time he visited him, he had blames him for Haley's. But he still didn't deserve to die. Roy was the loudest person to cheer when Aaron had graduated from highschool. He was the one who help Aaron pick out a suit for his wedding. Roy was there for Aaron and now he's gone.

“Hotch ... Aaron”

Aaron looks up to see Emily standing in front of him. She has a worried look on her face. Something that he has seen too often now.

“Are you alright? You don’t look so good”, Emily asks him.

“I uh I’m actually going to go outside .. to clear my head”, Aaron says to Emily. She nods as Aaron walks back outside.

Aaron goes outside and opens his car. He sits inside and waits. He’s not sure what for. Maybe for the shock of his father in law’s death to go away. Maybe for Jessica to call him and tell him that everything will be ok. Maybe for this horrible nightmare to end. The shock does go away. Aaron remembers the five stages of grief. Denial was the stage Aaron was in. Denial then anger. It didn’t take long Aaron to get angry.

Aaron chokes out a sob as tears flow down from his eyes. He’s angry. He angry how everyone that hates him always goes after his family. He is angry at the world. He’s angry at himself. Aaron grips on the steering wheel. The first time in his life, he doesn’t know what to do. The team is already trying to solve the case, Jessica is with Jack and they probably hate him right now. He is alone.

“Well that was a fun show to watch”

Aaron’s head snaps up as he sees someone in the back seat, holding a gun. Aaron freezes, unsure of what to do. The man behind him presses his gun to Aaron’s back and leans in to whisper in his ear.

“Drive”

Aaron starts the car and drives. He can still feel the gun presses up against him.

“Drive to Jessica’s house”

Aaron nods. He drives but not to Jessica’s house. He can’t put her in danger. Not everything he has done to her. She doesn’t deserve to die. He does. Jack will be better off with her, anyways.

“Hey, that isn’t the way”

Aaron doesn’t listen and continues driving to somewhere far away from Jessica.

“Hey! Stop the car!”

Aaron stops the car. He looks at the mirror to see the man behind him.

“What the hell do you think your doing?!”

“If you want to kill someone, kill me”, Aaron replies. The man stares at him before laughing.

“Oh you’re not going to get off this easy. I want to destroy your life, just like you did to mine”

“What did I do that destroyed your life?” Aaron asks.

“You got Haley killed”

Aaron doesn’t say anything back. It was him. The guy who called Haley. The guy Haley cheated him in with. The man behind his has dark red hair and light brown eyes. Almost looks like the complete opposite of him.

“I was the love of her life”

Aaron cringes at those words. He remembers the time Haley said that he was the love of her life and that she would never leave him. Aaron knew that Haley died loving him. And the man behind him says that? Aaron wasn’t going to let him get what he wants.

Aaron turns around and grips the gun behind him. He punches the red-head in the face. The man groans in pan and kick Aaron in the face. Aaron gets out of the car and drags the other man out of it too. He then forces the guy to sit up against the car and punches him, repeatedly. The red hair manages to kick Aaron in the stomach, pushing him back. He then goes on top of him and pulls light a knife. He brings it above his head and-

“FBI, put down the knife!”

The man looks around him to see black SUV’s and agents pointing a gun towards him. He slowly puts down the knife and puts his hands up. Aaron sighs in relief as he stands up. He watches as the man who tried to kill him gets cuffed away.

“So did you get my message?” Aaron asks Derek as he walks towards him. He had sent Derek a text message while he was driving in the car.

“The text message you sent me? No, it was just random letters and numbers so I knew there was something wrong with you”, Derek replies.

“Then how did you find me?” Aaron asks.

“I got out the find my friends app and tracked your phone”, Derek replies. Aaron let’s out a small smile.

“Are you ok? It seemed like you and him had a pretty rough fight”, Derek asks.

“I think I’ll be fine”, Aaron replies.

“Aaron!”

Aaron turns around to see Jessica running towards him. Jessica then pulls Aaron into a hug.

“Thank god, you’re ok”, Jessica says as she hugs Aaron, tightly.

“Jessica! How did you get here?” Aaron asks her as he wraps his arms tightly around her.

“Rossi called me that you were missing so I went into his car to help them find you”, Jessica explains.

“What about Jack?” Aaron asks.

“He’s with his cousins”, Jessica replies.

“I’m so glad you’re ok. I can’t lose you too”, Jessica says. Aaron smiles softly and hugs her. He has a family. A family that cares about him and loves him no matter what happens.

[strongsassysexysloane]

Patience isn't Sloane's Middle Name

A/n: - So something got my new plot bunny juices flowing tonight. I will forever blame @regal-roni for it. Btw. Didn't edit so, sorry?

But I hope you all enjoy :)

Sum:- A little something when reader works undercover and the assignment goes longer than expected and time is itching closer to a very important date. No not that date.

When you took this assignment you had no idea what the costs would be. It's not like you hadn't done undercover work before but this time was different. This time you had someone to come home to and someone that would worry about you above all else. So maybe you did have some idea of the costs but this assignment was turning out to be longer than expected. You'd infiltrated the drug ring no sweat, having connections from previous undercover cases but the slimeball you were trying to catch this time was more devious than the others. He actually had half a brain.

What should've been a week, two at most, was now going into your fourth week. That wouldn't of bothered you so much, but next week was Jack's birthday and after the year she has had, more like life, you wanted to make it special. Her last birthday you'd taken her out for dinner but that was before you worked up the courage to ask her out. That happened a month later. And she may have been the one to ask you out, if you were being truly honest. Now it was nine months later, the best months of your life and you were lying in a wire cot with most likely bed bugs in the century old mattress, wide awake, wishing you were in bed with the love of your life.

She'd no doubt be wearing one of your old Navy shirts, but you couldn't breathe a word of that to anyone otherwise you'd be on the couch for a month, and those tiny light blue PJ bottoms to match. The thought and image made you smile as you closed your eyes and dreamed of her beside you.

The next morning was check in, you managed to sneak away under the pretense of getting coffee like you'd done almost every morning. Drug dealers still needed their go go juice. Usually it would just be a few texts or a phone call using a burner your partner left you at the table inside the cafe but this morning was a video call check in.

You instantly smiled when your work partner, Danny, popped up on screen looking like they'd hardly slept a wink but the smile wasn't for them. You could see in the shadows of MTAC a blur taking up one of the back row seats. You'd recognise that blur anywhere.

"Make it quick otherwise she'll shoot me later." Danny moaned, sipping their cup of morning joy.

You chuckled and saw the blur flick of her shoes and pull her legs up onto the seat, hugging them to her chest. "Got another run to do today and heard of a meet up this afternoon. Hoping Guzzler will be there. It's at..." You paused, looking at your girlfriend and then back to your partner on the tiny screen. "I'll send ya the time and address. High chance they'll be there and you better be ready. I'm ready to come home."

"I'll say." Danny agreed. "I'm ready not to be the go between." They rolled their eyes and looked over their shoulder. "I heard that grumble, Sloane."

You chuckled at their exchange. As much as Jack got along with everyone at NCIS, her and Danny were a different level. Not on fighting terms but she put a lot on Danny in these situations. "Thanks, D. I got it from here." You nodded at each other and Danny left the screen as Jack skipped up to the chair and the computer at the side of MTAC. "Stop bugging Danny, baby." Throwing in her favourite nickname softened the request. "I got this, they have my back and I'll be home in time to spoil you rotten."

"I'll hold you to that." You could tell she forced a smile. Her badgering of your partner was always because of your safety even though you were a fully fledged NCIS Agent with years of undecover work, she still worried. So would you if the roles were reversed, luckily for you, they hardly ever were.

You bit back, hoping to soften her worries. "Says miss I don't celebrate." You winked.

She sighed, leaning back into the chair. "I don't but I just..." She pulled her legs up again, hugging them close, resting her chin on her knee. You hated seeing her like this, everyone saw the strong faced Jacqueline Sloane but you were lucky enough to see her soft edges, the ones she hid from the world.

"I miss you too." You finished the sentence for her even though she was probably thinking of something else.

There was silence and you coffee got brought over. You both knew that time was running out but you couldn't hang up on her just yet. Not when she was like this.

"Dreamt about you last night."

That perked her up, dropping her knees and leaning forward with a slanted smirk. "Reeeeally? What was I doing?"

"I'll tell you if you tell me what you wore to bed last night?" You challenged, praying.you were right.

She laughed, tucking her hair behind her ear. She leaned in closer, looked over her right then left shoulder. "Your Navy training shirt and your purple boxers." She whispered.

You were half right and the half that was wrong you didn't care in the least. It was better than you prayed for. Closing your eyes, you smiled and it only got wider as you heard her laugh.

"Well?"

"You were laying beside me, doing your little purs through your half closed lips, your legs sort out mine for warmth and then I woke up to a loud smash of some idiot coming back late from a job." You opened your eyes when the image of Jack was replaced with the shadows of the night before.

"And here I was thinking it was something more R rated."

"That was the dream the night before." You winked, making her laugh again. It was your favourite thing to do. You sighed, finishing your coffee and looking at the time. "I gotta go. I'll talk to you tomorrow if not sooner, ok?"

"Miss you."

"Miss you too." You tried your best to give her a reassuring smile before turning the screen black. It was the hardest part of the job but someone had to do it.

To no one's surprise the meeting in the afternoon lead to nothing but a bunch more Intel for the DEA and nor Guzzler. This meant another night sleeping with your new friends, the bed bugs.

You were woken by a raid I'm the early hours of the morning. Apparently Mr Guzzler wasn't as savvy as the previous four weeks and slipped up later that evening on a DUI of all things. From the recordings from the meetings you attended over the past two weeks and the chit chat you listened into of an evening, they got him on many counts and you were free to head back to the office after you reported to the DEA and snuck out the back so no slimeball saw who you really were.

Walking in to see the orange walls was comforting after so long and you slipped down to the gym showers before going to see Jack. The quick rinse was enough and you slipped into your training gear and headed up to her office.

"I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be at work this early." You leaned against the doorframe to her office, her head snapped up at the sound of your voice.

She smiled, lifting her reading glasses onto her head, pulling back her long blonde locks. "It's only just hit 0730." She shrugged, you could tell she was hiding her excitement and instant urge to run into your arms like she'd done after every other undercover op you'd taken over the last nine months. Honestly it was the best thing to come home to.

"And?"

"And there was no one to cuddle so whats the point of sleeping in?"

You walked into her office, disliking the distance still between you. She hopped up from her desk chair as soon as you took the first step, walking around her desk and into your arms. You burried your face in her hair. "I missed you."

She hummed, tightening her hold around your neck, you did the se.around her waist. "Next time come.to me before you shower. Bed bugs and all."

"Clearly you haven't dealt with bedbugs before." You felt her laugh rather than hear it.

You stood there for almost ten minutes, just holding each other before you leant back and placed a kiss on her lips.

"I have a report to type up but after that I'm swinging by the Directors office for a quick debrief and I'll talk him into letting us have the next few days off." You smiled into the kiss that followed.

There was a cough at the door but neither of you seperated. It was the Director, eight months ago you would've jumped apart but four weeks without holding her in your arms, you weren't letting go and neither was she. "Morning, Leon." Jack smiled, resting her head against your shoulder.

"Morning, debrief in 20 Agent Y/N. Your partner has already requested your leave and Jack requested hers three weeks ago. Get the report done and you can both go home for the week."

"Thanks, Leon." Jack hummed.

"Happy Birthday, Jack." He smiled back at her and continued on his path to his office.

"three weeks ago, hey?" You squeezed her sides and she jumped up.

She shrugged seeing.your questioning eyes. "Thought I deserved some time off with my love for my birthday."

Your heart pounded and melted at her words. "You deserve the world, Jacqueline Sloane."

That got you a passionate, spine tingling kiss in return. The next week was going to be one hell of a catch up after the last month and neither of you could wait!

. . . .

Did I plan on writing a new fic/drabble thing tonight? Nope. Am I beyond tired? Absolutely. I apologize for everyone waiting on my other fic. I'm just really tired and working retail Christmas is exhausting, I have more midnight shifts this week 👌 bit if you'll forgive me for not updating that story I may have a drabble of such almost ready for Christmas day :) I hope that makes up for it.

[refinedbuffoonery]

I + Can’t + Lose + You (2)

masterlist. Read it on AO3. 

A/N: Did I take my time on this or what? Yikes. I’ll try to get the next update out much faster. Enjoy! 

*****

Riley had to admit, she was having the time of her life on this impromptu road trip with Mama. 80s music blasted from the truck’s speakers, and she and Mama danced in their seats. But Riley knew their fun was coming to an end the moment she spied the sea of brake lights in the distance. 

It took no time at all to catch up to the traffic. Every vehicle packed on the freeway sat at a standstill. 

“How do y’all live like this?” Mama asked incredulously. “There is no reason for this many cars to be on the road.” Riley chuckled. 

After another half mile of crawling through bumper to bumper traffic, Riley was finally fed up with it too. “Okay that’s it,” she announced. “We’re taking the back way.” 

LA streets were slow, but nothing was as slow as the 10 during rush hour, and they’d left right at the beginning of it. Avoiding the freeways like the plague, Riley wound through the city streets, flooring the gas through every yellow light. 

After a particularly risky one, Mama questioned, “Who taught you to drive?” 

Riley grinned ear to ear. “Jack.” Mama rolled her eyes and double checked that her seatbelt was buckled. Before long, they were back on the freeway, zooming toward the desert. 

In Indio, they stopped to get gas and use the restroom. From here to Phoenix, there was just a whole lot of nothing. Maybe some cactus, tumbleweeds, and the occasional Joshua tree if they were lucky. 

Although, Riley doubted her luck, considering she was driving to Phoenix in a truck with crappy air conditioning in the last week of July. She regretted not changing out of her favorite black Van Halen tank top into one that was a lighter color. 

By the time Riley exited the gas station’s convenience store armed to the teeth with snacks, Mama had finished filling up the gas tank and was now leaning against the tailgate, waiting. “You’re still driving,” the older woman said. Riley sighed. Of course she was. 

Riley jumped at the sound of a door slamming open behind them, almost dropping her armload of snacks. A guy wearing a navy blue hoodie sprinted toward an old Bronco, clutching something to his chest. He dove into the car and sped off. Riley and Mama winced at the squeal of the tires as he skidded out of the parking lot and back onto the road. 

The sole convenience store employee had chased after the thief to no avail. Dejected slump curving his shoulders inward, he stared after the long-gone car. 

Wordlessly handing the snacks to Mama, Riley cautiously approached the employee. He was just a kid, 25 at the most. “Hey, I’m sorry that happened.” She tipped her head toward where the Bronco had been parked. “Are you okay?” 

“Am I okay?” he asked incredulously. “Of course I’m not okay! That was the third one today and my boss is going to be fuc--pissed and it’s all because I can’t see in the back anymore because the first guy smashed the security camera with a can of Pringles which he then stole.” He had the wild look in his eyes of a furious customer service employee who was about to explode but couldn’t because they were, well, a customer service employee. Riley pitied him. 

“Well, I can’t do anything about the thief, but I think I can fix your security camera issue.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah.” Riley wasn’t totally sure she could fix it, but she’d seen Mac build and fix enough cameras over the years she figured it was worth a shot. “Can you show me where it is? I’m Riley, by the way.” 

“Marco,” he replied, holding the door open for her and Mama. Marco led her to the far corner of the store. Back here, everything a customer did would be completely concealed from the cashier. Mounted from the ceiling, the security camera’s shattered lens didn’t do much good. 

“Can I take it apart?” 

Marco looked skeptical, but he said, “It’s not like you can break it any more.” 

Riley unhooked it from the wall and began taking it apart. Aside from the shattered lens, it wasn’t actually broken. She could fix it if she had a camera. 

Riley froze. She did have a camera…

God, when did she turn into Mac? 

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she muttered as she cracked her phone open. Riley didn’t bother checking to see if she had any notifications first. They were about to disappear forever anyway. Mama’s eyes widened, but Mac would’ve been proud. She held up her unusable phone and wiggled it. “In this line of work, always get the insurance.” 

“You’ve spent too long with that MacGyver,” was all Mama said, but Riley didn’t miss her impressed smirk. 

The hardest part was breaking her phone. Riley prided herself on having the lowest phone replacement rate, which she knew was only because mission success relied on her tech actually working. Mac only sacrificed hers when he had no other option. 

Riley also knew Mac picked which phone to sacrifice based on who would have the most dramatic reaction. So, she dutifully handed it over every time wearing a serious expression, refusing to give Mac the satisfaction of being annoyed. 

Connecting the phone camera to the security camera wiring was easy enough. The finished product looked janky as hell, but Riley was pretty sure it would work. “Alright, go check whether it works.” 

Marco wove his way back to the counter. A few seconds later, a shrill “It works!” echoed through the convenience store. 

Mama smiled. “Good girl. I’ll meet you in the truck.” 

A rush of pride filled Riley--the same one she got every time she MacGyver-ed her way out of a problem. Fixing the security camera hopefully would put an end to Marco’s shitty day. 

She met Marco by the exit. “Thank you!” the kid said, throwing his arms around her in an overenthusiastic hug. Riley stiffened at the contact and patted Marco’s shoulder. He let go, none the wiser to her discomfort. 

“You’re welcome,” Riley said. “Have a good rest of your day.” She exited the convenience store and walked back to the truck. 

**********

Mac was alone in the war room when Riley’s location disappeared off the map. 

Gone, in the blink of an eye. 

“No,” Mac said to himself, voice catching. Her location last showed her at a gas station in Indio, but she could be taken anywhere from there. There was a whole lot of nothing and no-man’s land for her kidnappers to make her disappear in. 

Watching the tracker cut out finally pushed him over the edge. Mac succumbed to all the worst case scenarios that were threatening to incapacitate him completely.  They know who she is, and they’re forcing her to hack something. Or maybe they don’t know who she is, what she can do, and they just grabbed her off the street because she’s pretty and...Mac couldn’t finish the thought. 

Without anyone there to stop him, Mac let himself get absorbed in his own head. I’ve lost her, for good this time. She’s gone. Riley’s gone.

Why the hell hadn’t she sent him a clue? Every time she got kidnapped, she always managed to give him a clue about her whereabouts. Riley was one of the smartest people he knew. How did this happen? Who the hell took her? 

I never told her I’m in love with her. 

God, what if he never got that chance? Or what if something really bad happens to her and he’s too late to stop it and she loses her faith in him? 

He had to find her. And when she was safe and healed and at home he’d tell her. Mac stormed out of the war room, nearly running Matty over on his way out. 

“Where are you going, Blondie?” she asked. 

“To get Riley back.” 

He didn’t stop walking until Matty said, in the gentlest possible voice, “Mac.” 

Her tone was the only reason he turned around. If she’d spoken in her Matty The Hun voice, it would’ve fueled him to keep walking, but something about the knowing gentleness made him pause. He turned to look at her, every emotion he felt about the situation and about Riley plain on his face.

 “Okay,” she said, giving him a small nod. If she didn’t know about his feelings for Riley before, she definitely did now. 

Mac ran to his truck and sped off. 

**********

Matty added Mac’s location tracker to the screen in the war room. Like a true Californian, he skipped getting on the 10 completely and stuck to the secret back ways he’d learned over the years. Like Riley, he sped through every yellow, but eventually he got stuck in a long chain of red lights. 

Despite the fact that one of her two best agents was MIA and the other was out of his mind with grief and fear, Matty smiled to herself. Mac would find Riley; they always managed to find each other, against all odds. And when they finally reunited...maybe some things would finally be put on the table. 

Good things, Matty decided. She’d always suspected their relationship might go down this road. For years, Mac and Riley unconsciously gravitated toward one another. They stood unnecessarily close together, they constantly flicked their gaze to the other, they kept tabs on the other’s emotions. 

Because of that, she’d rarely put them undercover together as a couple because of the romantic potential. If they were ever going to move past their obliviousness and develop feelings, Mac and Riley deserved for that to happen on its own, without a bunch of charades in the way. Although, given the details they’d both left out from their reports on the op in Monte Carlo, it might’ve been just the thing to finally push them together after all this time. 

All of the chaos of the last year must’ve brought new, deeper feelings to the surface, because after defecting to Codex, Mac and Riley grew closer, though they remained guarded with the rest of the team. Even if they didn’t recognize it, their relationship was changing, hopefully for the better. With the hands they’d been dealt in life, Mac and Riley deserved that kind of lasting happiness more than anyone else she knew. 

Eyes still trained on the screen, Matty whispered, “Go get her, Mac.”

[q-gorgeous]

Family

fanfiction

hidey hey another dannymay fic but now its october i had most of this written for awhile but eh

“Okay, let me get this straight.” Vlad said, pinching the bridge of his nose and ignoring the glare Oliver was sending him from across the table. “You two dated long enough to get engaged?” 

“Yes, Vlad.” Anastasia said as she set a plate down at the table. 

“And Oliver is your son, Neil?” 

“Yep, he sure is.” Neil said as he fiddled with the flowers in the vase in front of him. 

“You and Neil had a kid together.” Vlad whispered, squinting at the table in disbelief. 

“Why are you so shocked?” Oliver asked. “He must’ve been pretty great if someone had a kid with him. No one’s had a kid with you.”

“Oliver!” Anastasia gasped. 

“Woah.” Neil said, looking with wide eyes between Vlad and Oliver. 

“When did things get that serious between you two?” Vlad exclaimed, not seeming to notice Oliver’s comment. 

“You’d probably know about all of that if you’d been here.” Oliver said, interrupting Anastasia, as he crossed his arms and continued staring at Vlad. 

“Oliver! That’s enough. Be nice to Vlad today.” Anastasia scolded. 

“Your mom’s right, kid.” Neil started. “You gotta be nice to Vlad. Him and I were actually buddies for a bit in school. He always seemed nice. Not sure what he did to garner those kinds of comments though.” 

“Yeah, not sure what he did either except be gone for almost twenty years.”

Neil spit out his water he had just taken a sip from. “Twenty years?! Vlad where were you all that time?”

Vlad waved his hand as he stared out the window over the sink. “Oh you know, getting into the business world and creating a name for myself. Investing.”

“For twenty years?” Neil asked, raising an eyebrow. Seeing Oliver move on his left, Neil watched as the boy stared him in the eyes and made a finger waggle motion similar to one he’s seen Anastasia make when they were younger. Neil’s eyes widened. 

“Wait-”

Vlad lightly pounded a fist on the table and stood up quickly. “Where’s mom? I should go find her.”

“Now, now. Stay where you are Vlad, I’m coming downstairs.” Mrs. Masters said, slowly making her way down the stairs.

“Are you ready? Can we finally start dinner now, mom?” Anastasia asked, her hands on her hips when Mrs. Masters finally sat down. 

“Of course! I can’t wait to see what you guys whipped up today while I was working. I’m sure it’ll be delicious.” Mrs. Masters' gaze turned towards Neil and she started a bit. “Oh my, Neil. I always forget you’re back. Are you still doing good?”

“I sure am, Mrs. Masters. Couldn’t be better!” Neil said before taking another sip of his water. 

“Oh, that’s good! And I’m sure Vlad will be doing just as good in a few minutes as well!” 

Vlad looked suspiciously at his mom in apprehension. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Mrs. Masters waved him off. “So, Oliver, when are your friends coming over again? I’d love to hear more of your music you’ve been practicing.”

“I’m not sure. I try to keep them away from the house when Vlad is here.”

“Oliver!” Anastasia scolded again as she placed a dish of casserole on the table. “What did I say already? Leave your uncle alone.”

“What, like how he left you guys alone for all those years? Gladly.”

Vlad glared at the boy from across the table. “You can’t even fathom what I went through! You couldn’t possibly know why I left!”

“What’s there to know?” Oliver shouted back, grabbing a big spoon and dishing out a big heaping of casserole. “You were gone for twenty years and you come back and make me feel like there are ants under my skin. There’s only one thing that makes me feel like that. You wanna know what it is?”

Neil placed a hand on Oliver’s shoulder. “Come on, Oliver. Now is not the time. Let’s eat dinner and then later you and I can go get ice cream while they talk stuff out.”

“Go get ice cream? What am I, five? We have ice cream in the fridge anyways.”

“Oliver, don’t use that tone of voice with your father.” Anastasia said as she placed a napkin in her lap.

Picking at his casserole, Oliver let out a mumble. “He’s as much of a father to me as Vlad is an uncle.”

Silence settled over the table as Oliver stared at his food, the adults stared at Oliver, and Mrs. Masters looked between all of them. 

Suddenly the silence was broken by knocking on the front door.

“Hey, V-man! It’s me and Maddie!”

“What?!” Vlad shouted, recoiling in his chair. 

“Oh, they made it!” Mrs. Masters said, clapping her hands together. “That boy Jack, I remembered how much you loved him when you were younger and I heard that you guys were talking again! So I figured I’d invite them over for the weekend.” She got up from her seat at the table and headed to the door. 

Vlad sent a glare towards Anastasia and she shrugged at him apologetically. 

“Hiya, Mrs. Masters!” Jack said jovially as the door opened. “It’s been awhile! How are you guys doing?”

“Jack, Maddie!” Mrs. Masters smiled at them. “We’ve been good, come in come in. We just started dinner.”

Jack and Maddie followed Mrs. Masters back into the kitchen where everyone else was still sitting, silently staring at their plates. 

“Hi everyone!” Jack bellowed once they made their way in. 

“Hi, Jack, hi Maddie.” Anastasia said with a smile. “You didn’t bring the kids with you?”

“No.” Maddie said with a wave of her hand. “Jazz is studying and Danny had plans with his friends this weekend. They’re back home.”

“Oh, that’s a shame. We haven’t seen them in awhile.” 

Jack turned towards Neil and held a hand out. “Hi! I’m Jack.” Neil grabbed his hand and shook it as Jack squinted at him. “Say, you look familiar. Have we met before?”

“I think we hung out a few times as kids when you came to visit Vlad. I’m Oliver’s father.”

Jack stared at Neil in shock, turning to look at Anastasia and Oliver, pointing at Neil. “This is Oliver’s dad?” Jack asked in a voice much too quiet for him. 

Anastasia nodded and a smile lit up Jack’s face and he scooped Neil into his arms, giving him a bear hug. “Isn’t that amazing! Welcome to the family!”

“Jack, I don’t believe you’re a part of this family.” Vlad said, still staring at his plate.

“You’re kidding me right?” Oliver snapped. “He’s been more of an uncle than you have! He’s been here the last twenty years that you were gone, seeing when you’d come back!”

“He’s the reason I left!” Vlad shouted, slamming his hands down on the table as he stood up. “He’s the reason the accident happened, the reason I was in the hospital, the reason I could never be the same again! He doesn’t deserve to be a part of this family!” 

Oliver stared at Vlad with wide eyes, the room was silent again. 

“Vladdy-” Jack started. 

Aggressively, Vlad pushed his chair in and stomped his way upstairs. Heading into his old bedroom, he slammed the door shut and collapsed on the bed. He lay on the bed, in his room that had hardly changed in the past two decades, but had miraculously stayed clean all that time. 

After a few minutes of pouting, Vlad hears a soft knock at his door. He considers going invisible, but that would probably only raise Oliver’s hostility towards him if Vlad just disappeared. 

“Vlad?” Jack's voice carries quietly through the door, much more gentle than most times Vlad has heard the man speak. Vlad ignores him, facing the wall next to his bed. 

The door slowly opens and Vlad can feel Jack peeking in at him. 

“Can we talk?”

“No.” Vlad curls further into himself. 

“Okay. Well then, I guess I’ll talk.” Jack closes the door behind him and makes his way to Vlad’s bed where he sits down beside the other man. 

Vlad can feel the other man fidgeting behind him. Jack doesn’t fidget. Maybe out of excitement or boredom, but Vlad doesn’t know the last time Jack has fidgeted out of nervousness. 

“You know it was an accident, right?” Jack says quietly. This causes Vlad to flinch. Of course he knows it was an accident. That didn’t stop it from ruining his life. 

“I had really wanted to show you guys that it’d work. That we could really get into the ghost zone. Maybe if I had just let Maddie put the finishing touches on it then…” Vlad heard a sigh and could tell Jack was running a hand down his face. “That was the worst day of my life.”

This statement startled Vlad, the fist he had been clenching to his chest falling open in his surprise. 

“When you screamed, I-” Jack’s words got caught in his throat, but he pushed through. “I thought you were dead. I thought when me and Maddie stood up, that I’d find you dead on the floor.

“And then we could never see you in the hospital, we had to finish school, by the time we had finally arranged a time to come visit you, you were gone. No one knew where you went. We were all scared.”

Guilt filled Vlad’s being, memories of the nightmares he’d had of his ghostly side taking over and hurting his best friends coming to the front of his mind. The terror he’d felt not knowing if he’d follow through with any of it. 

Finally, Vlad turned over to his other side to face Jack, his hand coming to rest beside Jack's knee. Vlad kept his eyes averted, but he could feel the other man staring down at him. 

“I’m sorry, Vlad.” Jack whispered. “I wish I could’ve said that sooner.”

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Vlad blinked his eyes a couple times before he lifted an open hand to Jack. Turning his gaze up, Vlad could see Jack’s watery eyes. 

Jack gently grabbed his hand, running his thumb along Vlad’s knuckles. 

Vlad took another deep breath and closed his eyes. After a few minutes, Vlad heard the door open and close softly. Someone else sat down on the bed near him and small fingers ran through his hair. Distantly he could hear Maddie whispering to Jack, but he was too relaxed by this point to zone back in. He thought about the last time they did this back in college, during midterms. 

He hadn’t realized how much he missed this, missed them. Guilt fills his chest again as he thinks about the twenty years he spent away from everyone and he grips Jack’s hand a bit harder. 

Never again.

[degrassi-fanatic]

Good At The Job

For lawrancel and peter-ohara 

The moment Hotch hears the monitor flatline, the noise echoing through the silent room, he decides to make his way out of the hospital room. The two parents need some time to grieve privately and Hotch is not a monster, he won’t rip Jimmy away from his dead son, not until he has to. 

Pushing open the door as quietly as he possibly can, Hotch lets himself out of the room. He draws in a deep breath as he presses his body against the nearest empty space on the wall. His palms are flat against the cold wall, the sensation anchoring him to reality. He tilts his head up as he attempts to will away the tears. 

From the corner of his, he sees a familiar mop of brown hair come into view and soon he feels a hand rest on his upper arm, the warmth seeping through his dress shirt and spreading across his skin. 

“Hotch,” Reid says softly, “You okay?”

Using the arm free of Reid’s grasp, Hotch wipes away the remaining tears on his face using the end of his sleeve. 

“I’m fine.” Hotch answers back quickly, his voice coming out all watery, “Let’s just— let’s go back to the station.”

He is well aware that he’s not doing an excellent job of convincing Reid but he hopes that, for once in his life, Reid will simply drop the matter, that he won’t keep probing. 

It’s quite clear that today will not be the exception as Hotch’s hopes are crushed when he feels Reid’s digits curling into his bicep. As the younger man shuffles closer to lean into Hotch’s side, he uses his free hand to twine their fingers together. 

“The team can wrap up the case without us.” he murmurs as he tries to make fleeting eye contact with Hotch, “You want to talk about it?”

Without hesitation, Hotch shakes his head vehemently. 

No, he does not want to talk about it. He’d rather be back at the police station going through mind-numbing procedures that would help him forget the look of pure anguish on Ryan’s parents’ faces when he uttered his final goodbye. 

“Aaron…” Reid admonishes gently, “Please?”

For a minute, he stays silent and Reid resigns himself to having lost this battle with Hotch. He can feel him making microscopic movements to inch away and that makes a surge of panic rush through Hotch for an inexplicable reason. 

Moving his hand to grasp at Reid’s waist, Hotch leans his mouth down to his ear. He wants to be quiet because he knows that right beside them, inside the hospital room, is a pair of parents wondering how to keep going on after they’ve lost their son. 

“I saw a kid die,” he starts off, his breath most likely tickling the shell of Reid’s ear from the way the man was squirming in his hold, “And I don’t know, my mind must have gotten away from me, because I kept imagining if it was Jack. Then, I started imagining if Jack had gotten sick and I had to say goodbye, if he had gotten into an accident and I had to bury him, if he had been killed by Foyet—”

He cuts himself off as he heaves in a ragged breath. He knows that by now his fingers must be leaving bruises in Reid’s skin from the way he’s tightened his grip. 

“I felt bad for him.” Hotch admits quietly to Reid, “For the unsub, for Jimmy. I know he’s a killer but I understand him. If Jack got sick or if he died, I would snap too and that makes me afraid. That the person I identify with, is the bad guy.

“I mean, what does that make me?”

“Good at the job.” Reid whispers back.

It’s a callback to something he said years ago to him, back when Reid had been younger and Hotch had smiled more. It loosens up the knot in his chest, if only enough to let him take a free breath. 

“Thanks Reid.” he says, and he’s not sure what he’s thanking him for, but it feels right to say the words. 

A second or two passes when Hotch realizes they are still wrapped up around one another. Despondently, he thinks it’s time he pulls away from Reid’s body. They’ve been intertwined in a way that is inappropriate for boss and subordinate, for friends, even. 

As he goes to take a step back, Reid places a hand on top of Hotch’s own that was resting on his waist, effectively keeping him close. 

“By the way,” Reid says into his ear, “I don’t think you’ll ever turn into an unsub.”

“What do you mean?”

“A lot of our unsubs,” Reid begins as he moves to look Hotch in the eye, “Their triggers are when their loved ones die a traumatic death. But, Hotch, you? Your wife was murdered by a man that had made your life living hell, and instead of choosing violence, against yourself or others, you chose to go back to work and put people like Foyet away. You chose to be the good way when it could have been so easy to fall off the deep end, you chose to be good even though it wasn't easy.

"And you showed your son that you can move past tragedy without forgetting about it.”

All Hotch can do is stare at Reid and take in all of the awe and pride swirling around in his eyes. 

“I was rambling, wasn’t I?” he pipes up when Hotch cannot produce a response for him in time.

“I like it.” Hotch mumbles as he brings his thumb up to trace the corner of Reid’s mouth. 

“When it doesn’t interfere with the job?” he teases, even though a blush appears across his own face. 

“Yeah.” 

The next day, after the team has filed into the jet and they are well on their way back home to Quantico, Rossi decides to stride over to where Hotch was sitting, his paperwork scattered around him on the table in front of him. 

“So,” Rossi says, elongating the vowel as he leans his arm on the top of the empty seat in front of Hotch, “Is the doomsday bike ride happening?”

“Yes, it is. Tomorrow morning, 9:00.” he informs, “But, uh, I don't know.”

“I'm pretty sure Haley wouldn't want you to avoid moving on.”

Though it’s been two years, her name still cracks against his heart like a whip whenever he hears it. He wonders when the blow will lessen its impact. 

“I'm not avoiding moving on.” he murmurs as he scribbles something down, “I'm just not sure.”

It’s the truth. He just isn’t sure if it’s worth the hassle.

Beth is nice and sweet and she is someone Hotch could fall in love with.  But, she’s so innocent and Hotch doesn’t want to do to her what he did to Haley. He doesn’t want Beth to bear the burden of a job she did not sign up for. It’s not fair to her, just like it wasn’t fair to Haley. 

He sees no point in attempting a relationship that is doomed to end catastrophically. 

“Not sure about what? Going on a bike ride?” Rossi asks, slightly exasperated, “Aaron, I know you think it's too soon, but you're no good to anyone when you're miserable.”

“I'm not miserable.”

Hotch has a good life. He has a wonderful son and a kind sister. He has a team that has his back no matter what. What more could he ask for? What more could he ask for without feeling guilty? Without feeling selfish?

“Ehh…” Rossi says with a little hand gesture, “Maybe slightly uptight.”

A small chuckle escapes Hotch.

“All right,” he concedes as he sets his pen down, “I'll give you slightly uptight.”

After a moment, the grin on Rossi’s face dials down, replaced by the sight of a small, sad smile. 

“If there's one thing I learned from Carolyn's death, it's that life is short.” he says, “And you deserve to be happy.”

“I know.” Hotch murmurs, half lying and half telling the truth.

Leaning closer, Rossi gives him a pat on the shoulder before he straightens up and makes his way back to his own seat, where Prentiss and Morgan are waiting for him so they can begin their game of poker.

As he picks up his pen once more, Hotch is about to get back to his paperwork when the pen is snatched up from behind him. In its place is a warm mug of coffee, instead. Looking up, he finds Reid beaming down at him as he holds Hotch’s favourite pen hostage in one hand, and his own mug of coffee in the other. 

“Did you poison it with your sugar?” Hotch jokes as he brings his nose down to the rim of the mug. 

“Haha,” Reid says sarcastically as he takes his seat in front of Hotch, “That’s coming from Mr. I-take-my-coffee-as-dark-as-my-soul.”

“Well, if coffee is supposed to represent its drinker, I think yours is fitting as well.” Hotch says, surprising himself with his words. 

“Because I’m so pale?”

“Because you’re sweet.” Hotch corrects. 

He isn’t quite sure why he said the words but whatever the reason is good enough for him as he watches the flush spread across Reid’s face like it did last night. Soon after, Reid ducks his head down as he distracts himself by taking a sip of his overly sugary coffee. 

Maybe, Hotch had gotten it all wrong. Maybe, he should’ve been searching for a partner in his own circles. Someone who understood him and understood everything he had been through. Someone who he didn’t have to go through the painful pleasantries of first dates with because they already knew him. Someone who would not be scared away by the job because they worked the job too. 

Someone like Reid, he thinks to himself. 

Sighing, Hotch pushes aside the thought. Reid would never want to be with a man like him. Not when he had so many other options available to him. Sure, he’s a little late on social cues but he makes up for it with kindness, passion, intellect, with his whole personality. Anyone would be lucky to have him.

In the pocket of his trousers, he feels his cell phone vibrate with a new text message notification. Whipping it out, he spots Beth’s contact name on the screen. 

“Jess?” Reid asks.

“No, it’s, uh, it’s Beth.” at Reid’s questioning look, Hotch explains, “She’s the woman I met in the park while I was training. She’s asking if I would like to join her for some dinner later in the day after we finish our bike ride tomorrow.”

“Oh,” Reid says deflated, “That’s nice.”

As he grows dismayed, a seed of hope sprouts up inside of Hotch. He wonders if… 

“Unfortunately for her, I am busy.” he announces as he sets his cell phone face down on the table.

“With what?” Reid asks, curiously.

“Taking you out to dinner.” and Hotch isn’t sure where this streak of bravery came from but he is grateful for it, “That is if you’ll say yes.”

The grin that Reid greets him with reaches the corners of his eyes and leaves Hotch feeling breathless.

“That depends.” he says as he raises his mug up to his mouth before lightly blowing over the top.

“On?”

“If you mean it in the way I think you do.” he explains. 

“Spencer,” Hotch murmurs lowly to make sure the rest of the team cannot eavesdrop, “I would like to take you out on a date.”

“Okay.” he mumbles into the rim of his mug.

“Okay?” Hotch asks, wanting to double check, a smile already stretching across his face.

“Yep.” Reid nods shyly. 

Without another word, Hotch settles back into his chair to get some work done. He’d rather not have to do it tomorrow, seeing as he’s going to be very busy. 

As he slides sheets of papers around, he spots Reid getting up from his seat, only to slot up beside him on the empty chair next to him. Reid brings his hand down to Hotch’s, and he can feel a pen nudging his palm. After taking hold of it, Hotch tries to get back to work only to find his right hand clasped together with Reid’s left, settling on top of his thigh. 

It’s a good thing Hotch is left handed.