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writingtraumaforever · 2 months ago

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Courtship: Chapter 3 (Finale)

Notes: AAAAAAAAAND DONE. This was such a joy to write, guys. I love the movie-verse so, so much, and I'm glad I was motivated enough to write a little fic about our two favorite boys. I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did, and who know! Maybe if the demand is there, I'll write a little epilogue for our two cuties~

Summary: Shadow meets the Wachowski's. Again.

Chapter Select: Chapter 1, Chapter 2

Mini-Sequel: Home Alone

Link to my AO3!

Start:

Sonic is nothing but nervous energy.

He’s been rushing about the entire morning. He took a bubble bath. He bathed Ozzie in the same bath after. He tidied his room. He put on the coolest pictures of him in the living room and the dopey ones in his dresser drawer to not be found. He combed his quills and brushed his fur. He has prepared in every possible way and still feels like things aren’t near good enough for Shadow to be impressed.

Maddie climbs up the ladder to the attic, gently lifting the door to find Sonic moving his action figures around on his shelf as if to try and find some sort of specifically aesthetic organization.

“No..,” he moves them all around again, “nuh uh,” again, “not it,” again with a frustrated groan, “You know what?? He’ll probably think they’re lame anyway.” And then he’s dumping them all in the upper drawer of his nightstand.

Maddie can’t help but smile at her spazzing son, a sympathetic knit to her brow as she knocks gently on his bedroom floor, “Knock knock?”

Sonic’s attention instantly shift to his peeping mom’s head peering through the attic door, “oh- hey, mom.”

“Hey, kiddo,” she smiles, entering now that he’s granted his approval. She looks at the neat room with raised brows, “Wow.. don’t think I’ve ever seen it so clean in here.”

“Yeah, well. I can’t have a guest thinking I’m a slob.”

“Right. Because that would be misleading,” Maddie says with a playful wink and a hint of sarcasm. Sonic just smiles at this, rolling his eyes before dashing over to his comic books that are stacked next to his bean bag. He begins looking through them, trying to decide which should go on top for viewing.

“You think Batman is cooler or the Flash??”

“Hm.. I think the Flash is pretty cool,” the mother answers as she approaches the hedgehog with a knowing look in her eyes.

“Mm… yeah, but..,” he looks at the Batman comic again before stacking the Flash and then the Batman one on top, “Shadow would probably like Batman more.”

“You’re probably right,” Maddie agrees with a nod, Sonic nodding in return as he turns to his mom again.

“Did you get the hot dogs?”

“Yup,” she assures, “Three whole packs. And the chili is currently in the slow cooker.”

“Sweet,” Sonic grins approvingly, “Shadow is gonna die when he tries your chili dogs. He’ll finally understand that they’re the best thing humans have ever invented.”

“Right,” Maddie snorts with a giggle before she crouches down to eye level with the blue blur, watching how Sonic’s eyes skim around the room looking for something else to perfect. Nerves. Anxious. Excited. Scared..

She knows.

“Hey..,” she says softly, catching Sonic’s attention then as she takes his gloved hands into her own, “He already likes you. He wouldn’t be coming here if he didn’t.”

Sonic sighs, some of the tension leaving his shoulders as he squeezes Maddie’s hands, “I know. I know. I just-.. I really want him to think I’m cool.”

“Sonic Wachowski?? Not cool?? That’s an impossible conclusion to come to,” she smirks, Sonic giggling a bit in return.

“I know, but-.. I don’t know..”

Sonic’s ears flatten just slightly, his gaze shifting away sheepishly. And nervously..

Maddie’s smile softens again, squeezing his hands again as she speaks, “Try and relax. If you’re a nervous ball of energy, he likely will feed off that and be one too. Being cool is a nice thing to be, but being welcoming is the more important bit.. You want him to feel safe here.”

“Yeah..,” Sonic breathes with a small smile, looking at his mother earnestly, “..I just want him to want to come back.”

“I’m sure he will,” she assures with a nod, moving to kiss her boy’s spiky forehead before resting hers against it to look him in the eye, “It’ll all go just fine, Sonic. You’re a great kid.”

“I’m seventeen,” Sonic groans with a little eyeroll, but it’s harmless and he’s smiling. He knows good and well no matter how old he is, he’ll always be her baby.

“I’m sorry, you’re a great man,” she corrects with pure confidence, “And you have a big heart. I’m sure he sees that too, and finds comfort in that…”

Sonic’s eyes shut with a sigh, leaning his forehead against his mom’s a bit more before simply moving to slide his arms around her shoulders and give her a big hedgehog hug.

“Thanks mom..”

She pets her hand along his head and rubs his ear with a smile, hugging him in return tight and warm, “Anytime.”

Sonic stays like that until he feels most of his nerves melt away, pulling back then to look her in the eye with all seriousness, “Dad’s gonna behave, right???”

Maddie hums and looks away as if unsure, “I think so,” she immediately laughs when Sonic’s face shifts to horror and gives his shoulders a playful shake, “Calm down, I’m kidding. We had a talk. And he absolutely is going to behave. As are the other boys.”

Sonic deflates with a breath of relief, “Oh thank God—“

Maddie giggles and stands up again, lightly thumping Sonic’s ear and making it twitch in the process as she turns to exit the attic, “Try and relax a bit. You’re gonna run a hole in the ceiling if you keep at it up here.”

Sonic just scoffs in playful offense, “Is that a fat joke?!”

“It’s a warning,” Maddie says with a pointed look his way as she climbs down the ladder, slowly closing the door on her way down. She playfully points at him in mock threat just before it shuts, leaving Sonic chuckling before moving to his bed.

He sits down carefully on the edge, not wanting to have to make it again. Laying back with a heavy sigh, he stares at his ceiling and tries to ignore the very aggressive butterflies that are multiplying in his stomach..

•••

Shadow has prepared himself appropriately according to his research.

He anointed himself in his favorite scent: lavender and coffee. He combed his quills neatly. He brushed his chest fur to get any knots out. He’s even wearing an extra article of clothing: a black leather jacket. And to impress Sonic’s parents, he bought two motorcycle helmets to show he cares about safety, wearing one when he shows up at their driveway.

He read motorcycles are often an alarming sign to most guardians for their children to be associated with, but Sonic once told him that Mr. Wachowski thought they were ‘way past cool’. So he opted to try and impress the man by catering to his interests.

Parking the bike on the street at the end of the driveway, Shadow removes his helmet and rests it on the seat. His crimson eyes stare at the Wachowski residence for a long time. A sick feeling in his stomach.

Maybe he’s ill.

No.. no, lying to himself is pointless. He’s terrified.

He doesn’t get the luxury of domineering first impressions. He’s already made them long ago, and they weren’t exactly ideal. None of this situation is, honestly. But he has to play the cards he was dealt, and he’s determined to try his damn hardest to win this family over.

He’s watched YouTube tutorials on how to hold conversation, dinner etiquette, appropriate movie watching commentary, manners when meeting parents, common humans topics of conversation..

He’s done his research. Theoretically, this should be a walk in the park.

So why the hell couldn’t he get his feet to move???

He stares at the home. Can see the lights on, humans silhouetted and moving about through the sheer curtains of the windows.. and one blue blur flashing by now and then.

Shadow’s lips purse, his fists tightening at his sides as his stomach aches a bit more uneasily.

Sonic is inside.. Sonic is depending on him to make a good impression. Sonic has done his part in this ritual, now it’s time for Shadow to do his and-…

Nope. No, what is he thinking?? Shadow can’t do this. He doesn’t deserve this. He’s a fraud. He doesn’t deserve redemption or forgiveness. He doesn’t get to just waltz into their home and act as though he’s just some random hedgehog their son brought home.

He nearly destroyed them.

Picking his helmet back off his motorcycle’s seat, he starts to put it back on with one last glance to the Wachowski home.

The home untouched by a monster. The home he hasn’t destroyed yet. The home that doesn’t need him involved in it..

And ruby finds emerald.

Sonic’s wide, eager eyes are looking out the window in search of his guest’s arrival and find Shadow standing there.

Damnit.

The front door opens in an instant, the blue blur standing there grinning wide and excited and happy. Shadow can see his tail wagging from here.

“Shadow!”

Shadow slowly puts his helmet back on the seat of his bike.

Welp.

No going back now.

Walking around the bike, Shadow offers a small smile to Sonic despite his current need to vomit. Or run. Running sounds more convenient.

”You’re here!” Sonic beams, and Shadow swears he’s never seen the hero so damn giddy.

“I am,” he confirms with a small nod, approaching the steps to the doorway now and stopping right outside the door.

Sonic just stares at him all sunshine and giggles for a long moment, Shadow feeling increasingly weary under his starstruck gaze.

This hedgehog expects far too much of Shadow.. he’s going to end up crushed when he sees him for what he really is eventually. But Shadow will selfishly take whatever attention Sonic will give him for now.

There’s something powerful about it.. a pure-hearted hero like Sonic wanting to court Shadow. The monstrosity. The creature. The thing.

Shadow wonders if Sonic even realizes how much of an impact the way he looks at Shadow has on him..

Sonic’s eyes linger and then look down at Shadow’s attire, “You’re wearing a jacket!”

Shadow shifts a bit on his feet, looking down at his jacket with slight embarrassment now.. maybe it wasn’t the appropriate choice?

“I.. am..?”

“It looks great!” Sonic beams, bouncing on his toes as he bites his lower lip.

“Oh..,” Shadow looks back to Sonic, a shy smile curling on his muzzle, “Thank you.”

“Sure thing,” Sonic replies immediately, going back to just staring at Shadow as if he isn’t real. Like he’s a dream. A vision.

Shadow doesn’t know what to do with that..

“May I—“

“Oh! Yeah, man, sorry—“ Sonic chuckles with a pink tint growing on his cheeks, moving out of the way to allow Shadow inside the home. Shadow steps inside and is immediately met with the smell of peppers and mahogany. He’s guessing it’s the dinner mixed with the natural Wachowski home scent. It’s not unpleasant.

Sonic closes the door behind him, and Shadow looks up to find the Donut Lord and Pretzel Lady themselves looking right back at him.

Oh sweet chaos kill him—

”Hello, Mr. And Mrs. Wachowski,” Shadow greets immediately, nerves making his hands feel a bit shaky but he steels them into hard fists at his sides.

The missus of the home speaks first, “Hello, Shadow.” Her voice is soft and sweet, and her smile looks genuine and welcoming. “We’re so happy to have you here. Welcome to our home!”

“Thank you for allowing my attendance,” Shadow politely nods, swallowing hard as his eyes shift to the man. The father. The leader. The Donut Lord.

He doesn’t look nearly as genuine as the woman when he smiles. But he is smiling, which is something, at least.

Last Shadow saw this man, he had a foot placed firmly on his neck with a gun pressed to his temple.

Shadow will gladly and gratefully take a damn disingenuous smile.

“Of course,” the man assures, seeming a bit reluctant in his words but Shadow recognizes the effort regardless, “Any friend of Sonic’s is always welcome.”

Even if they blew up half the moon???

Shadow refrains from saying this.

“You have a lovely home, Mrs. Wachowski,” Shadow compliments, trying for some of the training he received from the Internet, “It’s very well decorated.”

“Oh- that’s so sweet,” she smiles, a hand over her heart as if it’s been touched. Shadow is glad this seems to have been the right thing to say.

“Why don’t you let Sonic give you a tour, and I’ll the table set for us to eat out back?”

“Sounds great!” Sonic approves, Shadow looking back to the hedgehog that’s been standing behind him watching the interaction with pins and needles this whole time, “C’mon! We’ll start with the living room.”

Shadow follows Sonic throughout the home, feeling Mr. Wachowski’s lingering gaze now and then when in sight. But Shadow tries not to focus on this and instead on the words Sonic is saying.

“These are our bean bags,” the blue hedgehog points to the line of three large bags, blue, yellow and red, stored against the wall of the living room behind the couch, “We pull them out in front of the tv when we watch a movie or a show. Mine is the blue one— duh. Knuckles’ is red and Tails’ is yellow. Mom and Dad take the couch.”

Shadow nods with a small hum to show he’s paying attention, not having much commentary on the matter. Sonic doesn’t seem to mind this. He makes up by talking enough for the both of them. Always has. This is their dynamic. And the familiarity of it helps Shadow feel a bit more at ease as he continues on with Sonic’s tour.

“This is the dining room where we eat— except we never eat here. We usually just sit in the living room or at the table in the kitchen to eat. We only eat here on special occasions like birthdays or holidays.”

“This is the downstairs bathroom. Always use this bathroom. Knuckles uses it the least.”

“That’s the kitchen, but we’ll stay outta there right now so we don’t get in the way.”

“This is the downstairs office where Dad will do paperwork or Mom will do some vet stuff. Sometimes she brings home animals to foster, and they sleep in here. It’s super cool! Once, she brought home an earth hedgehog. It was super slow.”

“This is the backyard—“

He’s interrupted by instant barking when he opens the door, the family dog having been outside and seemingly waiting at the door for them to join him. Shadow doesn’t like the loud noise, instantly feeling a bit overwhelmed as he takes a small step back with a frown and watches Sonic wrangle the dog by his collar.

“Ozzie! Easy! I know you’re excited we have a guest, but you gotta chill, dawg,” Sonic scolds affectionately, grinning as he tugs the pup away from the door to allow Shadow to step out without being tackled.

Shadow does, eyeing the dog and keeping his distance the entire time.

The dog— Ozzie eventually seems to calm, his barking stopping and being replaced with little whines as he eyes Shadow. His tail is wagging like Sonic’s was when he first got here.

Actually, Sonic’s tail hasn’t stopped wagging, Shadow notes.

His ears perk up from their folded back position once the barking stops, observing the dog silently with an unsure gaze..

Sonic picks up on this, offering a hand out to Shadow as he stays crouched at the dog’s side holding its collar with his opposing hand, “It’s cool. He don’t bite.”

Shadow frowns a bit, looking at Sonic’s hand a bit unsure before looking to the dog again.. then he hesitantly reaches and lets Sonic’s hand guide his own to the dog’s fur. It’s thick. He imagines it’s probably soft without his gloves on, as most well-kept fur is..

The dog’s head seems to tilt up into his palm when it touches between his ears, Shadow lightly curling his fingers to scratch there as Ozzie’s tongue hangs happily to the side of his muzzle. Panting and no longer whining now that he’s getting his wanted attention and affection.

Shadow’s frown dissipates slowly, replaced with a content sort of expression. He.. likes petting it. It’s comforting.

Shadow smells the distinct scent of grass on his palm when he retracts it from the dog.

“He’s a good boy,” Sonic smiles, petting the dog under its chin and behind its collar, “He likes you, too! That’s a good sign.”

Shadow’s eyes glint with pride at that, eased that he has passed yet another Wachowski test.

They go back inside after Sonic shows Shadow the firepit and then picnic table in the back, walking in to find Tom carrying some plates towards the backdoor..

“Dinner is ready to serve,” the sheriff informs with a small smile at the two, seeming a bit more at ease now that “introductions” have been made, “Go get your brothers, huh?”

“On it,” Sonic nods, waving his hand for Shadow to follow— which he does once he’s done holding the door open for Mr. Wachowski.

“Tails’ room is the basement, “Sonic informs as they approach what Shadow had assumed was a coat closet. Instead, he finds there’s a staircase down when Sonic opens it.

“He was in the guest room, but Dad moved him when he kept waking him up at night tinkering. Said he needed more room to work.”

“That was generous of him,” Shadow replies, following Sonic down the stairs.

“Yeah. Dad is pretty supportive of our hobbies,” Sonic shrugs with a little smile, though he seems to hold a new nervousness now..

Once downstairs, Shadow is a bit taken aback by the sight.

The walls are lined with all sorts of tools and gadgets and gizmos, some he recognizes and some he’s never seen before. The room is very much divided by a workspace and an actual bedroom. The workspace being what Shadow would only describe as organized chaos while the bedroom portion is neat and tidy. Clean and almost looking untouched.

It’s intriguing, the contrast.

A personality for each tail, he supposes.

Speaking of— the young kit himself was found seated at a workbench, headphones over pointed ears and fluffy tails winding together then unwinding again behind him repetitively. He seems locked in on whatever he’s fiddling with, his tongue sticking out and his brows furrowed in concentration. Shadow almost hates to interrupt him, but Sonic approaches without a thought.

“Hey Tails,” the hero lightly nudges his shoulder causing the fox to flinch before quickly removing his headphones to turn to Sonic, “dinner’s ready.”

“Oh sweet! I’m starved!” the smaller one grins, “Just let me—“ his smile drops, eyes widening and body stiffening when he sees Shadow.

Shadow swallows, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and trying not to seem too intimidating nor too intimidated.

“Oh,” Tails says, his voice small and his ears drooping back just slightly. His body shifts as if to be a bit more behind Sonic, “hey, Shadow. L-long time no see!.. heh..”

He’s scared. Shadow hates that..

Hates he’s given the kit more than enough reason to be..

He’s actually quite good with kids, contrary to popular belief. He was made to comfort and tend to one after all..

His heart would’ve broken to bits had his sister ever looked at him like that..

He clears his throat, glancing around before trying to break the ice with a compliment, “Your.. workspace is impressive,” he looks back at the fox to show he’s earnest, “I haven’t seen many of these tools before.”

“Oh,” Tails’ ears perk up, though a bit hesitantly, “I uh-.. I made most of them myself.”

“You build these things??”

“Yeah! Um.. I can show you some if you want??”

“I’d like that,” Shadow nods.

Sonic listens with a growing smile, watching as Tails stands and slowly begins to show Shadow some of his creations lining the walls and tabletops. He seems pleased this is going well thus far. More than pleased. This is important to him, of course, that much is obvious. But this fox is special to Sonic. He’s protective of him, a guardian of him. He wouldn’t want Shadow to be an object of fear for him.. nor would he want to bring Shadow around if it caused Tails distress, the hybrid is sure.

There’s a soft look in Sonic’s eyes as Tails laughs at something Shadow says, though. It makes Shadow’s stomach do flips. He pretends not to notice.

“I’m actually working on a design for a plane,” Tails explains as he approaches his workbench again, showing Shadow the blueprints, “I kind of got addicted this one time I flew one while fighting Eggman. Wanna make one bigger and better.”

Shadow looks over the blueprints with intrigue, finding the knowledge of this child absolutely baffling as well as simply endearing. His thirst for knowledge is familiar to Shadow..

“The engine design is formidable,” the hybrid observes, “have you considered replacing the transonic truss-braced wings with elliptical ones??”

“I… haven’t..,” Tails hums thoughtfully, tapping his chin as he eyes his blueprints, “that would make it far more aerodynamically efficient—“

“—and produce less drag,” Shadow finishes with a nod, watching as the fox quickly picks up his pencil and makes adjustments to the blueprints

“That’s brilliant! Team Heroes definitely needs this to be fast—“

“Okay you two! Before you start nerding out, we have chili dogs-a-waitin’,” Sonic interrupts, gesturing dramatically to the stairs with a bow.

Shadow and Tails look to him, the fox chuckling sheepishly and putting his pencil back down as he rubs the back of his neck and approaches his older brother, “Sorry. Got carried away.”

“It’s cool, lil’ bro,” Sonic assures with a shrug, waiting for Shadow to walk up the stairs before following behind, “I know you’re a big dork.”

“At least I’m not a big dumb,” Tails retorts with a grin.

“Zing!” Sonic chuckles proudly. Shadow is fairly certain he could’ve thought of a comeback and simply chose to allow the fox the win. It’s cute.

“Alright, let’s go get Knucks because the dawgs are callin’ and I’m staaaarviiiiing~” Sonic sings the last word in a nonsensical way that Shadow has grown accustom to from the hedgehog, smirking slightly as he follows him towards the side door.

Once outside, Shadow notes a large, white shed to the side of the house with its lights on, putting together that that must be where the echidna stays.

As if reading his mind, Sonic narrates, “Knuckles’ room is in the shed. Him and Mom had a lot of fights when he first moved in because he was a bit destructive. After a while, though, we realized this was just because he wasn’t use to sharing his space. He was pretty much a loner before all us, and he likes his independence and to be his own boss. So Mom renovated the shed for him and surprised him with it. I think that’s the first time he hugged her. It was pretty cool,” Sonic reminisces, walking backwards towards the shed so he can keep his eye on Shadow as he speaks.

“She sounds like a very perceptive mother,” Shadow analyzes.

“Oh, she is,” Sonic nods with wide eyes, “It’s scary sometimes how she knows things. It’s like she can read minds or something.”

Shadow’s ears fold back slightly at that, glancing towards the house again and wondering if his mind is currently being invaded..

To his knowledge, humans don’t have this ability, though.

Sonic knocks on the shed door once before opening it right on up. They’re instantly met with loud rap music playing over a speaker, Shadow’s ears once again folding back at the unwelcomed noise.

Sonic seems to notice this, rushing in a dash to switch the music off. This immediately disturbs the echidna who is sitting on a weight bench with a large spear in hand, sharpening the tip with a rock of some sort.

“Hey! Who dares to interrupt my bops?!” the red echidna barks, purple eyes turning to lock on crimson ones.

Oh boy.

The fox was one thing. He feared Shadow, which is something Shadow felt he could change relatively simply with time and trust. But the echidna???

He challenged Shadow.

“Ah! The Utmost Living Being!”

“The Ultimate Lifeform..,” Shadow mumbles the correction with a small frown, trying not to seem annoyed by the guardian’s incompetence. He’s had a lot of practice with Sonic.

“Whatever. You have arrived!” Knuckles continues, standing to approach the two now. Shadow is wary of the spear still in his hand, not even flinching when Knuckles points it directly at him, nearly grazing his chin. The echidna’s voice is deathly serious, gaze firm and menacing like a predator, “What are your intentions with my brother?”

Sonic’s eyes widen with a loud and awkward, “OH-KAY! That’s enough of that, ha-ha!” He’s quickly between the two, shoving the spear away from Shadow’s face with a little glare to his brother. Knuckles ignores it, keeping his eyes locked daringly on Shadow over Sonic’s shoulder. Shadow just looks back unphased before looking back to the nervously laughing Sonic.

“Don’t be weird, Knuckles,” the hedgehog growls under his breath, the echidna scoffing at this as if offended.

“Weird?! I am not being weird! I am merely engaging in conversation with our guest.”

“A weird conversation. And an unnecessarily aggressive one!”

“All aggression is necessary,” Knuckles corrects, finally looking from Shadow to Sonic, “Besides, I am the eldest brother. It is my duty to protect the tribe from newcomers!”

“Dude. Mom and Dad already have it covered. Just— be cool,” Sonic groans, crossing his arms at his brother.

“The Lady of Pretzels and Lord of Donuts are easily persuaded. I am not,” Knuckles shrugs, looking back to Shadow, “You are welcome to our home! But I will be watching you..”

Shadow just nods at this, “Understandable.”

Sonic groans more at this, seeming annoyed with Knuckles’ typical dramatic antics before he just rubs a hand down his face and shrugs it off, “Whatever. Just— dinner’s ready.”

“Oo sustenance! Is there grapes???” Knuckles’ demeanor shifts from intimidating to giddy like a dime, his eyes wide with hope.

“Yes. She made fruit salad and included grapes. Just for you,” Sonic huffs, turning towards the door to which Shadow promptly follows.

“Superb. She is absolutely a wonderful mother,” Knuckles hums pleased as he follows behind the two, “I am very glad I picked her.”

“Right,” Sonic rolls his eyes, leading the trio across the yard, picking his battles and not arguing with Knuckles on that one.

Shadow can’t help but find the entire interaction amusing. Their dynamic is so different than Sonic and Tails’, but it’s still laced with affection. It’s also endearing.

Once back inside, the three find that the house is empty and assume the others are already out back waiting in the yard.

Joining them outside, Shadow is immediately met with the appetizing aroma of chili as well as assorted fruits and some sort of meat.

He doesn’t have to eat as much as normal people do, but he certainly doesn’t mind it if it’s a good enough meal.

Tails is sitting with Mrs. Wachowski at the table, fixing his plate with a hot dog and a simple topping of ketchup with a bowl of chili separate on the side. He’s already digging in, not realizing how hungry he was since he had been caught up in his work.

Mr. Wachowski is squatted by a cooler, filling his cup with ice along with three others that Shadow assumes is for the three who just came outside. Sonic dashes right up to the family, obviously quite eager for their dinner if his wagging tail is anything to go off of. Knuckles follows behind, grabbing himself a paper plate and beginning to stack it up quite messily with anything that seems to be appetizing to his eyes. Topped with a concerning amount of grapes, Shadow notes.

“This food palette looks very balanced and appetizing, Mrs. Wachowski,” Shadow comments, looking at the full picnic table. The vet smiles wide at this, “Thank you, Shadow. That’s very sweet.”

Sonic turns to Shadow, handing him a paper plate with a little smile, “Here ya go.” Shadow looks at the plate a moment and then Sonic, “Thank you.” “Yup! Fix yourself some sides. We got beans, salad, chips– but your dawg?? It’s mine.” Shadow blinks. “I don’t have a dog.”

He notices the way the mother bites her lips together with an amused smile behind Sonic’s shoulder, exchanging knowing glances with the fox who giggles quietly.

“I meant your chili dog,” Sonic clarifies with a head tilt, “I’m gonna fix your first ever chili dog for you.”

“Oh..,” Shadow mumbles, cheeks turning a bit rosy with embarrassment at his incessant habit to take things a bit too literally and not quickly catch onto slang.

“Yeah, so fill your plate and let the master do his thing,” Sonic winks before turning around to get started on building Shadow’s chili dog. And my isn’t it a concoction..

Upon closer examination once placed in front of him, he takes in the ingredients he can curiously, his nose overwhelmed with the complexity of spices he senses.

A hot dog. Chili. Shredded lettuce. Cheese. Ketchup. Mayo. Onion. Tomato. Peppers. And to Shadow’s slight surprise, brown sugar mixed with hot sauce sprinkled on top of it all.

Interesting.

Shadow’s mouth forms a sideways line as he looks at the intimidating beast of a feast placed before him, looking at Sonic whose chili dog looks identical and is already being devoured by the blue menace.

Taking a breath, Shadow looks back to his chili dog. He can feel the others watching him. The Wachowskis, Tails, Knuckles.. Sonic even pauses to look at him expectantly, waiting to see his reaction to the ultimate food.

Shadow slowly picks up the chili dog, having to be extra careful not to make a mess of his gloves from all the sloppy contents of the item. He examines it only a moment longer before he opens his mouth and takes a big enough bite to get at least a little of everything.

And as he expected, he’s overwhelmed. There’s too much going on in his mouth for him to properly process it. The flavors are strong, the textures varying with each chew. It makes his spine shiver a bit, slowly chewing it as he keeps his tongue in the back of his mouth like it’ll calm his senses a bit.

But courting etiquette for humans is to always compliment your host for their meal.

So swallowing his disgust and the bite, Shadow offers a small smile and lies, “It’s delicious.” Sonic snorts at this, immediately bursting into laughter as Knuckles snickers as well. Tails is giggling with the mother and Mr. Wachowski is smiling as if amused.

Shadow just blushes a bit more, shrinking slightly in fear he may have said something wrong. “Oh you poor thing,” Maddie tuts sympathetically, standing to grab another plate and begin fixing a new chili dog, “You don’t have to eat all that. The Sonic Special is very much coded for Sonic.” “Yeah, man,” Sonic snickers, lightly shaking Shadow by his shoulder and then moving his plate from in front of him, sneaking it onto the ground for the dog to devour, “It’s cool. Not everyone can handle so much in one bite.”

Shadow looks at him and then glances up to watch Mrs. Wachowski place a new plate before him. This one looking more like the fox’s. Simple. A hot dog, nothing on it.

“You can add any toppings you like, sweetie,” Maddie smiles, taking her seat again.

“Or you can just have it plain! I only like ketchup on mine,” Tails encourages with a little grin.

“Mine is a mighty volcano,” Knuckles brags, forking another large scarf of the conglomeration down.

“See? It’s alright to like different stuff,” Sonic winks, nudging Shadow’s side with his elbow before looking back to his own food to continue eating.

Shadow looks around at the others a moment, watching as they all get on with their meals now and not paying him as much mind. Mr. Wachowski’s gaze catches his, though, still watching him with an expression Shadow doesn’t know how to translate. But the officer offers a little smile and nod, to which Shadow returns. He then looks down, and after a moment of hesitation, he tries his simple hot dog.

The rest of dinner goes smoothly. Shadow finishes his plate with ease, quite enjoying the more traditional forms of the food rather than the exaggerated versions his counterparts ate. They all share conversations, the subject often shifting and leaving Shadow a bit lost now and then. But he does his best to keep up, even adding a small input here and there but nothing more.

It’s intriguing.. watching a family. He remembers his time on the ARK with Maria.. How they’d share meals in the cafeteria but often would sneak away to sit on the floor in front of the large window viewing earth to eat together instead. They didn’t have a large family, but they had each other. And that was plenty..

He sees that in these people. Their bond is strong. They’re comfortable with one another. Open and honest and accepting of their differences. It’s..refreshing.

The only time he’s directly addressed is by Mr. Wachowski. “So Shadow,” he starts, swallowing his bite before continuing, “What are you doing these days?”

Shadow pauses. He read about this. The parents of one’s partner will often feel out how successful or motivated one is to see if they’re worthy of taking care of their offspring.

“Shadow??? He’s doing his own thing, you know. Being cool and–”

“I believe I was talking to Shadow,” Tom cuts Sonic off, though his voice holds no spite and he’s smiling knowingly at Sonic.

Sonic just smiles a bit sheepishly with a quiet “right” before looking to Shadow, not speaking for him this time. Though, Sonic looks a bit nervous, now. Perhaps he fears his father won’t approve of Shadow’s answer.

“I have recently began working with GUN,” Shadow says, looking at Tom now who seems a bit taken aback by this answer if his raised brows are anything to go off of. Next to him, Shadow sees Sonic’s face shift to one of surprise as well.

“You didn’t tell me that..” “It was confidential up until recently,” he explains, looking from Sonic to Tom again, “Nothing is official, but we’re getting close to some sort of work agreement..” “Sounds serious,” Tom replies with an intrigued look, “Didn’t really expect you to want anything to do with GUN..” After my grandfather who was an agent shot your sister goes unsaid, but Shadow hears it nonetheless.

He replies, “I didn’t. Not for some time, at least.” “What changed your mind?”

“Sonic,” Shadow answers bluntly, feeling everyone’s eyes land on him at once, including the said blue hedgehog next to him.

“..He’s not from here. He’s different. Powerful. And in terms of this planet’s mentality, he’s a threat. That’s what I was seen as,” Shadow explains, eyes staying on Tom’s as to not be intimidated by the many others peering at him, “He was hunted by humanity at first, not seen as a hero but rather a mystery. And humans never take to things they don’t understand well.. But Sonic didn’t let this discourage him. He continued to fight for his freedom and for the freedom of this world from evil-doers like Ivo Robotnik. And with time, he earned their trust. Proved himself. They stopped seeing him as different and saw him as an ally and a hero.. I don’t want to be a hero, but an ally is a good place to start. And while GUN has been corrupted before, I’d say they have good intentions in the long run to protect this world even if often misguided. I plan to be there to help guide them. Make sure what happened on the ARK never happens again..”

He looks to Sonic now, quoting something the blue hero once told him, “I can’t expect change if I just stand still.. I gotta make a move.”

Sonic’s eyes stare back at Shadow, a slow and wide smile forming on his muzzle along with rose tinted cheeks. A look of pride glistening in his eyes.

“That..,” Tom speaks, gaining Shadow’s attention again, “.. is a pretty damn good answer.”

Tom smiles at him. Shadow smiles back.

Dinner ends, and Mrs. Wachowski stands to start gathering up plates to trash, “Okay, Knuckles and Tails. Dishes.”

“What about Sonic?” Knuckles asks, looking distraught that he has to do more work than his brother. Tails is unbothered and already working on gathering up the serving dishes and leftovers to carry inside.

“He has a guest over,” Tom answers with a pointed look at Knuckles, “So he has to host.”

“So having a guest means you don’t have to do these silly tasks??” Knuckles scoffs as if scandalized by this information, as though he’s been personally targeted.

“Yup. ‘Fraid so, buddy.”

Knuckles huffs at this, snatching a few dishes as he begins making his way back to the house with something along the lines of ‘I must make more friends’ being grumbled from him.

Sonic sticks his tongue out mockingly at the red echidna when he walks by, earning the blue hedgehog a hard punch to the gut.

“Sonic? Have you shown Shadow your room?” Maddie asks, earning a pointed glare from Mr. Wachowski. Sonic immediately grins and, “Oh! I haven’t! Wanna see??”

Shadow nods at him with a small smile, “Yes, please.”

“Sweet, it’s this way,” he nods his head for Shadow to follow him back inside.

“What the hell was that??” Tom hisses to Maddie once they’re gone, “They don’t need to be alone in his room together–”

“Oh stop,” Maddie rolls her eyes at him with a little grin, “They’ll be fine. Sonic gets antsy just making eye contact with Shadow for too long, and Shadow-... well, I don’t even think Shadow knows how to flirt, let alone make a move.”

Tom groans a little but lets it go, figuring she’s probably right..

Plus, he trusts his boy to make good decisions.

“Here it is!” Sonic announces, climbing up a ladder into the attic, Shadow following behind. It.. isn’t exactly what Shadow was expecting. He was honestly expecting an absolute trainwreck. Clothes everywhere, weird smells, the whole shebang. Instead, he finds a room that so painfully screams Sonic. It’s enchanting in a charismatic sort of way. There’s charming lights lined along the ceilings, multiple road signs that allude to Sonic’s speed. The bed itself resembles a racecar, Shadow finding this immature but endearing. The shelves are lined with trinkets and random objects that must hold enough meaning for Sonic to keep them despite seeming unimportant. A beanbag is sat in the corner with a stack of comic books next to it. Sonic has lended some to Shadow before, and he respects the hero’s infatuation with them. Definitely sees where he gets his heroic antics from.

Shadow looks around the room in wonder. It’s a stark contrast to his own current sleeping arrangements.. Up until a few weeks ago, Shadow had honestly sort of just skipped around from rooftops to caves to trees to sleep. GUN offered him a more permanent place in an apartment in Central City..

It’s very empty. And very unlived in. Sonic’s room?? It’s warm and comforting and feels like a home. A safe space.

Shadow can tell each and every object that’s in here is likely treasured dearly by the blue hedgehog.. Well. except the dirty sock peeking out from under the bed. But Shadow chooses not to acknowledge that for Sonic’s sake.

“Welcome to Casa de Sonic,” the blue hedgehog grins, spreading his arms in showmanship of his space, “Pretty cool, huh??” He seems chill, but Shadow can tell he’s holding onto Shadow’s every move and breath.

Shadow looks at him and then around the room, turning to do a slow 360 look of the place before looking back to Sonic and offering a small smile and approving nod, “Very cool.”

Sonic’s arms drop with a breath of relief, a little chuckle escaping him as he looks at Shadow a moment and then looks towards his bed. In a blur of blue and brief gust of wind, Sonic is plopping onto the bed and then sitting up to look at Shadow, “Mom and Dad set it up for me as a surprise one time. I’ve kinda made it my own since then, but they did a pretty great job of laying down a solid foundation for all my dudeitude.”

“Dudeitude??” Shadow questions, walking over to sit next to Sonic on the bed once Sonic pats the spot next to him. “Yeah, you know, like– dude attitude?” “Oh,” Shadow smiles a bit at this, looking down and discreetly brushing the dirty sock out of sight under the bed with his heel before Sonic can see and be embarrassed, “Yes. Dudeitude is a very accurate word for you, I’d say.”

Sonic snickers at that, smiling all wide as he looks at Shadow. Shadow shyly keeps his eyes away, looking around the room and examining the smaller details like the subtle footprints on the ceiling or the jar with one singular owl feather on the nightstand.

“...So..,” Sonic says after a pause, breathing a quiet sigh before speaking, “What do you think??” “Think?” Shadow questions, finally meeting Sonic’s intense gaze again. “Yeah. Of.. ya’know. My family?” “Oh,” Shadow blinks, a bit thrown off by the question before he offers a soft look and mumbles quietly, “They’re really lovely.”

“They are, aren’t they?” Sonic smirks. “Mm,” Shadow nods, his eyes drifting away from Sonic’s and down to his own lap as he fiddles with the zipper of his jacket, “...What do you think they think?” “Hm?”

“Of me..?”

There’s a long pause of silence, and Shadow isn’t sure if that’s good or bad. But when he brings himself to look back at Sonic, he sees he’s simply thinking his answer over rather than answering immediately.

“I think Mom likes you,” he starts, offering a reassuring smile, “But she’s the easy one to win over, honestly. Tails seems to like talking nerd with you, so that’s totally a good sign! Knuckles is an idiot,” Sonic rolls his eyes and Shadow smirks slightly, “but I think he sees you as strong and formidable which means you have his respect. That’s all you can really ask for of him, honestly. It’s a pretty high honor.”

“And what of your father..?”

Sonic looks at Shadow, tilting his head at him with a sympathetic sort of smile, “..He seems to like you enough to give you a chance. And I think what you said out there about being the change you wanna see in the world definitely won you some brownie points.”

Shadow deflates in relief, some of the tension leaving his rigid spines as he nods and looks down with a mumbled, “Good.. then I’m doing well.” “You’re doing great,” Sonic assures, his hand moving to rest on Shadow’s shoulder and giving it a small squeeze.

Shadow looks back at Sonic at this, not being able to convey it with words but hoping his eyes show how much he appreciates this. All of this. This opportunity and this bond..

This chance.

Shadow’s hand moves to rest on Sonic’s knee as his way of trying to show he acknowledges the reassurance, but Sonic’s face does this funny thing and his ears get all pink.

“Okay!” he’s suddenly standing, Shadow’s hand dropping back to his own lap, “Well, we should head back down! I wanna be there when they pick a movie, so Knuckles doesn’t make us watch Planet of the Apes for the billionth time!” His laugh seems a bit shaky, his face flushed.

“Are you okay??”

“Me?? I’m cool. Coolcoolcoolcoolcool–”

“Hey,” Shadow interrupts, standing to shove Sonic’s shoulder, “Bring the dudeitude back.”

Sonic pauses, blinking at Shadow before a little grin forms and be breathes, “Right. Dudeitude.”

Shadow nods with a small smile, not at all realizing the affect he has on this blue hedgehog, but not wanting him to be nervous around him either.

They got back down the ladder to find Tails and Knuckles have finished the dishes and Tom has finished putting away leftovers, leaving Maddie and Ozzie sitting on the couch flipping through Netflix for something to watch.

“Hey you two! You’re just in time to pick a movie,” Maddie greets, “Shadow, you have a preference?” Shadow offers a small shake of his head, “No ma’am, I don’t know many films..”

He was brought up on a space station in the 50s. Movies weren’t exactly on-demand.

“That’s alright. We’ll have to fix that!” she winks, making Shadow’s stomach flip at the idea of them potentially inviting him over for more movie nights in the future, “Sonic, you got a pick??”

“Let’s watch a heartfelt film about a man who loves his dog–,” Sonic begins his answer with zero hesitation, Tom walking into the room to shut that down real quick.

“We’re not watching John Wick,” he grunts as he plops onto the couch next to Maddie, throwing his arm on the back of the couch behind her, “Nothing that isn’t PG.” Sonic groans, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms, “You guys are no fun.” “Yeah, it’s in the dad job description,” Tom coos with a smirk.

Sonic concedes, shrugging and walking towards the loveseat against the wall diagonal to the couch, “We can sit here, Shads.”

“I thought your spot was in the bean bag??” Shadow’s brow furrows, sitting beside Sonic on the loveseat nonetheless.

Sonic’s body tenses a bit, blushing as he fumbles, “Uh, well–” “Yeah, Sonic,” Mr. Wachowski teases from the couch, “Why don’t you sit in your bean bag like usual??”

Sonic’s puffs his cheeks with a glare at his dad, Mrs. Wachowski swatting at the snickering man’s shoulder with a huffed, “Leave him alone.” “Yeah! Leave me alone!” Sonic agrees, throwing a pillow at his father’s face.

Tom grunts when it hits him, huffing as he tosses it back at Sonic with an offended face, “Since when was this abuse the father night??” “Since you decided to challenge the world’s best hero,” Sonic smirks proudly.

The banter continues, but Shadow is completely lost on any of what just happened anyway. He just finds the interaction between the family members amusing.

And Sonic does not in fact sit in his bean bag.

Tails and Knuckles join them in the living room, Tails carrying a bucket of popcorn and Knuckles having a bowl of grapes. Shadow doesn’t think he could eat another single thing even if he wanted– which is what he tells Sonic when he asks if Shadow would like any snacks.

They all come to an agreement on a movie called Wreck It Ralph. The plot being something along the lines of a videogame character that somehow has thoughts and feelings and doesn’t want to be the bad guy he was written to be.

It sounds silly in concept, but Shadow can’t take his eyes off the screen the whole time.

It’s not until he feels Sonic shivering a bit beside him that Shadow averts his attention to the blue hedgehog beside him. Shadow has been sitting up straight watching the film this entire time, but Sonic is curled in a small ball leaning against the arm of the chair next to him and watching with tiny shivers now and then. It is chilly in this room, Shadow supposes. But he never gets cold, so..

It doesn’t take but a moment for him to decide to take his jacket off and carefully drape it over Sonic’s curled up form.

“You don’t have to–”

“Hush. The movie is playing,” Shadow mumbles, ignoring how precious Sonic looks all huddled under his coat with only his nose, big eyes, and perked ears peeking above the collar. The way Sonic’s eyes squint in the corners let him know he’s smiling..

Shadow’s attention turns back to the movie, unbeknownst to him his warm gesture was noted by his counterpart’s parents and had Maddie smiling all soft with a silent ‘aw’ as she leans over on her husband who just smiles as well.

The movie’s ending has Shadow feeling certain ways.

Ralph is still the bad guy, but he’s.. happy with that. He knows his purpose, and he knows the candy princess speedster will still accept him despite his destructive tendencies.

It..perhaps hits him a little close to home, and when he Ralph is chanting the villain support group’s affirmation, he finds himself memorizing it to heart.

‘I’m bad, and that’s good. I will never be good, and that’s not bad. There’s no one I’d rather be than me.’

Shadow gasps when Ralph sacrifices himself for the others in the arcade, eyes wide and glossy on the screen and his heart pounding in his chest. He feels like he can’t swallow. Like his palms are sweating. He’s seeing stars fly past him. Seeing the ARK get further and further away as he falls. Seeing–

He feels a hand rest on his and squeeze tight, flinching at the touch and immediately looking over to find Sonic staring wide eyed at the screen too..

They’re both seeing the same thing..

Shadow squeezes Sonic’s hand in return, finally allowing a deep breath to exhale as he relaxes again and looks back to the screen.

They’re here. Not space. Not the ARK. Here..

And there’s nowhere Shadow would rather be than here.

The movie ends. Maddie moves to carefully and silently step next to the bean bag Tails is laying in, the poor fox having fallen asleep around when Ralph was building Vanellope’s race track. She carries the kit down to his room to tuck him in, Knuckles rising from his own bean bag and stretching his muscles before announcing that he too would be retiring for the night.

He wishes his family goodnight and offers Shadow a simple nod of his head and smirk before heading out to his shed.

Tom looks over to Sonic and Shadow. Sonic is now properly wearing Shadow’s jacket and sitting up again, Shadow next to him looking back to Tom as if awaiting what they’re expected to do next.

“Well, Sonic. I think it’s time to call it a night,” the father announces, Sonic’s ears folding back at this and a small pout forming on his muzzle.

“Aw, but we’re not even tired,” he ironically says just before yawning. Shadow chuckles a bit at this and Tom just smiles and raising a brow at Sonic. Sonic groans and stands up, “Alright..” Shadow stands as well, looking to see Maddie now coming back up from the basement.

“We’ll walk you out, Shadow,” Tom offers, Shadow nodding politely as they all move towards the door.

Once outside, Tom immediately takes notice in Shadow’s bike sitting at the end of the driveway. “Did you ride that here???”

There it is.

He seems impressed as he looks the bike over the best he can from the doorway, Shadow looking to his bike as well now.

“I did,” the hybrid nods.

“What kind?” “Ducati Panigale V4 SP.”

“The Dark Rider??” “Yes sir.”

“Nice. Helmets?” “Two.” “Very nice,” Tom smirks, nodding approvingly as he looks back to Shadow.

Shadow just smiles small and proud, pleased his plot to impress the Donut Lord with his motorbike came to fruition.

“That mean I can go for a ride on it??” Sonic chimes in.

“No,” Maddie answers instead, the blue hedgehog knitting his brows and looking at Tom in preparation to protest only for Tom to wink at him and subtly nod.

Sonic grins. Shadow hums out a chuckle.

“It was really nice meeting you properly, Shadow,” Maddie says warmly, reaching out her hand to shake Shadow’s. Shadow obliges and shakes hers politely with a nod, “Likewise, Mrs. Wachowski.” “Glad we could see this version of you,” Tom adds, reaching to shake Shadow’s hand now, “Ya’know. The version that isn’t set on destroying the world.”

Shadow is about to get nervous at this, but he sees the playful smirk on Tom’s face. Glad to know where Sonic gets his sarcastic attitude.

“I appreciate the opportunity, sir,” Shadow chuckles breathily, shaking the Donut Lord’s hand.

“I’m sure we’ll be seeing you around more often,” Tom adds with a knowing smile, “So long as you take care of my son, that is.”

Sonic groans audibly, flushing as he rubs a hand down his face.

Shadow just nods seriously at this, seeming to take this task to heart.

They both speak at the same time.

“We’re not like that!” “I will.”

They blink. Each processing the other’s words as wide eyes meet in surprise. Both blushing. Both seeming to try and register what the other just said.

Maddie and Tom stare with wide eyes too.

“Ooo..,” Tom hisses, “Awkward..” Maddie is quickly grabbing her husband to pull him inside, chuckling awkwardly as she goes, “Well, be safe going home, Shadow.” “Yeah, take care!’

The door shuts.

Sonic and Shadow stand alone on the doorstep, still staring at each other.

Sonic, never being one to stay quiet long, is the one to speak first.

“You will..?” he breathes a little smile at that, looking shy now as he rubs the back of his neck with a blushing muzzle, “What did you mean by you will?”

“I meant I’d take care of you,” Shadow states as though it’s obvious, though he’s starting to fear he has in fact had a very deep and embarrassing misunderstanding of their circumstances. His ears stand extra tall, tensing them up so they don’t droop back in disappointment.

“We.. aren’t like that..? I don’t understand.” “I-... you thought we were like that??” “I thought that’s what all this was,” Shadow says quietly, becoming more and more embarrassed as he reruns all this in his head, “You chasing me. Insisting on being in my life. Always planning to meet again. All the circling and snorting and puffing–”

Sonic deadpans, “the what?” “Hedgehog courting rituals!” Shadow huffs, now getting irritated the more he grows humiliated, “All my research talked about it! It’s clearly stated that everything you were doing to pursue me was as a mate.” Sonic’s eyes widen further at this, ears drooping back and now his entire chest and ears are pink too.

“Mate??..,” his voice is small as realization begins to build.

“And then you invited me over to meet your parents for their approval, yes??” Shadow asks, tilting his head with a knit of his brow as he tries to understand where he misread the signs, “That was the objective??” “Woah, hey. Shadow. The objective was to have their approval on me getting to hang out with you, not–”

He stops, seeing how Shadow’s ears twitch back a bit. How his stance is now a bit more drooped than tall and confident. How his eyes hold confusion and shame..

It breaks Sonic’s heart.

Sonic purses his lips, sighing as he looks away shyly and, “...I guess I kinda did do all that, huh??”

Shadow doesn’t answer, just slowly moves to cross his arms in a defensive sort of manner. His crimson eyes averted towards the ground.

Sonic chews on his lower lip and looks back to Shadow, “I’m a hedgehog. Not an earth hedgehog, though, ya’know?? I don’t even know how my kind of hedgehog would try to initiate a–... what’d you call it??” “Courtship,” Shadow mutters.

“Right. That,” Sonic sighs, frowning at how this night took a sudden turn for the awkward and heavy.

It had been going so well.

“...I’m sorry, Shads–” “Don’t-,” Shadow interrupts, eyes closing as he takes a deep breath to gather himself, finishing with a sighed, “--apologize. I shouldn’t have made so many assumptions. That’s not your fault.” “Well, I feel like it kinda is,” Sonic insists, brows knit at the ebony hedgehog in front of him.

This can’t ruin this. He can’t lose him.

“Look..,” Sonic says after a breath, rubbing a hand back through his own quills before pausing to notice Shadow’s eyes were still shut, “Hey… look at me, Shads.”

Sonic’s hand reaches up to delicately cup Shadow’s cheek, tilting his head up to face him as crimson eyes open to meet emerald.

Sonic offers a soft smile, “I know I’m all about going fast, but...we don’t need to rush this.”

Shadow blinks, staying quiet as he listens to the blue hero speak.

“I.. don’t know what we are,” Sonic admits quietly, “I thought we were just buddies, but.. I’d be kidding myself if I said I didn’t know you were different for me.” Shadow chews on the inside of his cheek, still not saying anything in fear of saying the wrong thing and humiliating himself further.

“..I think.. We can take this slow, huh??” Sonic offers, a small smile as he knits his brows up and tilts his head at his rival, “Learn each other better. Learn ourselves better. Maybe go on some actual dates..?” Sonic chuckles a bit and Shadow can’t help but lean his cheek into Sonic’s palm slightly.

Sonic rubs his thumb along Shadow’s muzzle.

“We’ll figure this out,” he assures simply as if it’s just a fact of life, “Because I’m not goin’ anywhere. And even if you tried to, I’d find you, Faker.”

Shadow can’t help but smile at that, chuckling at the reference to one of their not-so-friendly first encounters. He looks down between them a moment before lifting his eyes back to Sonic.

“We’ll figure this out,” Shadow agrees with a nod.

“We’ve got plenty of time.” “Plenty.”

Sonic smiles at this, breathing a small sigh of relief through his nose that they’re gonna be okay. This misunderstanding won’t ruin or change anything.

“We just gotta learn how to communicate better, dude,” Sonic chuckles, Shadow humming amusedly as well.

“Agreed.”

Sonic smirks at this. And maybe he looks at Shadow’s eyes a little too long or lets his hand linger on his cheek a bit longer than needed, but sue him.

He just found out Shadow the Hedgehog wants to court him.

Screw that. He just found out what the heck courting even was.

Sonic needs to get educated, he decides.

Shadow ever so subtly rubs his cheek against Sonic’s palm in a nuzzling sort of manner before he takes a step back, Sonic’s hand falling back to his side. The two smile at one another a moment longer before Shadow just smirks with a “hmph” and turns to walk down the front steps.

Sonic watches with a content little smile, “...Wanna race tomorrow??” Shadow keeps walking, not turning around as he responds, “Arcade or waffle house??”

“Waffle house. I’ve been craving french toast.”

Shadow chuckles, waving a hand up at the hedgehog over his shoulder with a nod.

Sonic just grins at this, biting his lower lip before flinching at the sudden realization–

“Oh! Shadow!”

Shadow turns to face him again as Sonic quickly makes his way down the steps and across the yard to him, moving to take Shadow’s jacket off himself– though Shadow notices the slight look of loss as Sonic removes his arm from the first sleeve.

“You forgot this–” “Keep it,” Shadow interrupts, lifting his hand to halt Sonic.

“..Really??” Sonic’s tail wags behind him, a smile curling back onto his muzzle.

“Looks better on you,” Shadow insists, moving to help Sonic put his arm back in and settle it properly on his shoulders once more.

Sonic just beams at this, “Agree to disagree, pal,” his gaze softens as Shadow looks him over, “But thanks..”

Shadow just smirks at this, shrugging and turning to his bike, “Don’t mention it.”

Sonic shoves his hands in the jacket’s pockets, crossing his arms so that it’s snug around him.

It smells like lavender.. Like a hug from Shadow.

Shadow straddles his bike, looking back to find Sonic standing there with his eyes shut and his nose buried in the jacket’s collar. He smirks smugly.

“It’s called anointing, by the way.” “Huh??” Sonic jumps slightly, jolting from his daze.

“Covering yourself in your mate’s scent,” Shadow explains, placing the helmet he doesn’t actually use in the bag attached to his bike before finishing, “It’s called anointing.”

Sonic blinks, eyes widening as a blush grows on his cheeks with a sheepish, “oh..”

Shadow just cranks his bike up, revving it to life before looking back to Sonic with a wink, “See you tomorrow, Hedgehog.”

Sonic’s left feeling dumbstruck as Shadow drives off from their home and down the street before eventually disappearing with a roar of the engine.

Sonic may not know it yet, but Shadow knows..

They’re absolutely courting.

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willmiwi · 3 months ago

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I'm gonna drop this out there. Buddie being endgame just. Makes sense. The series being on season 8 and having already major relationships Bobby/Athena Maddie/chimney Hen/Karen and Buck and Eddie being the only ones that still seem to struggle finding the right person is not a coincidence. We're supposed to get to this point and think to ourselves "Hey man ... Everyone's happy and in a relationship but these two... I want them to be happy too, they deserve it" and it's supposed to hit hard being as we've seen throughout the show how much Buck and Eddie have struggled in their lives but also bc having a significant other is something both Eddie and Buck crave like nothing else in the world (if them looking for the right person non stop throughout the seasons is anything to go by). They want to find that person so badly and they always try. So so hard. So why aren't they getting that? Bc it's supposed to feel as even a sweeter victory once they finally get it.

Eddie on one side, doesn't seem to click with any woman he's ever dated and feels like he's failing somehow bc it's what he's supposed to have. He's supposed to be happily married to a woman and have christoper by his side. Being a happy little traditional family. But every time, no matter how much he tries, it still feels wrong. He even admits he dated a woman bc his son loved her and he was hoping he could too at some point.

And then there's buck, that has spent 8 seasons on and off relationships, but it's different this time. It's not like Eddie. He creates an actual bond w these women. He sees a future w them. But again they're not right. Not because he's not trying but bc he does and they don't try hard enough. Or think he's too much. There's always an imbalance of some sort.

And before any of u come at me saying how bucks dating t*mmy now, i just want to point out he's very obviously a plot device sent in to introduce buck's bisexuality (and even possibly, buddie's feelings realization arc). And it will be over soon enough too, like all the other romantic relationships bucks had so far, bc it's not supposed to last.

You can tell that much by the fact that they were never off to a great start, their relationship is literally a result of buck reflecting his feelings for Eddie (we get an entire episode of Buck going insane from jealousy being desperate for Eddie's attention, him telling Maddie about it. And then the last minute change of course w buck saying "trying to get your attention has been kind of exhausting." "My attention?" "Yeah, I guess so")

well bud, you've evidently guessed wrong, that's what we were told the entire episode, he made a wrong guess.

And things don't do so great after that either. What with t*mmy almost outing him to Eddie on their first date, dumping him on the side of the road after said date (if you can even call it that). The calling Buck "Evan" thing, after we've explicitly been told that people that truly know him call him Buck. Not having his back on things aka the refusal to dress up for the bachelor party (isn't that what truly matters though? Having a partner and knowing that they have your back?).

Anyway ! Fear not buddie enthusiasts ! whatever this season brings us, know that these guys are definitely getting their much deserved happy ending <3

#im just chilling knowing theyre endgame #buddie #911 abc #eddie diaz #evan buckley #buck x eddie #911 analysis

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dubiousculturalartifact · 5 months ago

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Obviously I’ve been queerbaited before, like, a genuinely incalculable number of times, and maybe thinking Buddie might actually go canon is a ‘fool me sixteen times, shame on me’ scenario, but I think one big thing that’s keeping my hope alive is this thought: If you genuinely believe that Buddie isn’t going to go canon, 100% zero possibility and absolutely no intention of trying... Then you also have to believe the people who create the show we’re all fans of are purposefully cruel dicks.

Because we have SEEN what it looks like when the showrunner of 911 knows there is no possibility of it happening, has no plans of it, and is generally trying to avoid accusations of queerbaiting.

It looks like S5 & S6. Little bits here and there, the odd important scene to throw breadcrumbs… but a lot of keeping the two characters apart, being circumspect in interviews, PR shut downs on the actors, etc. The show has proven they are capable and willing to exactly that!

So indulge me, and imagine for a second. They had the conversation with the new network, and the execs told them they wanted to continue with the status quo, to write as if Buddie is never going to go canon, BUT were willing to bend so far as to make one of them queer, to keep the fans happy.

What would that look like?

I don't know, call me foolish.... But I think it would look like keeping the same dynamic from The Drought Seasons. Having them be friends and important to each other but still fairly disconnected, not having as much screen-time, etc, It would look like having Buck’s coming out arc be a SEPARATE, individual narrative. If they just wanted to write Tommy and Buck, and that's it, they could have done things differently.

There are just so many conceivable ways they could have written Buck’s coming out arc, to almost completely separate it from Eddie and have it be made clear, in no uncertain terms, that Buck is bi but that doesn’t mean he cares about Eddie like that, that Eddie is a hetero McHetero.

Buck’s coming out arc could have included him being jealous because he’s suddenly faced with Tommy in the flesh and is insecure about how he was technically ‘Tommy’s replacement’ at the 911, with Eddie not relevant to it at all, or have Maddie and Chimney be the ones to interrupt The Date, or literally any other scenario that didn’t make it all about Eddie.

They could have had one short scene where Eddie and Buck talk about it, and then the rest would be like, Buck talking to Hen about being queer, Buck interacting just with Tommy and getting to know him, Buck doing a research binge about bisexuality and info-dumping at an inappropriate time during a call, etc etc etc.

That’s how you tell that story and only be writing it for the proverbial ‘general audience’.

But they didn't. They purposefully reversed direction. They chose for Buck’s coming out arc to... highlight his nigh-feral jealousy over Eddie forming a homosocial bond with another guy, having said guy repeat with genuine surprise and shock that it was him and not Eddie that Buck was interested in, have Eddie interrupt their date, have Buck be more worried about lying to Eddie than the fact that he’s queer at all, have Maddie say what she did to Buck about telling Eddie in specifically ambiguous terms…

In a season that also included the Fire Extinguisher Incident, and Buck saying he ‘wishes he could help’ with Eddie’s sexual frustration, and a big increase in social media engagement, and having Buck being Eddie’s rock in the last few episodes while he had a bizarrely platonic affair with his dead wife's doppleganger…

If they did that while KNOWING the plan was actually for Buck/Tommy endgame and Eddie riding off in the sunset with a hot female firefighter who has a cool motorcycle or whatever the fuck, or them both dying in a freak car-washing accident, or….

If they GENUINELY planned that? If the entire Buck jealousy plotline was intended to be nothing more than a deliberate queerbait-and-switch? Then they’re fucking assholes, sorry. They would have to know full well exactly what they were doing, how many people’s hopes and emotional investment they were toying with... If they were actually planning to keep dragging it along for seasons more of baiting and dangling things in front of us, while knowing categorically that they had no plans to deliver? That would be genuinely GOD TIER levels of specific, intentional queerbaiting.

Which could be the case! I won't deny that. Shows have done it before, plenty of times. Tim et al could be callous bastards deliberately instructing the actors to wink it up in interviews and share suggestive Tiktoks, and writing Buck’s coming out arc as being entirely focused around Eddie and throwing out hints... All while laughing behind Buddie fans' backs about our gullibility, how we’re keeping the show trending on the force of our delusions, etc. Maybe that's it! Maybe they just genuinely enjoying fucking with people. Or maybe they were just shitty enough writers that they didn't know what they were doing, and it was all a total accident, somehow, the proverbial monkeys pounding at keyboards and accidentally spelling out B U D D I...

But you know what? Call it naive, but I prefer to think they’re not huge assholes, or hugely incompetent.

That there might actually be a point to all this, somewhere down the line.

I guess we'll find out.

#911 abc #buddie #911 show #buck x eddie #help i accidentally word vomited #i didn't mean to get this emotionally invested in #a procedural soap opera on network television #but it's just so fascinating i want to poke it with a stick #i might be wrong but you know what? i think it'll be interesting to see what happens #gonna tag this #anti-bucktommy #just to be on the same side and not upset anyone #but I'm genuinely just looking at the narrative and the PR choices as they exist

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capseycartwright · 22 days ago

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tagged by @livingincolorsagain to do a 2024 fic roundup and i am v late but hope u forgive my tardiness i have been enjoying a new year rot of the highest order. anyway apparently i wrote a whole heap of fic this year and didn't realise it until i made this post.

april

every little thing the sun shows, well it’s worth it

Buck should – he should be freaking out, right? He’d lived thirty-two years of his life without coming close to kissing another man, and it should be making him freak out that tonight, he did – but Buck felt flooded with the oddest sense of calm he’d ever experienced in his life.

He’d kissed a man.

or - after his kiss with Tommy, Buck goes to Hen.

stay close, little brother

hen and maddie share a quiet moment of pride about their little brother at the buckley-han wedding.

may

all roads lead to eddie diaz

Eddie inclined his head slightly. “He is,” he hummed in response. “But it sounds more like you’re wanting to pick a fight here than discuss our mutual appreciation for how great a person Buck is.

Tommy, at least, looked slightly embarrassed. “I don’t know how I didn’t see it before,” he admitted. “The way you feel about him.

or - eddie and tommy have a revelatory conversation about the buck of it all.

july

a sky full of stars

Christopher Diaz had always loved fireworks - the pop, and bang, and the way they would light up the sky with bright colours. His dad didn’t like fireworks though. His dad was afraid of them.

or, even in Texas, Christopher worries about his father spending the Fourth of July alone. So he texts Buck.

can't ignore the crazy visions of me in la

Margarita-drunk Buck ruminates on how beautiful Eddie Diaz is while his best friend is dancing to Chappell Roan. That's what LA pride is for, right?

- or, alternatively: Eddie spends his first pride as an out queer man in a gay club, and Buck is in love with him about it.

october

oh what a terrible honor it's been (to learn that my blessings are things you call sins)

Hey God, it's me, Eddie. I hope you don’t mind that I’m sitting in your house thinking gay thoughts.

Eddie couldn’t help but giggle to himself as he thought the words. If he couldn’t be a bit silly while having a sexuality crisis in a Catholic church – when could he?

Christopher leaves for Texas, Eddie goes back to therapy, unearths an emotional lockbox he had been fourteen years old when he buried, and has a lot of thoughts about how Buck is sunshine incarnate. In hindsight, it probably should have been obvious he wasn't straight.

knowing damn well i haven't been touched by you

Buck’s been having a really weird year. Buck died, and he realised he was bisexual, and he got a boyfriend, and Christopher left and went to Texas after he walked in on Eddie kissing his dead mother’s doppelganger, Eddie had grown a depression mustache, and Gerrard was back at the helm of the 118 and Buck felt like he was starring in a Netflix Original about how a perfectly normal, functional, member of society was driven to commit murder.

- or, Buck's got a boyfriend, Eddie comes out and starts dating men, and Buck loses his entire mind, actually.

november

miss me, but let me go

“I have - I’ve carried this grief, for you, for so long, and I know I can’t let it all go, because a part of me is always going to grieve for you,” Eddie paused. “But I can’t feel like this forever, Shannon. I don’t think you’d want me to, either. So - I need to let some of it go. Okay? I need to - I need to be myself now. For me, and for Christopher. I want to be me.”

On November 1, Eddie builds an altar for Shannon and finds a way to let her go.

you're my sun, my moon, my guiding star

“Fine, let’s have it your way then,” Eddie slammed his phone down on the kitchen table. “You set me up a dating profile then – Hinge, Grindr, whatever you fucking want, Buck. Set me up a dating profile, and you pick which random man I need to sleep with to make it so you feel okay about wanting me.”

in which evan buckley gets dumped, gets drunk with his best friend, realises he's in love with said best friend, and lets his abandonment issues get the best of him. because your first is never your last, right? so buck can't be eddie's first: he needs to be his last.

december

i'll be home for christmas (if only in my dreams)

It was a silly thing, Buck had started, right when Eddie first got to El Paso – we’re looking at the same sky, he’d quipped, on one of their nightly Facetime calls.

Even when they were far apart from each other, they were still able to look up at the same stars, and if they just remembered that, maybe the distance between El Paso, and Los Angeles, wouldn’t feel so cavernous. That’s what Buck had promised him.

simply having a wonderful christmastime (maybe)

Eddie's family were about to arrive for the first Christmas they were hosting in LA as as couple, and, well, Buck felt like he was on the verge of a panic attack so great it would be in the Guinness Book of World Records for the destruction it was liable to cause.

or - the buckley-diazes are hosting christmas for the first time, and buck is freaking out, a little. he has a good reason, he swears.

see the lights, hang the stockings

Eddie finds out that Buck has never ever had a Christmas stocking of his own. He's very determined to change that and share a few Diaz family traditions.

everyone has probably done this already so apologies but tagging @doeeyeseddie @thatbuddie @clusterbuck @hattalove @mellaithwen @sibylsleaves @piningbuddies @eddiebabygirldiaz @hotshotsxyz

#if you remember two other fics i wrote in april no you dont #but if u do i only orphaned them not deleted so if u can still read them if u want #in which i ramble #in which lorna writes fic

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sugdenlovesdingle · 3 months ago

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Hey so do we think that now Buck isn't freaking out about Gerrard at the 118 anymore that he has now swiveled on freaking out about his hot pilot boyfriend?

Like the boy is totally incapable of being 100% at ease and needs something to be concerned about...and as work is good,and his sister is good...by process of elimination now it's Tommy Time.

and the joke is nothing is actually wrong, it's just Buck being Dramatic AF because things are going well for him on all accounts for once and he's like WTF is this sense of peace I have.

You know I think you might be onto something.

His friends have their daughter back, his pseudo dad is back at work, his sister is happily married and everybody is healthy (sure his best friend's life is still a hot mess but you can't have it all)

And then there is his hot pilot boyfriend who is absolutely smitten with him (and vice versa) and he can practically feel the I love you coming every time they're together (which is about 99% of their free time), and maybe Bobby sees him smiling at his phone at a text from Tommy and says something like "it's good to see you so happy".

And then he's like "I AM happy... surely this can't last???" and manages to convince himself Tommy is about to break up with him for Reasons because he doesn't get to have nice things.

So he spirals and ends up talking to Maddie at work who is like "you're happy... and that's a bad thing...??" And then Josh gets involved too (because he loves a bit of gossip on his coffee break) and he goes "you have a hot guy who is crazy about you, what exactly is the problem here??"

And buck is like "it's too GOOD! Good things don't happen to me! And everything else in my life is good so now SURELY Tommy will realise he can do better and break up with me! I told Eddie we were going to look for hot chicks when he accidentally crashed our first date!

Maddie *voice of reason*: But that was months ago and you're still together. He even came to my wedding straight from work, and it really wasn't me or Howie he wanted to see.

Josh *shrugs* : and if you don't want him anymore, half of LA will be lining up around the block to take your place.

And Buck is like "you're no help" and spirals some more, and actually convinces himself Tommy is going to break up with him when he asks him to come over for dinner.

And Tommy's made his favourite, bought a nice bottle of wine, there's candles and music playing and it's just nice, but all Buck can think it "oh he's trying to let me down gently" because Tommy cooking them a nice meal surely can't be anything but him getting dumped.

Only at the end of the night Tommy DOESN'T dump him, hasn't said anything even hinting at that, and is just his own sweet, gorgeous, amazing self, but Buck is still convinced he's going to get dumped and goes "IF YOU'RE GOING TO BREAK UP WITH ME, JUST DO IT! I CAN TAKE IT!!"

And Tommy is just Confused because that's the last thing he wants. "I was going to tell you I love you! And I was kind of hoping you'd say it back"

And they talk about Buck convincing himself he doesn't deserve nice things, and eventually he tells Tommy he loves him too, and they kiss and everything is right in the world again.

#Anonymous #bucktommy

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eliotwaughdeservesbetter · 2 months ago

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Two of my favourites aus are soulmates and time loops. And there is not enough of it in bucktommy. So my mind came with something with both of it in one. But i can't write even in my native language let alone English so i just share this idea.

After break up Tommy comes home, cries, drinks, watches rom-coms and falls asleep on a coach. He wakes up in his bed without any headache and signs of hangover. He's confused, takes his phone, sees a "good morning" text from Buck and thinks of last night being just a nightmare. But the day goes just the same like in his dream and the ending just the same.

Third time he wakes up in the same day he understands what's happening. Soulmate-time loop. There are soulmates in the world and no one knows if it is everyone has one or just some per cent of population because it's really hard to find and recognise one. You can know the person is your soulmate only when two of you end up in a time loop together. Time loops can happen when one of the soulmates deeply hurts the other. And soulmates should resolve their problems and hurts to escape a time loop.

So, Tommy realises he just dumped his soulmate but it doesn't solve everything, he still thinks he made a right call, their relationship surely are gonna end in disaster despite them being soulmates. And Tommy leaves his phone (which already has a lot of messages from Buck and missed calls) and flees his house in hopes not to see his soulmate, when he comes to him.

He ends up driving his car away from the city till the end of the loop. And loop by loop he does this.

Buck at this time is heartbroken and frustrated, he realised about soulmates too and tries to talk to Tommy, gets to his house as fast as he can in every loop, hoping to catch him but with no luck. He gives up after 10th attempt and tries to do some crazy shit every loop but gets more frustrated. He ends up going to Eddie, Bobby, Maddie, Hen for advise. Turns out Hen and Karen are soulmates and they knew it since when Hen cheated, they tell him not to give up because it's worth it in the end and tell them tomorrow (of the loop tomorrow) how many times it took them and to exchange their experience.

So, Buck with new hope goes to Tommy again and he's there, he didn't escape and they talk, scream, cry, argue for a few loops and then share all their deepest fears, traumas and hopes.

Next day they wake up together in Tommy's bed and happily kiss

#bucktommy #tevan #911 au #911 abc

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jamieroyjamieroy · 1 month ago

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I saw someone say how Buck and Tommy wouldn't get their first christmas together and I had to write this.

Buck was dead on his feet. The shift from hell was over and he had 72 hours of uninterrupted time ahead of him. Buck would rather live this latest shift for those 72 hours than spend them alone with his thoughts. The baking has been helping but he is tired of trying to move on. Tired of missing Tommy, tired of being mad at himself and at Tommy. Tired of being mad at his friends because they had someone to go home too.

The brown box sitting beside his door has Buck casting his mind back, did he do some late night shopping? He couldn’t think of anything, impulse buying only lasted the first few days after the break up. It didn’t take his mind of things nearly enough. Buck bent over to pick up the folded piece of paper that was sitting on top of the box.

‘Hey Buck, signed for this for you. Knew you would be home soon so I left it here, got called into work. Thanks for the apple cinnamon loaf, it’s all I’ve been craving lately. Catch ya soon. Amy.’

Written in messy, rushed, slopping handwriting his neighbours note has him smiling softly. Amy knocked on his door earlier this week apologising for interrupting him, especially because she hadn’t introduced herself before, but the smell coming from his kitchen was amazing and the only thing currently helping calm her morning sickness and could she please, please, please have some. Buck, of course, let her have the whole thing as well as several other items that had her eyes lighting up.

The memory of Amy sending her husband over a few days later for more because she ate all of it distracts Buck as he opens the box he dumped on his kitchen counter. He stared at the contents, confused at what he was looking at. What was this, what had he bought? Looking at the label on the box had Buck slumping down on to a stool, sorrow overwhelming him. This was Tommy’s Christmas present.

Damn it, he ordered this weeks ago hoping to surprise Tommy for their first Christmas together. Now it was just a reminder of everything he has lost. Buck isn’t sure how long he sits there staring at the box, but the sun has almost set so it had to be an hour or more. Buck was thinking through all his options for getting this to Tommy. Because he was going to get it to Tommy somehow.

Buck stands up so suddenly he feels light headed, rushing up the stairs to retrieve a gift box he knows has been taking up space for ages. He knew he would use it someday. ‘Never throw out a nice box that had been given to you’ he thinks remembering the numerous times Maddie used to say that at birthday and Christmas time.

Buck hurries downstairs and transfers the contents into the gift box and opens his junk drawer. He moves things around until he finds the scissors and the green ribbon that has been in there for who knows how long and who knows why. Red box, green ribbon it does look Christmas-y at least. Buck knows better than to think this is too good to be true as he grabs the present, his keys and makes his way to his car.

He pulls into Tommy’s driveway, turns off his car and sits in the dark. I’m just going to leave it on his doorstep and go home. I’m just going to leave it on his doorstep and go home. Buck repeats in his head. It’s what he decided on the drive over here, he wants to see Tommy but it is later than he realised and he’s not sure he can handle it. With the plan set in his mind Buck gets out of his car grabbing the present as he exits and closes his door quietly.

“Damn it” he exclaims setting off the motion light he forgot about as he approached Tommy’s front door. Maybe Tommy won’t investigate what set it off, he hopes.

“Ev -Buck? What are you doing here?” Tommy asks standing in the open doorway looking shocked as well as more dishevelled than usual.

Buck takes in the messy hair and skewed clothing, his stomach drops. “I’m, I’m sorry if I’ve interrupted something I just wanted to give you this” he says avoiding Tommy’s eyes and holding the box out without getting any closer to Tommy.

Tommy looks down at his shirt and straightens it, understanding shows on his face as to what Buck thinks he was doing. “I fell asleep on the couch. I haven’t been sleeping all that well, guess it caught up to me when I got home this afternoon,” something like hope flashes in Buck’s eyes. “Do you want to come in Ev -Buck?” Tommy asks stepping to the side to allow Buck room.

“Sure” he says walking into Tommy’s house and moving towards the kitchen because in Buck’s mind it feels less intimate than the living room.

“Do you want a drink?” Tommy asks unsure why Buck is here but bracing himself for the hate he knows he is owed.

“No, I won’t stay long. I just wanted to give you this” Buck says holding out the box again.

Tommy moves slowly towards the box and takes it from Buck’s hands. “We haven’t spoken in weeks and the first time we do it’s so you can give me a present?” Tommy asks looking confused.

“Just open it Tommy, I can’t have this conversation right now” Buck replies suddenly feeling exhausted. He should have slept after his shift before he did this. Or maybe he shouldn’t have brought this to Tommy at all.

“You showed up at my door” Tommy snaps “sorry” he apologies looking at the box he has placed on the table.

“Yeah well I wasn’t going to knock. I had planned to leave this at your door and go. Forgot about that stupid light” Buck replies “Please just open it” knowing he should leave before Tommy does look inside but unable to make his feet move.

Tommy looks the box over again and starts to undo the ribbon “You were going to leave this at my door without a note, or a tag letting me know it’s from, oh my god” Tommy whips his head up to look at Buck. Pulling the items out of the box Tommy turns them this way and that, inspecting them for a long time “These are originals, aren’t they?” he asks Buck tears threatening to spill out “How did you find them? I have been searching for months” Tommy says knowing its silly to get so emotional over some Chevy Impala bumper guards but it is honestly the best present he has received, maybe ever.

“I found a site a little while ago on one of my internet dives and I remembered you telling me about the car you were restoring and how hard the parts were to find.” Buck says feeling almost shy now that he has actually given Tommy the present. “I wanted to get you something meaningful for our first Christmas. So after you told me that you bought that junk heap because your mum always wanted an Impala and restoring it made you feel close to her I knew what I had to get you.” Buck supplies holding back tears of his own. They won’t get their first Christmas together now but if he can still bring some happiness to Tommy’s life he is willing to endure this heartache.

Tommy looks dumb struck at how thoughtful Evan has been. It was more of a rant because Tommy was so frustrated that restoring the car to its original status was more difficult than he realised. He barely remembers telling Evan about why he was doing it, but Evan remembered. Evan searched for this for him. Evan came here tonight even though he looks exhausted and likely coming off a tough shift. When did he switch from thinking this was Buck to remembering he was Evan, Tommy thinks to himself. “Wait here” Tommy says voice cracking slightly as he leaves the kitchen for his bedroom.

Buck worries he has made a mistake bringing up Tommy’s mum but he didn’t want Tommy thinking he just put a couple strips of metal in a box. I should leave before he comes back Buck thinks, preparing to go when Tommy comes back in carrying a frame, eyes looking a little redder than when he left.

“I got your Christmas present a while ago as well” Tommy says handing it to Evan “Sorry it’s not wrapped”

Buck takes the frame and looks down at a black background with a white circle that contains dots and lines. Below the circle ‘The stars aligned’ was printed with Evan and Tommy, a date and coordinates beneath it. “It’s a star map.” Tommy says “It captures the positions of the constellations, stars and planets at a certain time” he explains.

“It’s the date of our first kiss” Evan says a tear sliding down his cheek.

“I was going to give it to Chim and Maddie to give to you, I wanted you to have it but I didn’t think you would want to see me” Tommy says moving towards Evan and raising his hand to wipe the tear away before stopping short.

Buck took a step closer, closing the gap between their bodies “It meant something to you?” he asks unsure what answer he will hear.

“It meant everything Evan” Tommy replies placing his hand on Evan’s cheek “I’m so sorry” he says pulling Evan’s face closer and kissing him softly.

“So am I” Evan says deepening the kiss, knowing Tommy is letting him decide if he wants this. “Apologise later though, kiss me now” he demands.

“Of course Evan” Tommy smiles into the kiss, maybe they will get that first Christmas after all.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61403029

#bucktommy #tommy kinard #evan buckley #second chance #christmas #fix it fic

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johanna-swann · 25 days ago

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I haven't been able to write much recently, but here's a little Bucktommy thingy for NYE. Have fun everybody, don't party too hard.

Eddie can pinpoint the exact moment he realises that maybe they all should've minded their own business and just let Buck call Tommy. Regardless of who dumped whom and whose fault it was and what went down exactly. It's New Year's Eve, the only winter holiday this year that the entire 118 family is off work. They're celebrating together at the Han house and Eddie tries to soak up the atmosphere. He's supposed to move to El Paso in only a few weeks and who knows how many 118 barbecues he'll get to attend after that.

Everyone's having a good time. Bobby seems almost relieved that he's not hosting for once and is animatedly chatting away with Karen and Mrs Lee. Athena and Hen are on their second glass of red and laughing loudly. Maddie is sitting with them too, her hand suspiciously not holding onto a wine glass. The kids are watching a movie in the living room, Mulan or maybe Merida? Eddie can't keep up with all the Disney Princesses. He, Chimney and Mr Lee are standing around the grill and Buck- Buck is technically there too. He seems distracted though, his thoughts a thousand miles away.

When Eddie met Buck and the guy was still so god damn hung up on Abby he thought it was an outlier that should not have been counted. Your first serious relationship will do that to you, it's difficult to let go of something so special. Eddie would know. But with every relationship afterwards it only took Buck a couple of weeks at most to bounce back after the break-up.

Eddie assumed it would be more of the same when Tommy plucked the cord. Sure, Buck was mopy and baked like a madman, but that wasn't going to last forever, right? Right. But then Thanksgiving came and went, November turned into December, the Christmas Holidays passed by, the new year was rapidly approaching and nothing changed. Sure, Buck toned down the baking spree a little bit, but they were still collectively waiting for the "bouncing back" part.

Buck had almost obsessively planned the New Year's Eve party instead. He had figured out a menu, made a playlist, offered his bartending skills, taken care of the shopping. Chimney was ready to hold an intervention when Buck whipped out a clipboard while they were discussing drinks. Only Hen's "be nice to him, he needs this" stopped him from hiding the offending object away in the ambulance.

Here and now though, standing in the middle of their get-together and everything going quite perfectly so far, Buck looks anything but happy or even content. He laughs weakly at Chimney's movie reference (Eddie is almost certain that Buck does not know what "we're gonna need a bigger grill" is even from) and nods along when Eddie recalls an anecdote from a few years ago. But then he's checking his phone again and frowning. A few seconds later his hands twitch like he wants to check again before he starts fidgeting with a napkin instead. He's restless and anxious and everything Eddie hoped he wouldn't be surrounded by the warmth and love of his family.

A few minutes before midnight they all gather in the garden to watch the fireworks. The kids have all fallen asleep in front of the movie, so they decide to skip lighting any themselves and just enjoy the show. With only 30 seconds left on the timer all the couples are holding each other close. Athena is tugged in closely under Bobby's shoulder, Hen and Karen are sitting so close on a bench that Karen is basically in her wife's lap, Chimney is hugging a giggling Maddie from behind and the Lees are holding hands while Anne rests here head on her husband's shoulder.

Eddie smiles sadly. He knows that being on his own, working through his issues is where he needs to be right now, but he still misses having a partner like this. Nonetheless, he couldn't be more happy for his friends. He looks over to Buck, expecting him to be in a similar bitter-sweet mood, but his best friend is once again on his phone. Tommy has been gone for almost two months, it's maybe the last time in a long while that they're all going to be together like this and normally Buck would be excited and relishing in this feeling of family and togetherness. But instead he's once again checking his texts.

That's when it really hits Eddie that something is wrong. A chorus of "HAPPY NEW YEAR"s erupts around him and thousands of fireworks are going off over LA, but Eddie is looking at his best friend who is staring at his phone and he thinks that maybe they were wrong to talk Buck out of contacting Tommy. Oh well. It's a new year. Time for a new tactic.

#911 abc #bucktommy #evan buckley #eddie diaz

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buckley-diaztruther · 3 months ago

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god the more I think about it the more I think that buck has know his feelings for eddie AT LEAST since tommy kissed him, if not before. like it just so strongly reads to me as "im so deeply and stupidly in love with my best friend and I refuse to face it but I also refuse to be even a little bit normal about him even though i know well never be able to be together because he is straight. oh hey this guy trying to steal my bestie seems interested in ME this means I can both keep him from eddie and try to get over eddie at the same time. WOOPS my best friend just crashed my date if he even catches a whiff if me being queer ues gonna KNOW I'm in love with him time to double down on the straight bro energy. woops got ditched right after ok. time to spend the next few days way more broken up about lying to my bestie than getting dumped. whats that maddie? confused about my feelings? nonono i know whats happening here and its very much not allowed thanks. omg bestie pent up sexually? wish I could help- I MEAN IN A TOTALLY PLATONOC NON-SEXUAL WAY. bestie having relationship issues? perfect moment to slip in a little coming out moment. maybe he'll get the hint and we kiss? oh this changes nothing? cool cool cool cool cool anyways I can't stop thinking about that guy I spent the last few days very much not thinking about while i obsessed over you and also get back with your gf bc if you're single I might do something stupid like kiss you. time to throw myself into ANOTHER relationship with the genuine hope it'll work out but the innate understanding that it'll never actually last because they'll never be you hahaha no baby don't destroy your life by cheating with ur dead wife's doppelganger ur so sexy. now you're single so I could be single but then I might do something stupid like kiss you and you're life is literally falling apart and so well just put that back in a box and I'll keep on dating the Gays For Trump advocate over here in solidarity"

#buddie #911 abc #eddie diaz #evan buckley #anti bucktommy #anti bt

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gmwsuperfan5467890 · 5 months ago

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911 Season 8 Wishlist

-Eddie has to come out immediately. It’s gone on long enough, let this man out of the closet. I think he’s gay and demi but I’m not too fussed on what label he is given in the show, we know that he definitely isn’t straight.

-Since Tim Tam is unfortunately still confirmed to be dating Buck, I want them to have a messy breakup. Trolley is acting like an ass constantly. For example, when Buck vents to him about Gerrard, Temu says, “You’ll just have to deal with it” or “Get used to it like I did” which enrages Buck. Everything Tablecloth does enrages Buck, from the way he chews his food, to him constantly calling him Evan. Eventually Buck has had enough and just goes off on Tic Tac and when Tetris says, “But Evan..” Buck will scream, “Stop calling me Evan! My name is Buck.” Then Buck dumps him.

-Contrast all of temu’s sins with Eddie being just who Buck needs for the full rom-com effect and boom we have buddie canon. Let me just say, if they’re making buddie canon, this has to be the season to do it because they’re not on Fox anymore and this not a shortened transitional season like season 7.

-Hen, Karen,Maddie,Chimney, Eddie,Bobby,Athena and Josh all hate Tommy.

-Chris and Eddie reconcile (of course) but I don’t necessarily want it to be a long process of Eddie having to earn Chris’ trust. I think that Chris will eventually understand why Eddie did what he did and realize that parents aren’t infallible and can make really stupid mistakes that unintentionally hurt others especially since he is at the age where kids have that realization about their parents. This and Chris and Eddie having a heart-to-heart about their grief over Shannon will lead to Chris forgiving Eddie. I think that it’ll take time for their relationship to heal but they’ll be stronger than ever eventually.

-Hen and Athena go undercover and find out that Councilwoman Ortiz is responsible for a lot of corrupt cases in the government and that she was the one who got Gerrard reinstated as Captain of the 118. Hen and Athena expose her and she and Gerrard both get fired. This allows Bobby to get reinstated as Captain of the 118 at the end of the 3 part premiere.

-Continuing off of the last point, Mara goes back to Hen and Karen at the end of the three part premiere and their adoption gets approved. After Mara adjusts, I’m hoping we’ll get to see her be more comfortable in the Wilson household and not get uprooted again.

-According to the preview, Madney are apparently considering having adding to their family. I think it’ll be interesting if they choose to adopt because I don’t think Maddie would want to go through another pregnancy or maybe they decide that they are happy as a family of three.

-More May, more Ravi and have more May and Ravi interactions. It’s a crime that they are not friends.

-Buck getting flustered over Eddie’s mustache and jealous Buck. I could see a scenario where Eddie starts going to queer events and making more queer friends. Eddie is chatting with one of his male friends and Buck mistakenly thinks they’re dating and gets really jealous.

-Bobby and Athena’s plots seem the most interesting to me, so I will be seated. I’m curious on who the person from Athena’s past will be, I’m going to throw my hat in the ring and say it’ll be her late fiancé’s mother?

#911 season 8 #911 speculation #anti tommy kinard #911 abc #eddie diaz #evan buckley #hen wilson #karen wilson #anti bucktommy #chimney han #maddie han #maddie buckley #buddie #buck x eddie #ravi panikkar #may grant #athena grant #bobby nash #athena grant nash

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30somethingautisticteacher · 6 months ago

Note

Prompts, you say? What about this post I made 🤣

https://www.tumblr.com/v88sy/756596064088391680/nothing-just-watching-the-9-1-1-episode-where?source=share

"Nothing, just watching the 9-1-1 episode where Chimney thinks he lost Maddie's engagement ring in the city dump and realizing I need something like that for Tommy, hbu"

Thank you for the prompt @v88sy I hope I did it justice ❤️🥰 Now also on Ao3...link at the bottom.

***

Tommy was no Clipboard Buck, but between his childhood and the army, he had definitely learned to be efficient. So when it came to proposing to Evan, he had everything meticulously planned out. Every detail was in place, every moment accounted for. Tommy couldn't help but smile to himself as he went over the plan one last time muttering to himself as he checked each step. Evan wasn't going to know what hit him.

Satisfied, Tommy reached for the ring box to practice his proposal one more time. But as he opened it, his heart stopped. There was no ring inside.

Tommy felt his heart race as panic set in. How could he have lost the ring? It was perfect - a black tungsten band with a sleek blue stripe running through it. He had spent weeks choosing it, making sure every detail was just right. The engraving inside, 'My Evan', had been his final touch.

His mind raced, trying to retrace his steps. When was the last time he had seen it? Where could it have possibly gone?

Tommy took a deep breath, forcing himself to think logically. He couldn't let this derail everything. He had faced worse challenges before, surely he could handle a misplaced ring. But as he began to search, a nagging worry persisted - what if he couldn't find it in time?

Tommy's mind raced as he tried to recall the ring's last known location. "Where did I see it last? Where did I have it?" he muttered, running a hand through his hair.

Suddenly, realization dawned on him. "Oh my God," he gasped. He had taken it to work because he was worried about Evan stumbling onto it during his 48-hour shift at home. The memory came flooding back - he had taken it into the helicopter and shown it to Lucy.

A new wave of panic washed over him. Was it still in the chopper? Or worse, had he lost it on one of their calls? The possibility of the ring lying somewhere in the city, lost during a rescue operation, made his stomach churn.

"Oh God," Tommy whispered, the full weight of the situation hitting him. He needed to get back to the station, and fast. The clock was ticking, and his perfect proposal hung in the balance.

Tommy raced to Harbor, his heart pounding. As soon as he arrived, he made a beeline for his locker, frantically searching every pocket and crevice. The empty ring box in his pocket seemed to mock him as he searched.

"Hey, has anyone seen a ring? About this big, black with a blue stripe?" he called out to his coworkers, trying to keep his voice steady. A chorus of shaken heads and apologetic looks answered him.

With growing desperation, Tommy headed for his chopper. He searched every inch of the aircraft, checking under seats, in compartments, and even in the most unlikely nooks and crannies. He tore apart the interior, his usual respect for the machine overshadowed by his urgent need.

But as he stood back, surrounded by displaced equipment and opened compartments, the reality sank in. The ring itself was nowhere to be found.

Tommy leaned against the helicopter, closing his eyes in defeat. He pulled out the empty ring box, staring at the velvet indent where the perfect ring should have been. The proposal he had planned was in jeopardy, and he was running out of options.

Tommy's mind raced, recounting yesterday's calls. Four. There had been four calls.

A cliff rescue, two life flights, and an organ transport. He distinctly remembered having the ring during the first three calls, even recalling how he'd absentmindedly touched his pocket to ensure it was still there.

But the last one? The life flight from the beach? Tommy's stomach dropped as uncertainty crept in.

"Shit!" he muttered, then louder, "Fuck!" The possibility hit him like a ton of bricks. Did he lose it in the sand?

The image of the ring, lying lost and buried in countless grains of sand, made him feel sick. If it had fallen out there, finding it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

How could he possibly find it in time? And how was he going to propose to Evan without the ring he'd so carefully chosen?

Tommy took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves. He pulled out his phone, scrolling through his contacts until he found the name he was looking for. His thumb hovered over the call button for a moment before he pressed it, bringing the phone to his ear.

After a couple of rings, a familiar voice answered. "Hey, Tommy. What's up?"

"Howie?" Tommy's voice was a mix of desperation and hope. "I need your help. You don't happen to have access to a metal detector, do you?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "A metal detector? That's... an unusual request. What's going on, man?"

Tommy closed his eyes, dreading having to explain his predicament. "It's a long story, but I think I might have lost something important on the beach during a call yesterday. Something small, made of metal, and incredibly important."

He could almost hear the gears turning in Howie's head. "Wait, is this about what I think it's about? The thing you showed me last week?"

"Yeah," Tommy admitted with a sigh. "That's the one. So, about that metal detector?"

"I don't have one," Howie replied, sounding apologetic, "but maybe Eddie does? Chris went through a pirate buried treasure phase a few years back."

Tommy's heart sank for a moment, but Howie quickly continued, his voice brightening, "But hey, I'll help you look, and I'm sure everyone else will too. We've got your back, man."

A wave of relief washed over Tommy. He hadn't realized how much he needed to hear those words of support.

"Thanks, Howie," Tommy said, his voice thick with gratitude. "I really appreciate it. Could you maybe call Eddie about that metal detector while I finish checking here?"

"On it," Howie assured him. "Don't worry, Tommy. We'll find that ring. Operation 'Save the Proposal' is officially underway."

As Tommy hung up, he felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe there was still a chance to salvage his plans.

****

"Alright team, fan out," Athena's authoritative voice rang out across the beach. She stood at the center of a very determined group.

Bobby stepped forward, naturally taking charge alongside his wife. "We've got two metal detectors. Eddie, you take yours. Hen, you're on the one Athena brought from the station."

Eddie nodded, already adjusting the settings on his detector, while Hen powered up the police-issued one. Chimney and Ravi stood ready with shovels, as Lucy prepared the sifters.

Tommy looked at his assembled friends with a mix of gratitude and embarrassment. He never expected his proposal plans to turn into a search and rescue mission, but he was touched by their willingness to help.

Athena turned to him, her eyes focused and determined. "Tommy, you said this is approximately where you think you lost it?"

Tommy nodded, gesturing to the area around them. "Yes, it was during that life flight call yesterday. We landed somewhere in this vicinity."

Bobby added, "Alright, people. Let's grid this area and start searching. Those without detectors, use the shovels and sifters. That ring isn't going to find itself."

As the team spread out, Tommy's phone buzzed with a text from Maddie: "Buck is thoroughly distracted thanks to your niece. Take all the time you need. Good luck!"

The beach had transformed into a scene of organized chaos. For hours, the team had combed through the sand with meticulous determination. Metal detectors beeped incessantly, shovels dug, and sifters shook as they searched every inch of the designated area.

Their efforts hadn't been entirely fruitless. A small pile of found objects grew steadily: over three dollars in assorted coins, a set of car keys that had probably ruined someone's beach day, a pair of military dog tags that Eddie carefully set aside to be returned, and even a retainer that made everyone grimace.

Tommy watched his friends work tirelessly alongside him, a mix of gratitude and growing despair churning in his gut. He appreciated their effort more than he could express, but with each passing minute, his hopes of finding the ring – and salvaging his proposal plans – dwindled.

As the sun dipped towards the horizon, casting long shadows across the beach, the reality of their situation began to sink in. The fading light made their search increasingly difficult, and the team's movements grew slower.

Eddie was the first to voice what they were all thinking. "Tommy," he said gently, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder, "we're losing daylight. We might have to call it for now."

Tommy looked out at the darkening beach, his heart heavy. The weight of disappointment settled in his chest, making it hard to breathe.

"We can come back tomorrow," Eddie continued, trying to inject some hope into his voice. "First thing in the morning. The light will be better, and we'll have fresh eyes."

Tommy nodded, unable to find his voice for a moment. When he finally spoke, it was barely above a whisper. "Yeah," he managed, the single word carrying all his devastation.

The team gathered around Tommy, their faces a mix of sympathy and determination. Even though they hadn't found the ring, their support was unwavering.

As they began to pack up their equipment, Tommy couldn't help but wonder: how was he going to face Evan now? The perfect proposal he had planned now seemed impossibly out of reach, lost somewhere in the vast expanse of sand beneath their feet.

Tommy trudged through the front door, his shoulders slumped with defeat. He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost missed the sight of Evan sitting at their kitchen table, practically vibrating with excitement.

Before Tommy could even process what was happening, Evan leapt up and threw his arms around him. "Yes, yes!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with joy.

Caught off guard, Tommy returned the embrace instinctively, his mind racing to catch up. "Well, not that I'm complaining about the warm welcome," he said, a confused smile tugging at his lips, "but yes to what?"

Evan pulled back slightly, his face beaming with happiness. He lifted his left hand, and there, prominently displayed on his finger, was the very ring Tommy and their friends had spent the entire day searching for.

Tommy's jaw dropped, his eyes widening in disbelief. "How... what... where did you find that?" he stammered, a mix of emotions swirling through him – relief, confusion, and an overwhelming surge of love for the man in front of him.

Evan's smile, if possible, grew even wider. "First, I believe you owe me a proper proposal, Mr. Kinard."

All of Tommy's planned words flew out the window as he sank to one knee, his heart overflowing with emotion. Looking up at Evan, his eyes shining with love, he said:

"Evan, baby, love of my life. Come with me to our wedding?"

Evan burst out laughing, his eyes crinkling with joy as he recognized the callback to their second chance coffee date nearly two years ago.

"Of course," Evan replied, his voice thick with emotion, eyes sparkling with unshed happy tears. He reached down to cup Tommy's face in his hands. "This ally is yours forever."

As Tommy rose to his feet, they fell into each other's arms, both laughing and crying at the same time. The proposal might not have gone according to Tommy's original plan, but in this moment, with Evan in his arms, it felt absolutely perfect.

After a moment, Tommy pulled back slightly, a mix of joy and curiosity on his face. "I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. But first, you've got to tell me - how on earth did you find the ring?"

Evan's eyes twinkled with mischief. "You're not going to believe this," he said, barely containing his laughter. "I found it in the washing machine."

Tommy's jaw dropped. "The washing machine?" he repeated incredulously.

Evan nodded, grinning widely. "Yep. I was doing laundry earlier today, and when I went to transfer your work clothes to the dryer, there it was, just sitting in the bottom of the washer. Must have fallen out of your pocket."

Tommy groaned, half laughing, half embarrassed. "You mean to tell me that while I had the entire team combing the beach with metal detectors, the ring was here the whole time?"

"The entire team?" Evan asked, eyebrows raised in amusement. "Oh, this I've got to hear."

Tommy pulled Evan close, pressing their foreheads together. "It's a long story," he murmured. "But we've got the rest of our lives for me to tell it."

Evan smiled softly. "I like the sound of that," he said, leaning in for a kiss.

As their lips met, Tommy couldn't help but think that sometimes, the best laid plans go wrong for all the right reasons.

Now also on Ao3! ⬆️

#bucktommy #tevan #kinley #firepilot #fic prompt #30sat writes

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uniasus · 4 months ago

Text

To Die With You - Part 3

To Die With You is a DP whump fic written for @whumptober, with parts shared in order of prompts, not plot. Follow the To Die With You tag to read throughout the month, or stay tuned for the whole fic to drop on Ao3.

-------

Jazz sprinted across the living room, pulling open the door to the lab. Halfway down the stairs, she froze.

The portal was gone.

Slowly, she walked down the steps. The portal was always gone. Maybe the gates were closed, but the green glow always seeped from the edge.

That wasn’t this.

She never watched her parents build it, but had heard the digging and drilling. The portal had hide how deep the excavation had gone – she didn’t realize her parents were in the metal clad cave until she’d stood right in front of it.

Her eyes turned to the red button on the left. It was fine, but the panel around it was warped, heat-colored metal veins snaking up toward the ceiling like a witch’s hand. The fingers ended in whirls that she was convinced matched Danny’s fingerprints.

She swallowed. Jazz knew her brother died here, but she never thought she’d ever see the evidence, the physical marks.

“Jazzy-Pants!”

Jack Fenton’s booming caught her attention and she finally noticed what her parents were doing – ripping the portal apart.

“What are you doing?” she gasped.

“Well,” Maddie stopping trying to get a screwdriver under a metal panel. “Your father and I talked. As much as shutting the portal hampers our research, we just can’t leave it open anymore. It’s a risk to Amity Park.”

“All those ghosts can’t terrorize the town if they can’t use the portal to get here!” Jack chirped. “We’ll find other things to research, but now that ghost boy-“

“You turn it on right now!” Jazz stomped her foot.

This was why her little brother was dying. It didn’t matter why, but she knew instinctively if the portal went, Danny went too.

“But Jazz,” Maddie said, “You can’t tell me you want ghosts to continue to terrorizing the town.”

Her phone buzzed and Jazz fished it out. Two texts: one from Sam telling them to hurry, one from Tucker saying he was in the car.

But it didn’t matter if Tucker poured gallons of ectoplasm down Danny’s gut if the portal was destroyed. It’d only delay things.

And maybe that’s what the portal did too. Danny should have died in the accident. Or at least, died and not come back. But he did, powered, somehow, by the portal. On, off. Alive, dead.

“Fix it!” Jazz yelled at her parents, fingers flying as she typed. Found cause. Trying to reverse. Tucker, take the car.

“Jazz, you can’t be serious-“

She ignored her mother, staring up the stairs, praying that Tucker took the car without taking the time to answer. Maybe she heard the engine, maybe she didn’t.

Her phone buzzed again. Sam.

Break all the laws, Tuck.

Jazz blinked quickly, getting rid of the water that had gathered in the corner of her eyes.

“Actually, Jazz, why are you here?” Her mother was a foot away, frowning. “It’s still school, isn’t it? We’d hoped to be down taking down the portal before you got back.”

“Danny got sick,” Jazz spilled out. “As soon as you turned that off, he got sick. He’s connected to it, cuz of the accident. Please, please turn it on.”

Maddie pulled Jazz into a hug. “I’m sure it’s just a coincidence, sweetie. We checked Danny out afterwards, remember? He wasn’t seriously injured, just had a high concentration of ectoplasm dumped into his system.”

“That’s still strong enough to confuse the Fenton Finder!” Jack added.

“I mean, that is strange,” Maddie said. “You’d think after two years his levels would have come down. Ours fluctuate.”

She didn’t have time for this. Danny was dying, dissolving in some hidden corner of the school. Tucker was on his way to stabilize him, but based on Sam’s texts and Tucker’s near breakdown in the car, it’d buy them an hour at most.

Jazz marched into the portal, ignoring the shiver that ran down her spine as she crossed the threshold from cement floor to metal. This was Danny’s grave. This was Danny’s lifeline.

She picked up one of the panels her parent had already removed and held up to the wall, covering the exposed panels. “Put this back on if you don’t want Danny dead by the end of the day.”

“Jazz,” Maddie started, “I highly doubt –“

“I don’t.” Jazz stared her mother down, still holding the panel in place. The salt from her tears was starting to itch, but she refused to put down the sheet metal. She turned her gaze to Jack.

“Please, Dad. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe I’m right. But please, please, put the portal back together.”

Jack stared at her through his safety goggles and dropped his shoulders. “Okay, Jazzerincess. Let me get the welder.”

#whumptober2024 #no.3 #fingerprints #danny phantom #jazz fenton #my fanfiction #wip #snippet #to die with you

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lillaydee · 3 months ago

Text

Tingled Part 2

Francisco 'Catfish' Morales / Reader

Joel Miller (No Outbreak) / Reader

Starting fresh in the big city, you were still questioning your worth after the way you were treated by your ex and his daughter, desperately trying to leave thoughts of them behind. But something about the new man you ran into made that almost impossible.

A CONTINUATION TO 'NUMBED'

English is not my first language, so please excuse the errors.

WARNINGS: Joel Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (The Last of Us), Hurt Joel (The Last of Us), Joel is Bad at Feelings (The Last of Us), Joel is a Fucking Idiot, Sweet Francisco "Catfish" Morales, Soft Francisco "Catfish" Morales, Hurt Francisco "Catfish" Morales, Francisco "Catfish" Morales Has PTSD, Fluff and Angst, Past Drug Addiction, Healing, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Universe - No Cordyceps Outbreak (The Last of Us)

Notes:

Not really leaving Joel behind, but this particular mind worm of mine involves a very handsome ex-Delta Force Helo pilot who looked astonishingly a lot like Joel. Happens sometime between chapters one and two of Numbed. Hope you enjoy this one too.

SERIES MASTERLIST

Part One

No.

You couldn’t look him in the face. This couldn’t possibly be real. You needed this to not be real. This couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t be here. Did Maddie tell him?

Wait… you just talked to her. Like, ten minutes ago. Did she tell him as she was talking to you? And how did he get here so quickly? Did he energize? Was he waiting around the corner on the off chance that the neighbor’s daughter in law that he saw maybe twice a year would run into you? Was this a coincidence?

He couldn’t be here. You simply didn’t have it in you to face him right now. You were just starting to forget the man. You couldn’t do this. You refused to feel like this anymore.

Shit.

You could feel yourself getting small again. All those feelings you felt in that final month you spent planning and packing for your move here came bubbling up, threatening to close your throat off from the oxygen supply your lungs desperately needed right now.

Stupid. Unworthy. Blindsided. Rejected. Tossed aside.

Fuck, you couldn’t breathe.

“Miss?”

Joel was bending down a little, his face close to yours, not that you were looking at him, worry clear in his tone.

“Miss, are you alright? Do you need me to call someone?”

What? Words were forming in your head, but they were stuck there. Why was he calling you Miss? What, he’d forgotten your name already?

Suddenly, you were angry. Really, Joel? You wanted to act like you have no idea who I was?

You snapped your head up, avoiding from looking straight into his eyes. You couldn’t. You would freeze, and you couldn’t afford to, you needed to say this.

“What are you doing here, Joel? What do you want from me? What, you were unsatisfied with how you threw me out, you needed an encore? Go on, then. Reject me again. Right here, on the streets, let everyone see. Cause you haven’t humiliated me enough, right?”

He straightened up, staring at you, confusion all over his features. “What…”

“Oh, you want to act like you don’t know what I’m talking about now? Like you didn’t treat me like a fucking bang maid for years and then tossed me aside like I don’t matter?”

He looked startled, his head swiveling around, clearly embarrassed at your outburst, looking at the commuters who had somehow only managed to slow down slightly in their hurried city-life paces to stare at the both of you for a split second before moving on to their destinations.

“Well guess what, Joel, you did, you hurt me. You won. You got what you wanted. I left. But that’s not good enough huh? You needed to dump me again? Or did you need me to move back into the house next door so you could feed your fucking ego and ignore me again to my face for the whole neighborhood to see? What do you want from me, Joel? What?” You gestured dramatically with your hands, perhaps a tad too much, and the cap on the cup of coffee you were holding came off, half its almost black contents flying out, burning your hand, but you were too angry to notice.

Wait.

Why was your coffee black? You ordered a latte. No matter. Focus. You lasered in on his eyes, determined to show him you were no longer the pushover he dumped without a second thought a few months back.

But the confused pair of eyes looking back into yours were not Joel’s. They did look very much like his. Almost identical, you would say. But this pair, they were… softer. Lighter.

But not Joel’s. Definitely not Joel’s.

You took a step back, and really looked at this man.

Fuck, he really looked like Joel. Maybe slightly on the leaner side, a bit scruffier, you’d say? But he might as well be Joel’s twin. He looked a heck of a lot more like Joel than Tommy did. And now that you’d had a second look, he was dressed differently. A flannel over his shirt, khaki pants, and a trucker hat.

Joel had never worn a trucker hat in his life.

The Joel-like guy fidgeted; he took his hat off, looking like he was searching for the right words to say, careful in his process, trying to make sure he didn’t set you off again. And this was when you realized – his hair was a lighter shade than Joel’s. A lot longer. The curls softer, it looked like. His entire face was softer. Not as… grumpy.

Definitely not Joel.

He hesitantly raised the cup of coffee he was holding in his other hand.

“You took my coffee by mistake,” he said, slipping his hat into his back pocket, and then pointing at the now half-spilled cup you were holding in your hand, now pink from the burn of the spilled black caffeinated goodness. He carefully, delicately, reached out to take the cup out of your hand, and placed your own he had been holding in it instead.

Oh.

He bent down and picked up the cap of his cup that had come off during your dramatic monologue off the floor.

You didn’t know what to say.

So you mumbled an apology, that you mistook him for someone else, turned around and sprinted to your office building.

Yeah… you are never going to that café again. Ever.

**********

Except… the coffee machine was still broken. You tried taking two thermoses instead of one to solve the issue, but the second one was too cold for your liking when you drank it in the evening, having sat in your backpack for hours before you began drinking it. You even suffered through the dreaded 3-in1 stuff at the office just to get by. But they gave you bad acid reflux. You got a French Press to make your own coffee at work without the machine, but the taste was off. So this was what you got for investing in a good coffee machine in the first place, huh? No other coffee would do? But you couldn’t risk going to that café again. What if you run into the Joel-like guy again? God, how you wish you’re not a coffee snob right now.

Joel was right. You were a coffee snob. He used to make fun of you for relying on a coffee machine for good coffee, running back and forth to your own kitchen to make some whenever you were over at his house. He told you once that he would buy you one if you asked for it, just so you didn’t have to keep running back and forth to make yourself a cup. But you didn’t know how to ask. You didn’t even dare to ask if you could spend the night. How could you ask for a coffee machine worth hundreds? So you didn’t, and he, in return, didn’t get you one. Your fault, really. You should’ve just asked.

And just like that, you were thinking about him again.

Fuck.

What would it take to get him out of your head?

You told your mother about it that night at dinner. She told you that it would take time. You had known him all your adult life. Surely it would take a while to forget him on a daily basis. I just want a day, Mom, a whole day where I don’t think about him, you told her. Was that too much to ask? The man treated you badly. Sure, he didn’t hit you or anything like that, but you were so in love with him that it took him flicking you off without remorse like you were a piece of lint on his shoulder for you to see he never gave you a second thought, and the fact that you were still thinking about him like this made you feel just…

You sighed defeatedly, your face in your hands.

She put her fork down, took a sip of water and looked at you contemplatively. She asked if she could tell you something. Please don’t judge her. You nodded, of course, Mom, what is it?

“Your Dad used to kiss me goodnight before sleeping. He would kiss me, and then turn over and fall asleep. He used to tell me he couldn’t fall asleep unless he did that. And I couldn’t fall asleep unless he did that either. It made me feel loved, you know? Like there was this important thing his body needed to do before retiring for the night. Kiss his wife.”

You were shocked to hear her speak of him. She hadn’t mentioned him since he left.

“After he left, every time I couldn’t sleep, I wondered if I would have been able to fall asleep if he were there to kiss me goodnight? Could he fall asleep now that he couldn't kiss me goodnight? And then, over time, it revolved to whether or not he was already cheating on me when he was kissing me goodnight? Was the first time he didn’t do that the day they had sex for the first time? After he left, I couldn’t sleep for a long time, which was why I started looking for evening jobs, just so I could fall asleep tired from work. I couldn’t help thinking about it. I still think about it every time I couldn’t sleep sometimes, and I would feel stupid. Every single time.”

Your heart plummeted. First at the thought that your mother was still struggling with the fact that he had done that to her, even after all these years. And then, the horror that you would be too, with Joel. Your father left 34 years ago. Were you condemned to the same fate? Would you be spending the next 34 years and God knows however long after still associating everything you were going through to him?

She took your hand in hers.

“Emma, sweetie, it takes time, that’s all I’m saying. Just live your life, and eventually, that crushing weight you feel every time you think of him will get lighter. I barely feel anything anymore when I think of him. Take it, learn from it. I can tell you this, no one decent in this world could ever think you were not wronged, or that you did anything wrong. This was all on him and Sarah. Not you. It’ll pass, sweetie. Be patient.”

You went to sleep that night a little bit lighter. For the first time in your life, you were thankful Joel had never let you sleep over. God knows how long it would take you to get over that. Must be torture to miss someone holding you at night. Not you, though. No one had ever held you at night, apart from your mother. So, lucky you? You couldn’t miss something you never had. So, thank you Joel, for sending me home every night like I was some whore you hired for the day.

And there you go, still thinking about him, even if it was regarding something he never did.

Fuck.

**********

Today was a bad day. Three meetings with clients before noon. And two more after lunch. Your two thermoses were long empty. At least you got to drink that second one while it was still a nice temperature. The final meeting of the day should be easy, you were just showing an amended version of something you had already presented to them. The one before that, though…

It’s a big account. The biggest your company had ever gotten. You couldn’t afford to lose this.

Fuck. You need coffee.

Hey, you’re in good shape. You run. You had your running shoes in your cubicle. You could just run in, get the coffee and run out. Right? In and out. Very quickly. No one would even notice you. He would certainly not notice you, if he was around. And you know what? How do you even know he would be? Maybe he was just there that particular day. It’s a big city, he could be somewhere else. Right?

Okay, you’ve got this.

You put your running shoes and hoodie on, shoved your phone in your pocket, and hurried to the café, head down, sunglasses on, trying not to be noticed. You walked into the café, waited for your turn to order, put your order in, paid, and waited. Your feet were nervously tap-tapping on the floor, wishing good coffee didn’t take this long to make. They called your name. You picked up your cup, checked that it was really yours, the big bold marker spelling your name in capital letters, a smiley face accompanying it, and dashed out.

And ran straight into a solid someone.

You flew off your feet, hot coffee spilling all over.

Fuck.

The someone helped you up, asking you if you were alright. You hurriedly wiped coffee off your clothes, thanking God none actually spilled past the hoodie, and looked up to apologize to the someone you just bulldozed in the hopes of not seeing the Joel-like guy.

Oh, fuck your life.

It’s him.

The Joel-like guy.

He clocked that it was you, a bright smile gracing his face. “Hey, it’s you.”

To say you were shocked was an understatement.

His clothes were covered in coffee.

Great. Now, not only had you spilled half his coffee, which you never replaced, you had also stained his entire attire for the day. How the fuck were you going to get out of this one?

You glanced at your watch, and to your horror, your meeting was in fifteen minutes. You mumbled an apology to him and ran off. Again.

You got back to your cubicle, grabbed the small towel you had kept, and went to the bathroom to clean yourself. You changed the hoodie for a suit, spritzed some perfume on so you no longer smell like spilled coffee, and went into the meeting room to prepare for your meeting. You were extra jittery. And no coffee to calm you.

Your boss walked in, the clients with her.

Your welcoming smile froze. One of them was standing right in front of you, still in the clothes you soiled, a cup of coffee in his hand, which he offered to you.

“You left without getting a new cup. I saw you run in here, I figured, I could get you some. Didn’t think the meeting was with you, though.”

You took it, your lips blubbering some apology and non-coherent attempts at an explanation, before you gave up and released a defeated breath.

“I’m so sorry, sir. Please don’t let what happened jeopardize the outcomes of this meeting. Please. It’s my fault, Mr…?”

“Morales. Francisco Morales. But please, call me Frankie.”

Part Three

#frankie morales x you #francisco morales x reader #frankie morales fanfiction

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