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imagining-in-the-margins · 4 years ago

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Here to Misbehave (Pt. 16 | S.R.)

Summary: Reader is trying to go back to her old life, which includes the life she led before she met Spencer. Category: Angst. Couple: Spencer/Fem!Reader Content Warning: Drug mention, addiction, jealousy, arguing, death mention Word Count: 9.3k

MASTERLIST

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“Don’t wear that tie, wear the other one.”

Spencer turned to look at me curiously, his little grin the first signal that he saw right through me. “Why?” He asked, taking off the tie he’d only just finished putting on to swap it for the other one hanging in my closet.

It’d been a week since Spencer all but moved into my room, refusing to leave my side for even a second longer than necessary. Aside from the freshly healing bullet wounds, it had been one of the best weeks of my life.

“I don’t know.” I shrugged, trying and failing to hide my smile. “I just wanted to watch you take it off.”

My boyfriend pointed an accusing finger at me as he approached the bed, using it to poke my nose before retreating. “You, my dear, are a troublemaker. I’m going to be late.”

It was hard to believe that life could resume so quickly for everyone else when it felt like I was still on my knees on the cold tile floor of the bank. I tried not to think about it, acutely aware of the terrible things that could happen when PTSD was left unchecked.

I wanted to think about nice things, instead. Like how cute my boyfriend was, acting like it was my fault he’d be late while he took his time tying his tie over and over again. He’d say it was because it wasn’t perfect, but we both knew he didn’t care about that. He just didn’t want to leave yet.

“If you’re going to be late Dr. Reid, it’s because you refused to get out of bed until I gave you a kiss for every hour you’ll be gone today.” I reminded him, joy filling my chest at the small combination of a smile and a pout I received in response.

“You still owe me two.”

“Do I?” I responded, reaching out to grab his hand and pull him back to my place on the bed. “Then please, let me remedy that.”

Not wanting me to move any more than I already had, he quickly came down to place a chaste kiss on my lips. But I didn’t let it end there, holding onto the newly secured tie and tugging him closer.

Now it might be my fault, I thought, but I didn’t care. With one hand on the bed to steady himself and the other carefully caressing my cheek, he put all of his love into one little kiss. I felt like I was going to explode with the pent up desire that had accompanied being with him for so long without being able to show him how much I loved him in a physical way.

He insisted that he didn’t need sex, that it didn’t matter to him, but it mattered to me! I didn’t have a way with words like he did, and while he was content with curling up by my side, it left me wanting more.

The doctor kept telling me it would be soon, that the time will have passed quickly in hindsight. I didn’t understand half of what he said— he was just trying to get me to accept the narcotics in hopes that I wouldn’t end up back in his hospital.

I was doing it again. I was thinking about things I didn’t need to think about instead of the way Spencer bit down on my bottom lip when he paused to let me breathe. The smell of his cologne filled my lungs and I remembered how much I used to miss it. I’d stopped appreciating it when it was around me all the time.

It wasn’t until his phone rang that he left completely, tearing himself away from me like he wouldn’t be able to stop himself any other way.

“Hello?”

There were only a few reasons they would be calling him right now, and I didn’t like any of them.

“Oh… Alright.”

It was that exact tone, that terrified, pitiful grumble that told me what I needed to know. He had to go somewhere, and he wouldn’t be back today. He’d retreated from me, turning his back to me like I wouldn’t be able to tell what was happening just because I couldn’t see his face.

His voice was hushed. “Hotch, are you sure that I…”

The hopelessness hurt. I wanted him to go back to work; I knew he needed to. But it was so hard to let him go.

“Understood. I’ll be there soon.”

“How many more kisses do I owe you now?” I asked with a nervous laugh, fiddling with the sheets between my fingers.

“I don’t know.”

“Uh oh. I don’t like that voice.” I tried to keep my tone playful, but it wasn’t enough.

“I have to travel.”

The fact that he wasn’t looking at me made me more anxious than the fact he was now grabbing all the clothes he had in the closet and dropping them in the suitcase.

“Where to?”

Spencer paused, staring at the floor so that he could see me from his peripherals. He was torturing himself by forcing himself to see my reaction, but he wasn’t strong enough to look directly at me.

“Alaska.”

“Oh... wow.” I didn’t know how to respond, my body freezing as I tried to conceptualize just how far away that was. Far enough away that in maps of the United States, they had a separate area designated for it since it couldn’t fit.

It was too far, that’s all I knew.

“Hey, that’s fine! I can still call you.” My voice sounded foreign and the hopefulness was poorly performed. I wasn’t sure calling would be enough, but it apparently didn’t even matter.

“Not really. They don’t have service out there. Garcia is coming with us.” His packing got angrier, no matter how hard he tried to hide it from me.

“It’ll be fine, Spencer.”

His hands, unable to find any more clothing to grab, found purchase in his hair instead, running through them roughly. “What if something happens?” He asked as he finally turned to face me with a seriousness that was unbecoming.

“Nothing is going to happen. I have tons of friends who can help me. I’m just going to be sitting here on my ass all day watching bad TV.”

I gestured to the television that my friends had been nice enough to set up in my room, sighing as Spencer sulked in the other corner. It took a few waves of the hand, but eventually he dragged himself back to my side. Opening my arms to him, I took him in when his head dropped against my shoulder once more.

“I-I’m not ready to leave you yet.” The vulnerability shook in his voice, and I could feel the insistence in his grip denting my pillow.

“Well, too bad, superman.” I teased, pulling him away enough that I could show him my smile, hoping that it would be enough to calm his mounting fears. “You’ve got lives to save.”

He looked at me, his eyes still welling with tears despite the smile he now wore. He took my hand and heldit against his cheek. He closed his eyes; taking a deep breath, he mumbled, “How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Make me fall more in love with you every single day.”

I had to laugh, and I cursed him for it. It hurt so badly to laugh still, but the look on his face was worth it. No matter what, Spencer Reid had to be a romantic, and I loved him for it. It was so very much unlike me.

“Don’t get all sappy on me now, old man.” I chastised him lightly, “You’re going to be late.”

He wasn’t done yet, though, that protective glimmer in his eyes returning with a vengeance. He held tighter to my hand and bit his lip.

“Promise me you’ll be safe. Don’t do anything you aren’t supposed to. Please.”

It sounded like a beg, a desperation that I wasn’t used to. Up until now, it always felt like I was the one who was seeking more information and assurance. But now he sat before me, practically broken at the thought of not seeing me for a few days, pleading for me to take my own life seriously.

I hated the attention, but couldn’t tell him that. He wouldn’t understand; it would only make him worry more.

“I promise.”

He didn’t believe me, but he accepted my answer, anyway. Lunging forward, his lips crashed into mine without any reservations. I laughed into the kiss, tangling my hands in his hair so that he’d have to fix it again before he could leave me.

It was only funny until I remembered how long it might be until I see him again. I held onto him, deepening the kiss just to drag it out. He was also looking for an excuse, still refusing to part all the way when our lungs had nothing left.

“I love you… so much.” He whispered, resting his forehead against mine for a moment longer.

“I love you, too.”

I’d said it so many times in the past few weeks, but the words still felt new on my tongue. I wanted to say them more, to shower him in my affection, but I didn’t know how. Love was just another language he was fluent in, and I decidedly wasn’t. All I could do was wait for him to translate the thoughts to me whenever I got lost.

“I’m going to try to set up something so I can talk to you, okay? I can’t promise it’ll work but I’m going to try. You remember what I said about the last time I couldn’t reach you.”

Memories of papers scattered on the floor ran through my mind. I could practically feel his hand wrapped around my neck for the first time, holding my life in his hand because I’d trusted him to keep me safe. The vision of waking up in his bed, only to have him lower himself below the sheets, pressing kisses down my stomach.

Things had been so different then. It felt like a lifetime ago.

Those thoughts were suffocating and overwhelming and painful, and I shoved them back into the deepest recesses of my mind. It was too early to be emotional.

I took a deep breath, patting Spencer’s cheek with a soft palm before I summoned all the sarcasm I could in my voice. “I’ll always be with you in your heart,” I joked, smiling as he cringed at the sound.

“I mean it, little girl. If you don’t take care of yourself, you’re in for it when I get back.”

Feigning shock and a gasp, I brought my hand to my chest just in time for him to step away from me. The absence of him was colder than it should have been. At least he appeared to be in better spirits, and I wanted to keep it going.

“Dr. Reid, has that ever worked to make me not do something?”

Spencer shook his head with a chuckle, grabbing the rest of his things with more pep in his step. The closer he got to the door, the harder my heart beat. It was deafening and mind numbing in its volume.

Was this how love was supposed to feel? Or had I just grown so spoiled and accustomed to him being here, that I was being entirely selfish? I would no doubt have days to think about it.

He returned to me one more time, running his hand gently through my hair and granting me one more soft, serene kiss in the pale morning light.

“Take care of yourself.” He whispered, the begging bleeding back into his voice. “For me.”

“I will.” I promised before closing my eyes so I wouldn’t have to see him leave. I still heard him hesitate at the door, and I felt his eyes linger on me for a few seconds longer. But then the door clicked shut, and I was alone again.

—————————————————

Nine days. I’d been gone for nine days. It might as well have been a lifetime, because that’s exactly what it felt like. Even worse, I was only able to call (y/n) a whopping three times, each one shorter than the last. We’d only talked for a total of 14 minutes and 29 seconds. And considering that nine days is 12960 minutes, that’s a pretty abysmal fraction.

But it didn’t matter, because as soon as that stupid jet landed in Virginia, I was on my way back to her. Thankfully it was still a normal hour and the sun was still out, albeit quickly setting.

She wasn’t answering my calls, and I tried not to think too much of it. During our last call, she’d told me that she started a new medication that made her sleepy. In fact, our conversation had been so short in part because she fell asleep halfway through the call.

I didn’t mind though, listening to the soft sound of her breathing until the signal went dead again. I’d played the audio over and over again in my head to help me sleep that night, knowing that she was hours away but still dreaming with me.

I was so ready to see her again, that I’d barely knocked on her door before the keys were already in the knob. I didn’t want to wait, I didn’t want to spend another second longer than necessary before I could see her.

But before I could turn the handle, the door swung open and away from my hand.

There were a few people I’d expected to see; (y/n), her roommate, or possibly one of the other female friends the girls had mentioned that I’d yet to see. Unfortunately, it was the one face that hadn’t ever crossed my mind that appeared.

On the other side of the threshold was the man I’d only seen in pictures. To be more specific, one picture, months ago, sent to me from (y/n)’s phone in an attempt to keep her from answering my call.

I recognized him immediately, but realized I’d never actually heard his name.

We stood there for a long time, staring at the other with the utmost hostility in our eyes and postures. I hated the fact that I felt the need to compete with him, but found myself acting out of instinct. I just hoped that he wasn’t as smart or perceptive as her, and wouldn’t notice the insecurity and jealousy that immediately emerged.

“So you must be the cop.” He drawled, leaning against the doorframe to prevent my entry. The action alone pissed me off, but I bit my tongue in the hopes I could deescalate the situation, despite how much I didn’t want to. There were many things I wanted to say to him, but only a few words came out.

“I’m not a cop.”

“Yeah, she said you’d say that.” He chuckled, rubbing his chin as he recalled a memory of her. I wanted to wipe the smirk off his face.

“That makes sense. It shouldn’t be a surprise, considering it’s not my job.” I stated matter-of-factly, trying to remind myself that the two of them were friends. She’d known him for a long time, and he probably felt just as possessive of her as I did.

The only difference was that I had a reason to believe she was mine.

“Let me guess, your sense of humor is her favorite trait.” The sarcasm dripped from his tongue. Normally I’d say that was my role, but right now all that I had to spit back was venom.

Retrieving my key from the door, I contemplated barreling past him to get to her quicker, but realized he was probably hoping to provoke that exact kind of reaction.

“You’re funny.” My face steeled and my fists clenched in my pockets, I peered around his head to the empty hallway behind him. “Where is she?”

“Sleeping.” That stupid smirk was back, his eyes trailing after my every movement, waiting for me to snap. When I didn’t, he escalated his antics further.

“I was about to go join her.” He said, licking his lips and standing up in an attempt to match my height.

But it wasn’t size or age that distinguished the two of us. It was our priorities. Because while he was here, trying to prove himself to me, all I could see was a young boy standing in the way of me seeing her again.

“No need. I’m here now.” I took a step forward, unsurprised to find that he didn’t immediately move out of my way.

He narrowed his eyes, grasping at straws to try and prolong this interaction. I couldn’t understand why, really. He couldn’t honestly believe I’d try to start a fight with him or leave, could he?

“Does she know you were planning on coming by?”

“Why does it matter to you?” I responded with a bored tone, staring him down until I saw his stance falter. It wouldn’t take much longer of this standoff for him to finally recede far enough into the apartment that I could just ignore him.

“Just wondering.” He mumbled, finally taking a step backwards and to the side so that I could enter. He shut the door behind me, but clearly wasn’t done with the conversation.

“Figured she wouldn’t have asked me to come spend the night with her if she knew you were coming. So she must not have expected for you to show up.”

I turned around to face him, knowing that I was playing into his games but unable to resist the temptation.

“She told me you got jealous last time. I would hate for you two to fight again if you found us in bed together. That would be so upsetting for her.”

“Well, you’re off the hook. No miscommunication. No worries at all.” It was times like these that I was grateful for my training, because it was the only thing keeping me from lunging at the boy and slamming him against the wall. I knew he could see it in my eyes.

He clearly had an idea of me in his head, one that was honestly probably pretty accurate. He wanted me to lose control and show that side of me, to prove that he was the better man. But he wasn’t. He’d had several years with her now to prove himself, and she’d still chosen me.

She chose me— that’s all I needed to remember.

“What if I want to stay?” He teased.

“We’ll let her decide.”

That was the first thing I’d said that struck a nerve in him. He resumed his previous stance with his back straight and arms crossed over his chest. “You’re a bit full of yourself for a dude who’s never here.” He spat, puffing his chest. The longer the bravado continued, the less intimidating it became. “You barely even know her.”

I was transported back to when (y/n) and I first started dating, when Morgan had accused me of the very same thing over lunch. My heart wrenched in my chest, because so much of me knew that it was still true.

She’d only just started to share information with me about her past, and still she spoke in vague generalities and half-thoughts. There was so much she hid from me, and I just… let her. I let her hide from me because I was scared that if I pressed her, she would leave.

At least, that’s what I’d thought. But each time someone pointed out how little I knew her, I was forced to consider the possibility that she was keeping me away for a deeper reason.

“I know all the parts of her that she doesn’t want to show you.” He taunted, sensing my anxieties that were clearly written across my face.

“Are you done? I’d like to go see her now.”

He didn’t respond, shaking his head. But I only got a few steps before I heard his voice again, this time louder and angrier.

“Doesn’t it bother you? Knowing that I’m here, in bed with your girlfriend while you’re on the opposite side of the country, not even answering her calls?” He remained rooted in his position at the end of the hall.

I lost the battle of keeping my eyes on her door, ripping them away so that I could turn to face him. My breathing got heavy and my hands finally left my pockets. “No, it doesn’t bother me,” I said, my voice falling quieter instead of growing, “You want to know why?”

The grimace on his face was the only answer I needed. I brought a finger to my own chest, not trusting myself to touch him. I barely knew this guy, and I wasn’t about to start a fight with one of (y/n)’s oldest friends to prove my manhood, especially if that was exactly what he wanted.

“I’m not worried because I trust her.” I practically whispered to him, “And even if I had some reason not to, I’m not intimidated by you.”

A fire appeared in his eyes, the desire to bite back stifled by the knowledge that there was nothing he could say to make me doubt her. He’d already tried and failed every time so far.

“I don’t care what parts of her you think I haven’t seen. Because I get to have the parts of her you wish you could. And she gave them to me willingly and without regret. Over and over again.”

There was so much more I wanted to say, but I was thankfully cut off by the hoarse, familiar voice in the backroom.

“Spencer?” She called, groggy yet excited. There was no way she could hear me from the room, which told me that she’d probably just woken up to my texts and hoped I was here. It told us both that when she woke up, the first person she thought to call was me.

“Yeah.” I said, a soft, genuine smile crossing my cheeks at the thought of her. “Like I said… I’m not worried.”

He didn’t follow me then, staying in the hallway to stew in his anger over the fact that this hadn’t gone at all how he’d planned. But I couldn’t think about him any longer, because as soon as I turned into her room, my heart melted.

She was sprawled out on her bed, hugging a body pillow like her life depended on it. Her hair was a beautiful disaster across her pillow, and the blanket had fallen far enough to see that she was swamped in the same Caltech sweatshirt she wore every time I was gone.

“Hey little girl.”

She slowly shimmied her way up the pillows, clearly surprised at my appearance despite having called me in. With half shut eyes, she spoke through a yawn, “What’re you doing here? You look like you haven’t slept in a week!”

“I missed you.” I admitted quietly, finally bridging the gap between us and climbing onto her bed on top of the covers. I couldn’t even bother taking off my blazer or my shoes; I needed to be close to her now, without any other unnecessary delay.

Despite curling up against me immediately, she still found a way to whine. “You better not have skipped out on anything for me. We know I’m not doing anything worthwhile in here.”

I leaned down to kiss her forehead, my hands holding her against me so that I could breathe in the familiar scent of her hair and perfume. “I strongly disagree.” I sighed, happy to hear her hum and giggle at the way my breath tickled her face.

I didn’t even hear the door open, but she tilted her head away from me to see her friend. I stayed where I was, not wanting to take my eyes off of her again for as long as I didn’t have to.

“I’m gonna head out. Let me know if you need me again.” He said, his voice full of repressed anger and sadness that I understood but didn’t particularly care about right now.

“Thanks for coming! I’ll probably see you next week; I’ll text you!” She chirped, waving to the man who’d already left.

His absence eased away the last remaining bit of tension in my shoulders, allowing me to bury myself in her neck while she continued to laugh. I heard the soft sounds of the tv for the first time and mumbled into her skin.

“What are you watching?”

“Just a sitcom. You wouldn’t be interested.”

She sounded... defensive, if not a little ashamed for her choice in shows. I had to laugh, realizing that she was still unaware of the shows my mom and I used to watch when I was a kid. The asinine, cheesy soap operas that taught me the dorky, awkward way to love that she constantly mocked me for.

I would save that piece of information for later, though, and instead, I chose to show her my own interest in the things she loved, or in the very least found comforting. “What’s it about?”

Apparently, it was the right question to ask. Over the course of the next thirty minutes she tried to condense the entire nine season series of The Office into one barely coherent rant. Eventually, she realized that I wasn’t following along as closely as she’d hoped, and just decided to start the show over.

I didn’t mind. She chastised me a few times for not paying close enough attention after catching me monitoring her reactions more than the show itself. But eventually she fell asleep on my chest, still murmuring about Jim and Pam until the words were just gibberish.

Without her commentary, I was forced to pay attention so that when she undoubtedly woke up and quizzed me, I wouldn’t just be repeating words I’d heard in the background. Somewhat unsurprisingly, I found myself swept up in the romantic storyline of her two favorite characters. So caught up, in fact, that when she woke up, it took me a moment to notice.

“What did I miss?” She grumbled, trying to force her eyes open while she turned to see the tv that displayed the immediate results of a very poorly timed love confession. “Oh, Casino Night.” Her voice was nostalgic and a bit solemn while she spoke. “This is one of my favorite episodes.”

“Why? It’s so sad.”

Without looking up at me, she pondered the question. It was obvious she’d never really thought to question why she was drawn to it. Her answer didn’t provide any comfort or explanation.

“I guess I relate to it. Loving someone like that.” She shrugged before turning back to rest her head against me. She’d said it so easily, like it wasn’t something jarring for me to hear. I realized then that she’d never told me about her past relationships. In fact, I didn’t even know if any existed.

She sensed the anxieties that were building and brought a hand to my cheek to reroute my gaze to her. “What’s wrong?”

“You… You never really talk to me about your life.” My voice was so pathetic, the pout on my lips so childish in its sadness. Because although I told myself I was only upset she hadn’t told me about it, another part of me was also jealous at the idea that anyone else ever got to hold her.

And what a stupid thought that was, to be jealous of men who didn’t get to keep her. I should have been hoping that she had people who loved her and held her and made her happy, not wishing none had existed.

“What are you talking about? We talk about it all the time.” She chuckled, clearly unaware of my inner debate and turmoil.

“I mean your life before me.” I clarified, taking her hand into mine and watching as she carefully wound our fingers together.

“Oh, well… Who cares? It’s in the past.”

She was using that voice that warned me that she was about to try and change the subject. She hadn’t meant to get this conversation started, and now it was quickly getting away from her. But I wasn’t ready to drop it—especially now that I was aware of a huge, life altering event that she’d managed to keep hidden until now.

“I care. If it’s important to you, it matters to me.” It didn’t seem to reassure her, a lopsided smile covering her cheeks before she tried to maneuver away from the topic again.

“What time is it? Shouldn’t you be going to sleep?”

I held up the small notepad that rested on her nightstand, displaying the several timestamps that I could tell were meant to signal the last time she’d taken painkillers. “I was waiting so I could offer you medicine.”

“Ugh, yes please.” She groaned, moving herself off me so that I could grab the bottles beside her bed.

But there was something I’d noticed before, which only became more obvious once I picked them up. I looked past the orange plastic, my mind straining to count the number of pills inside. The date didn’t match the amount.

“Did you fill the narcotics?”

She didn’t answer.

“Is that why he was here?”

“No.” She responded swiftly, shaking her head and rubbing her temples.

The mention of him brought out feelings that I’d almost forgotten, and with those feelings came stupid worries and questions. “...Why was he here?” I mumbled, turning the pill bottles in my hand like I didn’t already have them memorized.

“Are you jealous?” She teased, poking her tongue out at me. It worked to turn my pout into an awkward half-smile, but I was still sulking.

“Would he have really stayed in the bed with you?”

“What? No!” She shouted, sitting up fast enough that she winced, her hand grabbing her stomach but still talking through clenched teeth. “Did he say that?!”

Her reaction alone made me laugh, easing the tension and reminding me it was stupid to worry about it in the first place. “He might have implied it.” My hands started to sort through her tangled hair, gently arranging it back to its rightful place.

“Ugh, he’s such a fucking dick.” She grumbled, wiping her face to try and get rid of the sudden anger.

Meanwhile, I was once again distracted. It was obvious in the way she struggled to keep her eyes open and preventing her hands from turning to fists. She was in way too much pain for my comfort, and it was partially my fault for getting her riled up over something so silly.

But she hadn’t told me she filled the narcotics, and she didn’t tell me where they were. I needed to respect that, if only because I was scared that it might make her doubt me. When she turned to look me in the eyes, I held her cheek that fit so perfectly in the palm of my hand.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me where they are. I understand.”

“No, it’s fine. I trust you, Spencer. It’s…” The troubled look shifted to a shaky smile. “They’re in my bedside table. I don’t think I can get them myself.”

I tried not to look excited by the reveal in case she misinterpreted my happiness. It wasn’t the drugs I cared about – it was the fact she trusted me with the fact that they existed. That was enough to carry me through any cravings that popped up. They were few, but like always, they were there.

I funneled those feelings into my caretaking, grabbing her a water bottle and helping her ease back down onto the pillow after she’d down the pills. With a sigh, she closed her eyes, listening to soft sound of the theme song in the background.

Just as I shifted my focus back to the TV, she brought me back to her with a tiny whisper.

“You have nothing to be jealous of.”

I looked down to see she still had closed eyes, now accompanied with a genuine smile. I laughed at the sight, and her eyelids fluttered open at the sound. She narrowed her eyes into a suspicious glare.

“Yeah, I... may or may not have said that.” I admitted, wiggling my fingers between hers.

“Tsk tsk tsk. Very cocky, Dr. Reid.” She chastised, squeezing my hand tighter and bringing it up to her chest. I could feel her heart beating softly against us, her chest slowly rising and falling as she started to try to drift off again.

“What else did you guys talk about?”

“Nothing that matters. Let’s go to sleep.”

It was a suggestion that didn’t need to be made, because she was basically already asleep by the time she replied, “Okay. I love you.”

“Sweet dreams, little girl.”

—————————————————

The best part of the week was waiting for the chance to spend two uninterrupted days with (y/n). But this time it was different; when I left her house this morning, she told me she wanted some time to herself.

I tried to ignore the fifty alarm bells that rang in my head, convincing myself that she just needed a break from entertaining me. We all needed alone time sometimes, right?

No, that was a lie. I didn’t ever need a break from her, and it worried me that she needed one from me. Was I stressing her out? Were there more secrets she was keeping from me? It had to be something heavy if she didn’t want me to know, but that’s exactly the time she would need me most, right?

It was times like this when I wished that I had more experience with relationships; I was panicking and I didn’t want to ask anyone for help. I didn’t want to. I was scared that they might tell me the wrong thing, or the right thing. I was worried they might talk some sense into me and tell me that waiting outside my girlfriend’s apartment was creepy, stalkerish behavior.

I knew it was. I tried to justify it with a present that I was going to leave on her doorstep and leave. But when I got to her place, a dread filled me. I shouldn’t have come. She deserved her privacy and my trust. She’d earned it, and it wasn’t right for me to doubt her.

So, I turned my car back on and prepared to leave. But before I could, I saw her. Alone.

We’d talked about it before, and she’d promised me she wouldn’t go anywhere alone. The risks were too high – not just that she might fall or get stranded, but that something could go seriously wrong. Her stitches could tear, or she could overexert herself. She could get into a car crash and no one would know about her already existing internal damage.

She wasn’t supposed to go anywhere alone. She’d promised me. But there she was, climbing into her car after suspiciously glancing around. Her car left so quickly, I barely had time to think about the ethics of following her. After a few seconds of wrestling with myself, I decided to just do it and worry about the consequences later.

I’d admit it to her later, when she was safe and sound. Maybe it would be good, too, to see that she was fine without me. I just wished she’d told me so I could come to her aid if she needed me to.

After nearly twenty minutes of driving, I still had no idea where she was going. I was a little surprised she hadn’t noticed me yet, which just goes to show she probably shouldn’t have been driving.

Actually, was she on narcotics?

My mind was spinning, my hands shaking when she finally pulled into a small, unfamiliar cemetery parking lot off the side of the road.

For all her paranoia leading up to this point, she didn’t check the other cars in the lot when she got out. Instead, she put her hand on her stomach and slowly made her way through the gate, hobbling off into the field.

And then I felt terrible for so many reasons. I selfishly felt awful that she didn’t want to bring me here. It hurt that I was violating her trust like this, but it hurt worse to know she was going through it alone.

Leaning back in my seat, I let out a shaky breath and closed my eyes, trying to calm down the emotional disaster of my mind. I didn’t need to follow her, I thought. She would come back in a little while, and I could watch her get back in her car. She would make it home, and I could call her and ask her how her day was. Maybe she’d even tell me herself.

God, I was such an idiot. I shouldn’t have come, but now I was here, and I couldn’t leave, either. This was the time she was most likely to be in danger, since the cemetery was relatively empty.

Just as that thought occurred to me, another car pulled in. it wouldn’t have mattered much to me, but the thing that followed caught my attention.

The woman inside the car climbed out and made a beeline to (y/n)’s car, peering into the windows and taking photos of the license plate. At first, I did nothing, trying to keep track of everything that was happening, noting the unfamiliar woman’s license plate number in turn.

But then she took off in the same direction my girlfriend had left in, and I realized that I couldn’t just wait here. This woman clearly knew her, and from the looks of it, it was not going to be a friendly encounter.

This is why, I thought. This is why I made her promise.

I couldn’t just run out after her yet, so I followed as closely as I could without being clearly visible, relying on sounds, instead. But what I heard was somehow even more distressing than when I could see.

“What are you doing here?! You aren’t allowed to be here!” A scratchy, unfamiliar voice rang through the air. Even if I didn’t already know, her tone alone told me that a fight was about to follow.

I bit down on my tongue, trusting that (y/n) could handle herself. She’d done it before me, and she could do it now. The only thing worse than revealing my presence would be doing it while also discrediting her.

“Mrs. Loughton! I can explain!”

At least I finally had a name for the face, but that was about as far as my thoughts went before they turned to red. Because the only thing I could hear after that was the sound of skin against skin, and the gentle thud of someone hitting the ground.

“Get the hell out of here, you bitch!” The woman screeched, and by the time I came into view, I saw my girlfriend on her hands and knees, holding the very visible red mark on her face. Neither of them saw me, too caught up in each other to notice.

It was the panic on her face, the way she lifted both hands to cover her head when the woman grabbed a fistful of her hair that broke my silence.

“Hey! Get away from her!” I shouted, running over to the two women. Mrs. Loughton released (y/n)’s hair, causing her to drop back onto her hands and knees while she looked up at me with an angry, frazzled stare.

“Spencer?!”

“Who the hell are you?” The woman spat, redirecting her anger towards me. I much preferred it this way.

“I’m a law enforcement agent, and you just assaulted someone.”

“Assault? Ha!” She laughed, talking over me as if she’d heard the speech a million times before. I got the impression this wasn’t the first time the two have had a showdown. “That’s funny, considering.”

“Spencer, please leave.” The fear overtook any other emotion, and the tears welled so quickly in her eyes it hurt my chest. I couldn’t leave. There was no way I could leave her on her knees in front of this woman.

“Let me guess, are you one of her dad’s friends?” She sneered, but all I could hear was (y/n) continuing to plead.

“Spencer. Go away.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” I couldn’t breathe, my chest heaving with unbridled rage, confusion, and something else I couldn’t even place.

“Oh I bet you are one of his friends. Always protecting her. You’re all a bunch of pathetic, power-hungry lowlifes.”

(Y/n) stood up now, neither of us paying any attention to the raving woman while I tried to help her up. “Please, I want to leave.” She pleaded, grabbing my hand so tightly that it trembled.

“Are you a murderer, too?”

“What are you talking about?!” I snapped, my arms wrapping possessively around (y/n) like I could shield her from everything that was happening. But I couldn’t, and I heard her soft sobs while she pulled on my shirt, now wet with her tears.

“That stupid, selfish little bitch knows exactly what she did, and she knows that she’s not allowed anywhere near here!” Her face was red, her arms waving and tears sprouting in her eyes while she ran out of breath. Then, deathly quiet, she pursed her lips and tried to bite her tongue. But she couldn’t, the words bursting through when she saw the way I held (y/n).

“If you really are a law enforcement agent, then get her the fuck out of here! She’s not allowed on this property!”

“She hasn’t done anything!”

It was the wrong thing to say, and she let me know swiftly and with full force.

“She’s the reason my son is dead!” She shrieked, stepping towards me with an accusing finger in my face. “It was her friends, her drugs, her horrible decisions and now my baby is gone!”

I hated this part. Because as much as I loved (y/n), it was impossible not to hear the absolute devastation in this woman’s voice. And the longer she talked, the more I understood what was happening. Not enough to argue back, but enough to feel sympathy for them both.

More than anything, I wanted to protect (y/n), but I didn’t know how. I held her tighter, trying to show her that she was safe. I’m afraid it had the opposite effect, and she started to fight my embrace.

“It should have been her! She should follow in her father’s footsteps and do the world a favor and...” She cut herself off, knowing the weight of her words and contemplating them a moment longer before making her decision. “And just fucking disappear!”

The shock of it all caused my arms to loosen – just barely. It was enough, though, and before I knew it (y/n) had burst from my arms, taking off at full speed through the headstones.

“(Y/n)!” I choked, going to run after her, but I was stopped one final time.

“Yeah, get the hell out of here.” The woman behind me softly sobbed, trembling as the fight left her. “Go protect her like you always do. They always do.”

I couldn’t stay on the thought; I’d have to come back to it later, because there were more pressing concerns for me than a stranger who’d just hurt the woman I loved. So I turned around and booked it after her just as she slipped through the gate and disappeared into the cover of the woods around the cemetery.

Naturally, she couldn’t stay on the level, manicured grass. My heart was pounding not just at the energy exerted to follow her, but from all the different things that could go wrong. She could fall, she could run into something, she could get lost.

But luckily, even the adrenaline couldn’t stop the pain in her stomach, and she’d barely gotten anywhere before I caught up to her. I loosely caught her wrist, pulling her gently back to me before she nearly collapsed in my arms.

“(Y/n), where do you think you’re going? You can’t be running like this! Especially not here; it’s way too dangerous!” I said through my labored breaths. Then we stopped, and she protested at my touch.

“Hey, are you okay?” I asked calmer now, lifting her back onto her feet. “Did she hurt you?” When I went to lift her shirt to inspect her wound, she brought her hand down in a hard slap.

“Stop, Spencer! Just fucking stop! Don’t touch me! Get away from me!”

The venom dripped from her tongue and burned my skin, my hands jumping back away from her as I took a step back. All the negative emotions that I’d just watched her go through were growing and morphing into a painful anger, and it was all aimed at me.

I deserved it.

“Why the fuck are you even here?! I told you I wanted to be alone today, a-and now you’re what, y-you’re following me?!”

I wished I could just shut up, but the words flowed out of me like I had any right to be angry with her over a promise that didn’t even seem to matter anymore. “And it’s a good thing I did. That woman could have seriously hurt you!”

“Who cares!”

“I do!” My voice strained at the volume I used to match hers. Our angry shouting disrupted the wildlife and broke through the sounds of cars traveling on the highway on the other side of the trees. “You might not care about what happens to you, (y/n), but it matters to me!”

“Why the fuck are you yelling at me?!” And then the sniffles turned to outright sobs, her whole body shaking, her hands cradling her face while she struggled under the weight of everything that had happened so quickly.

I shouldn’t have come here, but I was glad I had. I wished none of this had happened. I just wanted to hold her, but she stepped away when I got closer, defensively covering her head. My heart shattered at the thought of her being scared of me.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” I said genuinely, my voice still breaking, but now at an acceptable volume. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t be yelling, I-I just… I got scared. I thought you were going to get hurt again and I—“

“Sometimes I’m going to get hurt, Spencer. I can’t put my life on hold for your comfort. I’m only twenty years old. I’m not ready to be a housewife waiting at home for you!” She was quick, stumbling over her words and waving her arms between us in the hopes it would force me to keep my distance.

I didn’t want to hurt her, I never wanted that. And right now, it was very obvious that’s exactly what I was doing. “Of course. I want you to have a life, but you…”

Her hand was back on her stomach, and the action caused a sudden panic that overwhelmed the logic and sense. “You were shot!” I cried, “You almost died in my arms! I thought I was going to lose you, forever.”

She couldn’t reply yet, her lungs too busy trying to take in hungry breaths without irritating the hardly healed skin.

I clenched my eyes shut, unable to look at it any longer. “It’s been barely a month, (y/n). A-And you’re already sneaking around behind my back and putting yourself in danger and I don’t know how I’m supposed to just turn a blind eye to that.”

“I don’t want to talk to you right now.” She panted; the words hardly audible. Her skin was damp with sweat from the pain that was obviously written all over her.

This time, when I stepped closer, she couldn’t move away. I didn’t hold her yet, opting instead to place one hand on her hip and the other on the side of her face. She sighed, resting her head against my hand. She said she didn’t want to talk to me, but the way she closed her eyes and her heartrate immediately calmed down with the simplest touch told me that she wanted nothing more than for me to pick her up and take her home.

“I know you’re trying to distract me from whatever the hell just happened out there, but you don’t have to do that.” I whispered, gently wiping away her tears with my thumb. “If you don’t want to talk about it, we don’t have to.”

“Oh, you’re just going to let it go?” I couldn’t decide what was more simultaneously heartbreaking and adorable, her pauses to sniffle, or the way she pouted as she spoke. “You aren’t going to ask me every night until you get an answer?”

“If that’s what it takes for you to trust me again, then yes. I’ll let it go.” I reassured her. She took the answer with an immense amount of relief, leaning forward to rest all of her body weight against me. I tried to stop her from falling too far or too hard, hoping to ease the pain that was already wrecking her.

But she didn’t even seem to notice, rubbing her face against my shirt and further soaking it with tears. I just wanted her to be okay, and I wished I could do it faster. For now, all I could do was pet the back of her head, rocking just a bit to the side in a soothing manner.

We stayed like that for a long time, and I occasionally pressed a kiss to her forehead, whispering soft apologies to her and telling her that I loved her, no matter what. Eventually, she responded, her voice filled with guilt and shame again.

“I was going to tell you eventually.”

“I believe you.” I immediately responded, pulling her back to look at me to know that I was telling her the truth. “I love you. You know that, right?”

She gave the tiniest, saddest nod back.

“I would never try to hurt you.” I promised, earning a slanted smile. I mirrored it back to her, which made her laugh.

The sounds of the highway paired with the rustling of the leaves, and the two of us shared a quiet moment of understanding. Because I knew I shouldn’t have come, but I was glad I was there, and she felt very much the same.

“I’d like to go home, please.”

“Okay.” I agreed, taking her hand and maneuvering the woods that didn’t seem nearly as dangerous when her hand was in mine. “Let’s go home.”

—————————————————

“Hotch, I need to ask you for a favor.”

The man didn’t even look up from his desk, and I could tell from his posture that he wasn’t in the mood for the conversation he expected to follow. I couldn’t blame him; I hadn’t been the easiest employee to have for the past couple of weeks.

“Reid, we’ve talked about this. You either have to come back completely or—“

“No, sorry, this… isn’t about that.” I corrected, trying to ease the tension before it got any worse. Unfortunately, he still seemed combative, although there was now a guilt mixed in the frustration.

“I need to talk to you about (y/n)’s father.” I clarified, my voice breaking mid-sentence. I cleared my throat, trying to make eye contact despite the nerves gnawing at the little self-esteem I had.

But after a brief moment of thought, Hotch waved me forward, gesturing to the seat in front of him. He shoved the papers to the side and I wondered what it was he was working so hard on. I had a feeling it had to do with her, but I wasn’t going to ask.

“Does she know you’re asking me about this?”

It was the first question, and although I fully expected him to ask it, I still choked on an answer. He sighed deeply, his hands folding on his desk. He wasn’t able to look at me, either.

“Reid…”

“I-I’m really worried about her.” I needed him to hear the desperation in my voice, to feel just how scared I really was. I didn’t want to come running to him for every little thing involving her — he’d already done so much for her just fending off the prosecutors.

I knew we were both tired, but I could see it in his eyes and hear it in his tone when he talked about her that she meant something to him, too. Even if it wasn’t nearly as much, he’d known her when she was a kid.

Well, I guess to Hotch, she still was. I hated to exploit that knowledge, but I needed answers now. Before something else went horribly wrong. So I broke into a rant, my hands running through my hair and down my legs as I tried to prevent them from turning to fists at the memory.

“The other day she did something and she got into a physical altercation with another woman a-and she told (y/n) that she should follow her father’s footsteps and…” The word caught in my throat. He narrowed his eyes, and I suspected he already knew what I was about to say.

“Disappear.”

Across from the desk, he tensed, bowing his head to look at the files lining the surface in front of him. Every single one of them contained a plethora of information about someone’s family. Someone’s everything.

“What did she mean, Hotch?”

“Reid, the information in that file is not only classified, it’s extremely personal. I’m sure she doesn’t know all the details herself. I think it’s best for you to hear it from her.” He explained it so robotically, I could tell he didn’t want to be saying it. The way his jaw clenched told me that there was a lot he wished he could discuss about whatever the hell happened.

It must be a lonely way to live, I thought. And then I thought of her, carrying the weight of uncertainty on top of whatever Hotch held. She was strong, but she was young. She had been even younger then, and she wouldn’t have had the one man who’d taught her to survive to teach her how to handle what came next.

I wrung my hands together. I didn’t mean to be manipulative, but tears stung at my eyes. They were real, and they were persuasive.

“I just need to know that she’s safe.” I begged. “But your reaction isn’t telling me that at all. In fact, it’s telling me the exact opposite.”

Now that I’d started, the words wouldn’t stop.

“If my girlfriend is in danger, I need to know. It’s not like I care about the mission or whatever her father was wrapped up in — I-I just want to know what happened to him. This woman knew, so apparently it’s not that classified!”

My voice grew in volume, and I couldn’t do anything about it. I could feel his face morph into a scowl even as I clenched my eyes tightly shut. There was so much I hated about this, but nothing more than knowing that despite everything I’ve done, I still couldn’t reach out to her and help her when she needed me.

I was still failing her, and I didn’t know how to fix it.

“Reid, stop.”

Hotch must have been able to read my mind, because something inside of him also snapped, the tension releasing from his shoulders and his jaw. I wondered if it was because he trusted me not to give it away, or if it was because he trusted her.

Either way, he spoke, his voice low and hushed.

“I need you to understand that what I’m about to tell you has never been confirmed, and should not be shared outside of this room. Even with her.”

Sitting up with a straight back and a heavy swallow, I nodded.

“I understand.”

—————————————————

| Part 17 |

#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid series #spencer reid self insert #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds self insert #reid series #reid x reader #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid x you #dr spencer reid #spence reid #spencer reid angst #angst #h2m

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ssa-sugar-tits · 4 years ago

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Ten Years (ch. 3)

Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 4

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Content warnings: hospital, cursing, angst

a/n: i feel like this chapter's a little long, sorry!

Despite the multiple half-assed orders from Hotch and Rossi, the sincere begging from JJ and Penelope, and the concerned pushes from Emily and Derek, you refuse to leave the hospital until Spencer wakes up. You can't bring yourself to eat or sleep or even stop to breathe knowing something's so terribly wrong with him. For fuck's sake, all he did was hit his head. There is no plausible reason you can think of that he wouldn't have woken up yet. Drenched in your own exhausted tears and practically shaking with worry, there's a harrowing pit in your stomach. You've been waiting 42 hours and counting with no sign of improvement. He has a mild concussion and will need a few stitches where he bled but he "should be fine." They told you over and over again. And Hotch was forced to step in when you had enough of the empty bullshit in the atmosphere.

"If he's fine, why the hell hasn't he woken up? A mild concussion doesn't fucking do this to someone!" It's simple. The doctors don't know. They don't know how to help your husband. All they can do is spew false reassuring lies at you while they do absolutely nothing. More lengthy hours pass and an MRI is ordered. The same unsurprising thing: nothing's wrong with him. But what are they going to do? Send him away unconscious? No, they're just going to stand around pretending they know what they're fucking doing. You jump at the feeling of a cold hand tapping on your shoulder.

"Hey, it's just me." You look up to see Derek with a dreadfully morbid look on his face, one with tones of anger. "Mind if I sit with you?" Nowhere near able to speak, you try to give him an inviting smile but all you do is lift the corner of your quivering lips slightly. He gets the hint, which he probably would have missed had he not known you so well, and sits down beside you. Staring over at your husband, you hear Derek's head thump against the wall. The feelings you both have are of utter uselessness. Sure, there have been worse situations but... there's nothing either of you can do at all. There's no reasoning here. Well, to your knowledge. Spencer is the only one that knows what's going on. And it's ripping him apart. To not know what happened to his beloved mentor or remember any of the precious moments he's had with Y/N. He hasn't been able to watch the team he remains loyal to change and grow. He just woke up one day and was hurled into this shitty situation. He laughs out of despair at his own shortcomings and lack of comprehending what's been done to him. Y/N and Derek's heads both snap up at the unexpected sound, hopeful and desperate for a sign that Spencer's back. No such luck at first but Derek goes to get the nurse while you navigate your way to your husband's side.

"Love, it's me. I don't know if you can hear me. But whatever this is, whatever's stressed you out so much that you're... literally blocking out the entire fucking world... it'll be okay. I love you Spencer and I promise I always will. Please be okay for me." A disappointed sigh leaves you. Honestly, what did you expect? For him to wake up because you said you love him? This isn't a fucking fairytale Y/N. Derek returns with a nurse who confirms it must have been an unconscious movement so no hope there. Propping your head up with your arm, you try to get some rest for the first time since you arrived. After two more sickening hours pass, you're shaken awake by a nurse.

"Yeah?" you yawn before remembering where you are. Blinking rapidly, you open your eyes fully and look up at the nurse.

"Miss, your husband is awake." He directs a smile at you before exiting the room, leaving you to rush over to Spencer who's already sitting up and muttering to himself.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Tears threaten to fill your eyes when you place a hand on his shoulder and he turns away from your touch.

"I'm fine, th-thank you. Excuse me, doctor?" He waves over the doctor and asks her, "Can I leave now?" She looks a bit startled as if she didn't expect him to want to leave.

"Mr. Reid--"

"Doctor," you correct.

"Ahem, Doctor Reid, our tests have come back fine and healthy but to be frank... We aren't entirely sure why you were unconscious for so long. If you'd like to stay and rest, we'd welcome-- no we strongly suggest that's what you do." You open your mouth to say something but Spencer answers her.

"If I can go then I'd like to now, thanks." It's difficult to process when he's discharged and barely even greets his team that was worried sick. Asking you silently with their sweet glances if he's okay, you can't respond. All you manage to do is bite your lip and shrug before driving him home. Spencer doesn't say a word and the silence is deafening. Incomprehensible even because since when is he this fucking quiet?

"Spence?" You say, not taking your eyes off the road. "Don't you think we should talk about it?"

"Talk about what?"

"What do you fucking think? So much for genius." An exasperated sigh escapes you before you realize you're being harsh. "I'm sorry I don't mean to snap at you. I was just..."

"Stressed?" He offers, sounding awfully sad.

"Yeah. Stressed," you sigh once more. Your worry slips away for a moment and he presses a kiss to your cheek. His lips brush against your face and you swear he lingers as if wanting to say something but he goes back to staring out the window. Once in the apartment, you expect him to want to rest or at least, spend time with his wife who's been going fucking insane the past couple of days but he locks himself in his office. Giving up, you walk to the bedroom and leave him be.

Spencer speedily walks around the room collecting books, paper, a pen, and even a laptop. It's time to figure out what's going on. First, he reads about the BAU. He learns a lot about Emily Prentiss and how Elle and Gideon left the bureau. Another piece of information he finds is that David Rossi has been apart of the team for 8 years. Hotch's wife is dead and Jack-- the baby he met once briefly is now 10 years old, living alone with Hotch. Going through photo albums and keepsakes he discovers, he finds that his relationships really have grown over the years and so have yours. Who would've thought that the emotionless, serious Aaron Hotcher would walk his wife down the aisle? Agent Prentiss, he saw, was your maid of honor and Morgan was his best man. A small child held JJ's hand and with context, he came to the conclusion that she had a child now. And his eyes land on you. He traces a hand over the photo, cherishing a memory he doesn't have. You look perfect in that wedding dress. The viel falls on your head gracefully. Your smile radiates off the page and he can't help not feeling a sense of loss. You two are happy together and he doesn't remember a second of it. Ironic, isn't it? He thinks. Moving on to the why this is happening, he reads heaps of material for hours straight, faster than someone else would be able to, but still feels like he's getting nowhere. All he has to go off of is the date and theories he's found on forums and in old books. Suddenly its too much and he throws a book across the room, wincing at the sharp thud when it hits the wall. Spencer buries his frustrated face in his hands and lets out a long, deep breath. Y/N. Guilt washes over him as he realizes, this isn't any easier for you. You've spent the past 10 years forming a relationship with your Spencer and you woke up to a distant stranger. If he's going to figure this out, he needs to adjust. Adjust to being with you, the team, this new life of his. Just until he figures things out, right? Settling on going to lay with you-- his wife, he reminds himself-- he hears what sounds like muffled sobs. He opens the bathroom door cautiously and his heart drops to his feet at the sight in front of him. You're sitting in the bathtub, half-dressed crying quietly into your knees and running your hands through your hair. Spencer kneels down beside you and wraps him arms around you tightly. You gasp softly and almost pull away but accept the embrace.

"I'm so sorry," he says sincerely against your hair. Your words come out strung together and your tongue twists while you try to explain how you've been feeling this week.

"N-No I just... I'm just worried about you Spence I'm s-so," you bite down on your quivering lip harshly to avoid choking on a sob and continue. "Everything's different a-and it's like it changed overnight. I don't know what the hell I did to fuck things up. Whatever I did, I'm so sorry." You bury your head deeper into your knees, smearing mascara into streamed lines down your cheeks. The guilt he feels smashes his heart into pieces and throws it to his feet. He said he has to adjust, didn't he? He'll start with you. Spencer already loved you, the only different thing now is that you love him too. His voice softens and he whispers into your ear, stroking your hair and intertwining his fingers with locks of it.

"You've done nothing wrong sweetheart," he assures you, surprising himself with a nickname. "I'll call Hotch and we'll take tomorrow off, just the two of us. We'll go on a date like we used to a-and we can do whatever you'd like. Anything, Y/N just let me take care of you. The way you deserve."

When he's finished, your eyes meet his and you hesitate before nodding. No words leave your mouth but it's as if you don't need them to speak. He helps you up and you make your way to the bed you share.

Falling asleep quickly, you melt into dreams of spending time together and starting to get back to normal. Spencer, on the other hand, is overcome with an intimidating shit load of anxiety. This isn't, in a million years, how he thought his first fucking date with Y/N Y/L/N would be. Then again, this type of... situation never even crossed his wildest dreams. Make the best of it, right? Yeah that's it. He'll do his best.

For you.

#criminal minds #criminal minds self insert #criminal minds x reader #criminal minds x y/n #spencer reid #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid angst

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tundrainafrica · 4 years ago

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Title: A Tale of Two Slaves (7/17)

Summary: “Soulmates don’t exist. Fate doesn’t exist. Everything is a choice.” At that moment, Levi could only watch as she made the choice for him.“

Reincarnation AU. Levi remembers everything from their past life. Hange doesn’t.

Note: I was busy with fic exchange pieces for a while but will be focusing on updating my multi chapter fics now. As always, feedback is very much appreciated :D

Other Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 8

Link to cross-postings: AO3

“So you’re Levi Ackerman?” The woman who had just entered the room looked excited. Too excited.

After being kept waiting that long, Levi was in no mood for anything, especially unnecessary pleasantries. For the past thirty minutes at least, he had been sitting on the couch of a quaint office. It was spacious and there was at least enough room on the couch to elevate his knee comfortably. Probably the reason he had the self control to give a curt nod in reply.

“I’m a fan! I watched a few of your events actually and I’m so glad to have you here,” she said too enthusiastically. She paused for a second and shook her head. “No, I’m horrified about you being injured which caused you to end up here but I’m just really excited to get to know you.”

Levi didn’t feel the need to reply.

She walked to her desk and dropped her canvas bag before sitting on the couch in front of Levi. “Sorry for being a little late. I just came out from another meeting and went out to get something to eat after. Maybe I could give you my number and you could text me if you get here before I do.” She took a post-it out of her purse and scrawled a few numbers on it and slid it towards Levi.

Shouldn’t you have my number? Somehow it was hard to believe that she was a counselor. “Name?” Levi asked.

“Shela. Just call me Shela.”

Levi had met those types of people before who go by nicknames. More often than not, he couldn’t blame them, usually they had a very old fashioned or embarrassing name behind it. He couldn’t believe someone as transparent or excitable as her who didn’t look like she had much control of her filter, would have issues about how embarrassing a name was though.

“I have a very old fashioned first name.” Shela added, only confirming Levi’s suspicions. “Shela… Sierra - Hotel - Echo - Lima - Alpha.”

Levi typed the name on his phone and saved the number.

Last Name? Academic History? He set the rest of the details aside. As long as he knew her name, he could probably get through enough sessions to at least keep both his coach and Erwin satisfied. Going to a counselor was not his idea after all. It was his coach apparently who had requested it and it was Erwin who had pushed for it. Without twice a day training or even the freedom to go wherever he wanted without being completely exhausted within hours, Levi had not much of anything else to do anyway.

Shela brought out a notebook from her purse, opened it to a bookmark paged and wrote something on it before looking up at him. Levi couldn’t help but note that when she wasn’t looking ashamed or overly enthusiastic and she did look like she knew what she was doing.

“I’m going to skip the question of ‘what brings you here’ because I think we all know why you’re here.” She gestured her pen towards Levi’s leg. “Let’s start with something simple. How are you? How are you feeling today?”

“My knee hurts and I can’t train anymore. But I’m focusing on studies now so I think I’m doing okay.” He answered, having prepared that script in his head the thirty minutes he spent waiting for her.

“I’m not asking how you’re coping. I’m asking how you’re feeling today.” Shela’s piercing eyes were a beautiful shade of blue. The serious look she gave him then bore into him. In fact, it felt like it bore into his soul.

Despite the generally bad first impression she gave him, Levi was somehow convinced that she was qualified to do that type of work and his showing up there might turn out to be worth something after all. Levi found himself almost hypnotized by that look she gave him, a healthy mixture of concern, interest and professionalism.

Hiding and watching his words felt pointless and Levi found himself saying his answers as his brain came up with them.

A Tale of Two Slaves

The hospital where he was slated to have his next sessions was that same hospital he had stayed in a week ago. Conveniently, it was a five minute walk from where he had been staying since he got out of the hospital: Hange’s apartment.

Just until I can walk up stairs. Levi had told himself. There were many dormitories clustered around campus yet he had ended up staying in the least handicap friendly one. The first floor had a lobby and a common room and the actual bedrooms were only found at the second floor and the third floor. To top it all off, there was no elevator. He had to note though that it was an old building with only three floors so it would have been useless to put one.

He was on scholarship and it was assigned to him back in first year so he did not have much of a choice. He didn’t need to think too much of it either that past three years of college since he had never been injured enough to the point of being unable to climb stairs

With his leg completely immobilized and a deadweight, Levi was sure it would be a nightmare to brave that everyday. The paperwork and legwork required to change dormitories in the middle of the semester seemed daunting as well. In the end, Hange had offered to let him stay over in her apartment.

Her condominium was spacious, it had an elevator and it was walking distance from the hospital where he’d have both his counseling and physical therapy sessions.

Walking Distance. For non handicapped people, it should only take five minutes to walk the two block distance from the hospital to the apartment building. Levi took ten minutes to clear it and by the end of it he was exhausted and despite the chill of mid autumn, Levi found himself sweating as he arrived in the apartment.

It was a Friday afternoon, a week after he was released from the hospital. Nobody was pressuring him to go back to school yet. His professors had been kind enough to send him lecture slides and give him extensions. Some classmates had dropped their own summarized notes and get-well messages.

Levi settled on his bed and propped his knee on his pillow, looking through the lecture slides of his last class. Despite his self imposed week long isolation, Levi just wanted to go back to normal life.

But it never will be normal again. Although Levi did see a glimmer of hope in the possibility of feeling normal again when he went back to school, the realist in him knew it wouldn't happen.

Levi was supposed to be in the process of accepting at least that it would never be the “normal” he used to have and had taken for granted. Something inside him was rebelling the process though.

If I can't live the life I want, then I won't live at all. That something screamed inside him.

That form of rebellion left Levi with little energy for anything else. His mind was slower. His body was heavier. He was seeing little reason to move beyond the mechanical and primal movements needed to survive.

As if by magic, his body that used to carry him over two meter tall bars, suddenly felt like it weighed a ton. The weight crushed him everyday. At times Levi found himself unable to breathe. That was he found himself in that same position for sixteen hours a day, either sleeping or staring at the same white ceiling above him.

In fact, the only time he had left the Hange's apartment was for that one counseling session Hange had prodded him to go to. That was the only time she had forced him to go out of the house as if she herself understood somehow the comfort and at the same time the panic that came with a self imposed isolation.

What else was there to do?

He was alone. He had kept to his own bubble in college, only flitting between the two islands of academics and trainings.He was always either busy or exhausted and the lack of in-between had given him little time to reflect on the state of his mental health. And suddenly he had lost one of his islands, the bigger one, the one that had given him meaning the past few years. That had left him completely and utterly lost. Maybe even desolate.

That was what Shela had pointed out in their first counseling session as Levi attempted to articulate the emptiness inside him, the slight panic that came with idleness, the sudden need to turn off all message notifications and the frequent mood changes that came with Hange's entering and exiting the apartment.

And his weird dependence on Hange.

In between studying for his three subjects that semester and icing his bum knee, what else was there to do? Wait for Hange to come home? Talk to her during that one to two hour window when she wasn't working on her thesis? That was what his life had ended up revolving around anyway.

Levi found himself only replying to anything related to studies or graduating. He had received a few messages from others, suggestions to visit training, offers to visit from teammates and he had ignored them all. Somehow, the reminder of the loss of the one hobby that had kept him busy for the past decade of his life, was mocking. He became someone who waits, someone who just went with the flow of everyone's schedule. Having been busy his whole life, having been constantly needed and looked for and only recently, having been reduced to where he was, Levi felt his life was just a series of wrong choices, wrong choices that only formed a distrust with himself and consequently a refusal to engage in activity.

What else am I supposed to be doing? Levi opened his laptop. For a moment he had tried to go through his school notes at Shela’s advice.

After less than an hour of halfheartedly reviewing his notes and forgetting it soon after, Levi had exhausted his already scarce energy. With nothing else to do, he had decided to move to scrolling through timelines which displayed little to no signs of real life obligations, pinterest and reddit to pass the time. Within an hour of just scrolling through both, he had gotten tired of it too. It was a new feeling. Usually he could drown himself in hours of social media and timelines but at that point, nothing was interesting to him anymore.

Have you tried writing out how you feel? Shela’s suggestion echoed in his head. Like maybe get a journal. It’s a great way to process your thoughts and emotions.

What’s there to write. Levi asked himself and Shela’s voice as it echoed in his head. Levi could only stare at the blank screen, his emotions too non-existent to write. The blank document he had opened in front of him was the best representation of his thoughts and emotions already.

There are no right or wrong answers. Shela had brought up another good point during their session.

You think, therefore you are. You feel therefore you are. As long as you’re processing images, sounds and sensations, you’re thinking. You’re feeling something and you can write something down.

Then why do I feel so empty? Levi had asked.

Shela had compared it to a false bottom. As he continued to stare at the blank page in front of him, Levi was starting to feel for that false bottom in his mind. It was a matter of discipline more than anything, determination to dig into one’s self.

It could have taken hours but as Levi looked at the time on his laptop, he realized much time hadn’t passed. In fact, the time to the lower right of his screen, was still the same. But Levi was starting to think differently.

He did have something to look back on. Stories he hadn’t thought back to in a while, having been occupied by training, Hange’s tests, studies and recoveries. They continued to taunt him in the mornings. With the magic of worldly obligations, Levi had managed to set them aside.

His motivations particularly lay in the fact that his world was a little bigger, he was talking to more people and the idea that these same people he was seeing were the same ones he’d been writing fictional stories for had him questioning his own sanity and had him a little self conscious about having those dreams in the first place.

At that moment though, his inability to think and feel beyond that false bottom had Levi more alarmed and he found himself attempting to articulate those dreams on the word processor just to experience a semblance of something.

Levi at least confirmed one thing, that bottom was false. And the more he articulated those dreams, the more they became real. He was starting to scrape on that false bottom and the first things that were oozing out were dreams. Somehow, the dreams were more vivid that he had ever remembered them to be. He felt almost guilty for having set them aside like some sort of fair weathered friend.

“Hey not bad! Is that homework?”

Levi tensed up in surprise. He should have been able to hear the familiar footsteps and the jangle of the keys from his place on the sofa bed. He never missed it once. Levi didn’t know if he should be proud that he had distracted himself enough not to consider Hange or terrified that she was right behind him at that moment, probably reading through his work.

He quickly closed his tab and looked at the time on the lower right. It was only five. Hange usually went home at seven.

“You’re early,” Levi commented.

“It’s my apartment. I can choose when to go home.” Hange answered. “Anyway what was that? Are you writing?”

“A journal,” Levi explained. There was not much point in lying.

“Did the counselor tell you to do that?”

“Yeah. Something about processing emotions and thoughts.”

“It’s a good exercise. Especially since you seemed pretty out of it recently...” Hange trailed off.

Levi looked back at her and noticed a flicker of what looked like guilt in Hange’s eyes before she looked away.

“Out of it?” Levi knew what she was talking about. He just felt the need to keep the conversation going.

“You spent the past weekend just lying in bed. I never even saw you look through your phone or open your laptop. ” Hange explained. “I’ve seen how these types of things develop so... So yeah, I’m just so happy to see you so focused on something else.”

“I don’t really have much else to get into other than school.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Hange said.

Levi bit his lip, instantly regretting that last sentence. Hange averaged two apologies a day which was a lot given the fact that they only ever had a two hour window to talk in between Levi’s long hours asleep and Hange’s long hours on campus.

“It wasn’t your fault. I was kinda going crazy too...With the jumping I mean.” He added. “And I was the one who decided to make that last jump in the first place. And now you have to change your whole thesis topic.”

“It wasn’t too difficult. Just one week building a new proposal. It’s still the same case study, it’s just I decided to document a recovery. Erwin’s unconventional methods with the recovery makes it worth documenting.”

“At least I’m still useful somewhere,” Levi commented wryly. Hange had explained the thesis to him over the weekend. He should have been relieved at least to know that they weren’t separating anytime soon. Surprisingly though, he wasn’t even happy to hear it. Everything around him just seemed too bleak to celebrate anything. Good news that used to make him smile and celebrate internally suddenly only made him feel a slight sense of relief, the equivalent emotion of seeing a wet floor sign in an area with slippery floors.

Hange sat on the sofa bed next to Levi and looked towards him. She took a deep breath. “I know with what’s been happening, it looks like you don’t have much going for you. And I know things seem pretty dark now but things will get better. You just have to keep living.”

“I’m still breathing.”

“You know what I mean,” Hange said. “When I get up in the morning you’re asleep. When I get back we talk for an hour and half the time it’s just me talking. You barely even answer when I ask what you want. This past weekend I didn’t even see you look through your phone. It’s like you’re practically dead.”

“What else is there to do. I can’t show up for training. My professors aren’t asking me to go back to school soon.”

“Find a new hobby? Continue whatever thing you’re writing. Enjoy the food I bring home. Laugh when you see a funny meme. Or you know, at least smile and do that nose blowing thing people do when you show them a funny meme..”

“My teammates are preparing for the new season. My classmates are at least all caught up in class. I spent too much damn time on that fucking sport. Now that it’s all gone, I feel like I’m just going with the flow of life instead of actually swimming,” Levi said, having taken that last part from Shela’s book.

“Everyone is just going with the flow of life. We’re all at the mercy of time anyway. Live for yourself. See joy in the small things at least. Look at me, I’m simping for athletes like some idiot in between studies.”

“Live for yourself? You follow people’s orders a lot for someone who gives this type of advice.”

“It’s not obeying people. I’m just asking questions and seeking advice. The more relevant facts, information and experience you have, the better the decisions you can make right. So can’t I argue that having more information at my fingertips makes me freer? ” Hange gave Levi a knowing and playful smile

He could tell by the look she gave him that she expected something in return. It was a rhetorical question though, maybe even a premature victory lap for having won that argument. Levi silently looked back at his laptop, not wanting to let her win.

Hange broke the silence. “Okay now that we’re on the topic of asking questions... who’s that Squad Leader Hange Zoe you’re writing about?”

A Tale of Two Slaves

Levi could not pinpoint the exact moment he decided for certain that squad leader Hange Zoe was real, when he decided for himself that the stories he was writing out should have been real.

It came as a gradual decision after incessant questions from Hange that at first, he was determined not to answer. Hange was smart about it, keeping the questions as things that could be answered with one word, and before he knew it, he was giving her too much information, it was pointless to blatantly refuse. After he had answered her more than enough questions, she smiled.

“Looks like you got my personality down,” Hange commented. Levi somehow knew her enough to tell there was no judgement or obligation in that voice. In fact, when he looked into her eyes, he saw that same wonder, he had seen many times before when she witnessed the jumps.

That wonder only carried over from questions on the squad leader to questions on his dreams and finally, to questions on how he wrote his dreams out.

“How do you see the world?”

“How do I see the world?”

“Like what type of camera angles do you see the world in. If I asked you to imagine a tree, what kind of tree do you imagine? Do you imagine it from top to bottom, from trunk to top? Our minds are the most creative producers and cameramen you can think of.”

“Do you notice how well our body blends sensations? When the light turns off then on, there’s a split second where you see shapes when your eyes adjust from light to dark?”

“What are the physical manifestations of emotions? Do you feel your stomach drop? Do you ever get that tingling feeling in your legs and suddenly they’re jelly?”

Did you ever witness something so beautiful that you wish you could live forever just so you could never forget it?

The conversation was a little deep and a little too philosophical for him. It was a ploy to get him writing and maybe a ploy to get him to understand the same wonder she had in the world from what he could tell. Somehow he needed it. The way Hange had described the world, the way she had described reality, only made the line between what could have been his imagination and his memory a little more distinct.

It was around then did he look at Hange Zoe the medical student to see the squad leader from his dreams. Erwin Smith, Hange Zoe and every single one of the soldiers in these dreams. They weren’t just dreams or manifestations of an exhausted mind.

In another life, she could have been real. The angles at which he saw the world, the way his body processed those sensations in his dreams, the manifestations of those emotions, too vivid even more vivid than a catharsis from a good book or a phenomenal ending to a TV show.

The questions continued to echo as Hange turned off the lights and Levi lay in bed awake. That food for the thought left Levi hyper aware of his surroundings, all the way down to the small details --- the way every piece of thread on the bed covers beneath him pressed on to him, the way his breath made a sound in the utter silence late at night no matter how much he tried to quiet it, the way the palpitations in his chest could be felt all the way until his head. He was excited to sleep, dream and take stock of his dreams yet he was too excited to fall asleep.

Like a five year old the night before their first field trip, Levi did not fall asleep anytime soon.

A Tale of Two Slaves

Nobody really questions the logic of dreams.

Sometimes one can find themselves only a few millimeters tall on top of a giant donut. Sometimes they can find themselves having milk tea with their favorite celebrity. Dreams are more felt by the moments they bring to people, not by the logic. It was only natural Levi did not question much of his dreams then.

That night as he lay awake, Levi made the conscious effort to live in his dreams, to take note of every detail from the sights and sounds, to the smells, the emotions, repeating to himself the questions Hange had asked earlier that day. What he had failed to consider then, was the context of dreams.

Were Hange and the others okay?

He found himself on the battlefield and he knew exactly what had to be done. In front of him was a large furry creature which the military had dubbed the Beast Titan and around him were other naked humanoid creatures called titans.

The Beast titan was flinging rocks at them and the soldiers were dying at an alarming rate.

Commander Erwin Smith ordered a suicide mission. All surviving soldiers were to rush towards the Beast Titan while Levi flew from the side of the walls and snuck towards him.

He knew what to do. The movements were natural and Levi had flown before, the gear on his waist had only made the whole mission easier. Somehow, on the battlefield he had the luxury of stock knowledge.

That stock knowledge was what had him slicing through the arms, through the eyes, through the achilles and finally through the nape of said titan. He pulled out a blonde man and pushed the sword through the man’s mouth.

He could feel his blood boiling. From anger? Of course, the man had killed Erwin. For a second, Levi had managed to get a view of the blond commander as he flew from the wall slashing titan after titan. He knew the man was probably dead.

But there was a way to revive him. There was a serum.

Before Levi could give it a second thought, a duck billed monster tore into his view and---

Levi sat up and screamed. He found himself in no hurry to dodge that duck billed titan. He was in Hange's apartment, too injured to be flying in the air in those contraptions anyway. He ran his hands through his body and up to his face, taking stock of his reality. He didn't reek of titan blood nor was he covered in it. He scanned the dark room, or at least what was visible given the moon was his only light source.

Somehow, those few moments as captain Levi had felt so real, watching the moon from his place on the sofa bed seemed almost dreamlike.

Which one is my reality? Levi found himself questioning it all. As quickly as the questions came, they were answered. All he needed was one stimuli, strong enough to root him back into his reality.

"Hey, bad dream?"

The dark room and his own state of mind had made it difficult for him to notice that Hange had settled beside him. That voice though had pulled him out of his trance and he became certain at least that he was not dreaming anymore.

"Yeah," Levi managed to say. At the least he still had control of his voice.

Hange sat cross-legged next to him. The moon was at a perfect angle to illuminate her face and even in the dark room he could see it. Her eyes were looking right at him as if she were studying him a little too seriously.

She brought out one finger to his eye and pushed at the corner. That was when Levi felt it. The small tear spread on the corner of his eye and dried up within seconds. Levi only hastened the process by wiping it himself.

"I'm not leaving you tonight."

"Why?"

"I'll take full responsibility for this. It was my mistake that got you into this in the first place.”

"I've had them before. This is nothing new.” Levi argued. As Hange lay on the sofa bed next to him though, he realized he didn’t want her to leave. His body froze as if understanding that emotion, unwilling to accommodate the protests, the impulse inside him to argue, to force her to go back to her room.

The sofa bed was at least big enough for both of them, wide enough for a comfortable one to two feet space between them. Hange had made sure as well to lie on her side, only widening that space a little more.

“I don’t know how many times I’ve told you this but I swear I really do mean it every time. I’m sorry.” Her voice cracked as she said it.

Levi only continued to stare at the ceiling above him, listening to her disturbed and hitched breaths next to him as if she was holding back something. He didn’t want to look to his side, not wanting to further aggravate a reaction he sensed was raring to come out of her or to further tighten that knot which had settled itself on his chest. His dim surroundings only illuminated weakly by the moon, did not help at all.

Levi lay awake for a while longer, scrambling for words that could placate her.

This is nothing new. It hadn’t worked.

I’m fine. But he wasn’t.

Things happen. Had he not given that same consolation so many times before?

Eventually the rhythm of her breathing evened out enough for Levi to guess that she had fallen asleep, and as if by some special force, Levi found his breathing slowing down too. He was starting to relax.

The apartment was dark and quiet. It was peaceful, so peaceful that Levi never did notice when exactly he was pulled back into his dream. The dimness of the apartment was gradually replaced by the dimness of the forest a long time ago. The distant sounds of passing cars gradually replaced by the crackle of a fire and the rustle of leaves on a windy night.

He was surrounded by trees. A broken wooden cart lay to the side and a few feet away from it a campfire.

The soft and even breathing next to him stayed though. The same exact pattern, the same exact rhythm, the same hitched breaths--- all signs of the light uneasy slumber of his companion.

That was all Levi needed to hear to have sworn nothing much changed about her.

#levihan #levi ackerman #hange zoe #levi x hange #levi x hanji #levihan fanfiction #fanfic

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elizabeethan · 4 years ago

Text

Walk With Me (I Think We’ll Find A Way)- Chapter 7/8

Killian Jones travels across realms to find Emma and Henry in New York after receiving an anonymous message about a new curse. When he finally tracks her down, he makes a bold move and greets her at her front door, but before he can even attempt to convince her to come back to Storybrooke with him, he’s met with a surprise that will change his life.

Season 3B AU

Prologue, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Read on Ao3

It’s here friends :) One chapter to go!!

The most beautiful header on the planet was made by @xhookswenchx, in case you were wondering

Tagging: @courtorderedcake @kmomof4 @stahlop @klynn-stormz @laschatzi @emelizabeth88 @lfh1226-linda @kday426 @profdanglaisstuff @elisethewritingbeast @timeless-love-story @captain-emmajones @gingerpolyglot @ebcaver @ilovemesomekillianjones @teamhook @superchocovian @itsfabianadocarmo @tiganasummertree @gingerchangeling @jrob64 @onceratheart18 @xhookswenchx @winterbaby89 @swampmedusa @ultraluckycatnd @dancingnancyy @love-with-you-i-have-everything @shireness-says @snowbellewells @hollyethecurious @ouatpost

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“Because I commanded you not to.”

The words tore a hole through Emma’s chest. Her foolish son somehow found his way to the woods and was standing off to the side with the Dark One’s dagger, holding it in front of himself and facing it towards Gold.

“Henry,” Neal starts, and she wants to scream at him to run, get out of here! but she can’t. Her brain has stopped working and her lips won't move. She feels Killian squeezing her arm but she can’t turn away from her child putting himself between her and the fucking Dark One.

“Get out of here, Henry,” Gold says.

“We’re not going anywhere, Rumple.”

Belle materializes behind Henry and Emma wants to explode. Where the hell is Corrine, if the two of them are here?!

“Belle, what are you doing?”

“You know why I’m here, Rumple. I’m not letting you steal this town’s memories just because you think it would bring me back to you.”

“No, no. That's not what I'm doing. I’m doing this for my son.”

She shakes her head and steps in front of Henry, who’s still wielding the dagger threateningly. He refuses to turn around towards Emma, which means she’s unable to reach out and grab for him. She’s worried that if she moves from this spot, Neal just might kill her.

“I left you, in the Enchanted Forest. I didn’t remember doing it, but I did it. And now you're here, doing the exact thing that I left you for doing!”

“Belle,” Neal tries, but she shoots him a threatening look.

“What you’re doing is selfish and dangerous. Neal, Emma’s clearly made her choice, and you need to accept that. If you truly love her like you say you do, you’d accept that.”

“I’m doing this for her; for us!”

“You’re endangering your son and her daughter. That’s not love, Neal. I should’ve seen a long time ago that wanting to control and manipulate someone isn’t the same as loving someone.”

“You’ve got it all wrong, Belle!” Gold tries.

“I can’t believe I was wrong about you all this time, Rumple. Your heart really is rotten, isn’t it?” He doesn't have a chance to answer. “Henry, the dagger, if you please,” she says, taking it from him as Emma breathes a sigh of relief. “Rumple, I want you to transport Neal to a cell in the sheriff’s station, and then you’re going to take us to the town line. We need to be alone for what comes next.”

They disappear in a cloud of red smoke. Emma’s hesitant to believe that this is all over, but the three of them are gone and Henry is standing safe and dagger-less a few feet away from her. “Henry,” she says, hating the worry laced through her tone.

“Mom,” he calls with a smile as he runs for her, throwing himself into her waiting arms.

“What the hell were you thinking?! You could’ve been seriously hurt! Where’s your sister?”

“With grandma—”

“Henry,” Regina interrupts. Emma sighs, wanting nothing more than to continue to hug her son but accepting the fact that her life isn’t that simple. He turns towards her voice and his face is alight once again.

“Mom!” he calls, running towards her for an emotional reunion.

Rather than watch the two of them together, she turns towards Killian and smiles. He looks down to her and takes her hand in his, squeezing gently.

“Well, Swan, I do believe—”

“We’ve gotta go,” David calls as he tucks his phone into his back pocket. “Robin, can you make sure Neal is where he’s supposed to be? Emma, you’ve gotta come with me. Mary Margaret just went to the hospital and had to bring Corrine with her.”

“The baby?” she asks, pulling Killian along with her toward her father’s truck.

“He or she is on their way.”

~~~~

Henry rides to the hospital with Regina in Gold’s car. Emma’s honestly a bit surprised that Regina is even bothering coming to the hospital, until she pulls up to the doors, drops Henry off, and pulls away again. Typical.

“Your mom didn’t want to come in?” Emma asks him, and he shrugs.

“Something about family bonding or whatever. It’s okay.”

They walk into the lobby and see Corrine sitting happily with Ruby, Tink on the other side of the coffee table and rolling a small ball towards her as she squeals with laughter. She hears Ruby gasp who’s that? before Corrine whips around and starts running towards her parents and brother as fast as her fat little legs can carry her.

“Hello, my love,” Killian says as he scoops her up, making a grunt as if his body is protesting. What a dad.

“Hi,” she says once she’s up. “Ball.” She holds up the small green ball in Killian’s face, making him back away with a laugh.

“You’re playing ball with Ruby? And…” he turns, cocking his head, “Tink.”

“Hi, Hook.”

“Curse is broken,” Ruby says by way of explanation. “Turns out you two weren’t the only ones getting it on after Neverland.”

“Ah,” he says with a blush, and Emma’s smiling until she hears Henry speak up.

“What does that mean?”

Ruby shoots them all a wolfish grin.

Prince Oliver Leopold is born mere hours after they arrived at the hospital; a healthy, happy boy who somewhat resembles his niece and nephew but has his mother’s bright green eyes.

Emma holds her baby brother and swoons at his plump lips and swollen eyes and rosy cheeks and before she knows it, she has baby fever, dammit. It’s worse when Killian takes the baby from her at David’s insistence and starts cooing. Captain Hook is cooing at a newborn.

Corrine won’t stop saying baby. It’s so adorable. She wants to hold her new uncle (Emma won’t ever get used to that), but refuses any help and would definitely forget to support his head, so a tantrum ensues, naturally. Killian hands the baby back to his mother and takes Corrine out to the hall, because apparently he’s already become an expert parent and handles tantrums flawlessly.

When she leaves the room a few minutes later to check on things, she finds them in the waiting room, Corrine on Killian’s lap with her thumb shoved in her mouth while he holds his phone in front of her. Emma rolls her eyes.

“We should probably try something aside from handing her a phone whenever she freaks out,” she reasons to him with a smile.

“Probably, but this always works so well. Plus, it’s rather catchy.”

When she gets closer, she sees that he’s playing a One Direction music video. Corrine is so fully engrossed that she’s barely dancing, just staring into the screen and bopping her free fist up and down slightly. “You're whipped,” she says to him with a snort as he smiles softly.

“Not since I was a lad.” Shit, she thinks, her face dropping. Poor choice of words.

“I’m sorry,” she says hesitantly. “I didn’t think before I said that, I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, love,” he says with the same smile.

“Yuh you, yuh you momma,” Corrine says with a cheeky grin shot Emma’s way.

“I love you, too,” she returns.

“Yuh you, duddy.”

He leans down to her and kisses her cheek tenderly, chuckling lightly. “I love you, too, darling.”

She tries to say darling but it doesn’t come out quite right as she struggles with her Ls. It’s cute either way, and she’s still the smartest baby around.

“I think this one is overdue for a nap. Care to tag along?” she asks as Corrine reaches up for her and she scoops her up. They’ve barely eaten or slept today, so she’s surprised Corrine is even still functioning.

“Sure.” Killian stands, locking his phone and tucking it into the back pocket of his jeans like a real twenty first century man.

~~~~

Henry asks to go to the sheriff’s station on their way back to Granny’s. Emma isn’t sure what he’s going to say to his father, but she assumes he’s about to get an earful from a rightfully angry thirteen-year-old.

Henry gained his memories back, but his old, cursed ones remained. This means that, while he finally remembers who he really is, he also remembers the story Emma gave him about his father. The reason he was abandoned is clear in his head, along with the betrayal that comes with almost having his memories wiped again and his sister removed from his life at the hands of the same man.

Safe to say, Henry is pissed.

Killian offers to go into the station with him and he accepts, as long as Killian promises not to listen in. Emma’s heart is racing the entire time they’re gone, but Corrine’s soft snores and gentle kicks to the seat in front of her keep her mind somewhat at ease for the ten minutes that they’re inside.

When they emerge from the building, she notes that they're both looking down as they walk to the car with somber looks on their faces. She wants to ask what they talked about, but she knows Henry would rather not talk about it, so when they get into the car, she drives towards the inn silently.

Henry decides to take a nap as well, so Emma puts Corrine in her crib and shoots him a gentle smile before grabbing the monitor and leaving the room to cross the hall towards Killian’s door.

“Hi,” he says as she enters, glancing up from the book he was reading on his bed.

“Hey.”

“Alright?” she shrugs, contemplatively standing before him before crossing the room and taking a seat on the other side of the bed. He closes his book and crosses his ankles before shifting so that he can face her.

“Weird day.”

“I’ll say,” he chuckles. “Would you like to lie down, Swan?”

She shrugs again. “I would, but I'm scared to go to sleep. We still haven’t seen Belle, so we don't know what happened to Gold.”

“Aye,” he agrees with a sigh. “But I think I trust her to make the right decision in that regard.”

“She’s taken him back countless times before, though.”

“It’s a complicated relationship, love. She said something about having left him when they were in the Enchanted Forest, and she’s obviously still angry.”

“Yeah.” She sighs deeply, sinking a bit further into the mattress as he places his arm on a pillow behind her back.

“Lie down, love. You're exhausted; I’ll stay up and make sure nothing goes awry.”

She sticks her lips out in a pout of contemplation, but the heat of his arm behind her neck is tempting along with the memory of his body shaped around hers during the night. “You’ll stay here the entire time? Unless Corrine wakes up?”

“Promise.” She nods at him, scooting herself down so that she’s lying with her head on his chest and her arm slung across his waist. She takes a moment before she hitches her ankle up and over his own, breathing heavily as she feels her body begin to relax. “Swan?” he says softly.

“Hmm?”

“Can you tell me what Baelfire did to you? What were your parents talking about?”

She tenses in his arms, squeezing her fist around his shirt until her knuckles are white. “He, uh, he left me. He betrayed me. Before we were together, he stole some watches and hid them, and then I went to go get them because he had wanted posters floating around. He went to fence the watches and when I met him afterwards, the police picked me up. He had given me a watch as a gift, and that was all the evidence they needed. Turns out he was the one who called the cops.”

“Bloody hell.” His hand runs along her spine with a comforting pressure as she relives one of her worst moments.

“Turns out August told him I was destined to be the Savior and he had to leave me, but the decision to call the cops was all him. So I went to jail for eleven months and that’s where I had Henry.”

“I’m sorry, Swan. That’s awful.” His voice is soft as it rumbles through the soft afternoon light in the room

“I’ve had a lot of time to get past it,” she shrugs

He nods against her hair and she revels in the gentle squeeze he gives her, the compression against her chest soothing her nerves.

“Swan,” he says again, and she lets out a breathy chuckle.

“Yeah?”

“What does whipped mean, in that context?”

She wants to groan, still disgusted with herself for even saying it, but she answers anyway. “It means she has you wrapped around her tiny little finger. I’m pretty sure she could convince you to do anything for her without so much as blinking.”

He laughs. “You’re probably right.”

They’re quiet for a few minutes, and she thinks she might fall asleep, but something stops her and makes her speak.

“She loves you so much,” she says after a few moments.

“Aye, I love her as well.”

“She needs you in her life, you know.”

He intakes a breath and she thinks she may feel the ghost of his lips pressing into her hair. “I need her, too,” he says softly.

She nods her head against his chest and takes in the scent of leather and sea and rum. He may have traded in his leather slacks for jeans, but he still smells the same, and she’s relieved. “That’s why… that’s why we’re staying here.”

She feels his body freeze as his arm tightens around her and his breath hitches in his throat. “Aye?”

“Mhmm. After everything, I just… I want to be close to my family. I almost lost them again today, even though a part of me still doesn't believe that Neal would do that, but… still.”

“I have trouble believing it myself.”

“Yeah. But Corrine likes it here. Henry obviously does too, and as much as it pains me to say, his mother is here. And... you're here.”

He rolls them over so that she’s on her side and he’s facing her before he takes his hand and runs it along her cheek gently. “I would've gone with her. With you.”

“I would've let you. But I'd rather stay put.”

He hums out a soft laugh, one that says I can’t believe this is happening, then touches his index finger along her brow and down the side of her face before he reaches his hand behind her head and pulls the two of them together in a soft, warm kiss.

She kisses him back instantaneously, swiping her tongue out against his soft lips as a sigh escapes her mouth. She feels so relaxed in his arms, and the feeling of him gently massaging her lips with his own and his fingers stroking against her scalp with gentle pressure is lulling her back into the sense of calm that she’s been missing. She thinks she could get really turned on if she lets herself, but for now, the chaste, gentle kisses relax her into a state of bliss.

She pulls away from the unexpected kiss after a few moments and sighs through her nose, pressing their foreheads together and biting her bottom lip. “I’m glad you have your heart back,” she says after a moment. “It probably wouldn't have been very fun kissing a heartless Killian.”

“I think I still would have had fun kissing you even without a heart.”

She hums out a laugh. “Yeah, but this is much better. Are you okay? After the whole heart thing?”

“Aye, I’ve been through dire straits before, nothing I couldn’t handle.”

“Right,” she laughs before pressing her body close to his and snuggling her head into his chest. “Can you tell me what happened?”

He clears his throat. “Neal must've knocked me out. Or it was the Crocodile, I'm not sure. But I woke up in the cabin surrounded by potions and spells and other nefarious things and knew something was wrong.”

“That’s where they were making the memory potion.”

“Aye,” he confirms. “Neal told me his plan, then he sent me back to the loft for dinner without my heart so that he could control me. He wanted to see me suffer and lose everything I hold dear. I believe the Dark One must've enchanted his hand somehow and that’s how he was able to control me.”

“What a bastard. I can't wrap my head about it.” He hums softly in agreement. “What was it like? Not having it, I mean.”

He’s still and quiet as he takes in a breath, then answers, “it’s like I was dead. I was so numb and empty, I couldn’t feel anything but pain and fear. But when you put it back, love, I’ve never felt better.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispers. Picturing the way he must have felt causes Emma near-physical pain “That sounds awful.”

He changes the subject away from his suffering easily. “May I ask you something else?” she nods against him. “When did you know? That it wasn’t me?”

She shrugs, the painful memories of last night flooding back into her mind. “Before you even got there I knew something was wrong. Henry said you left him alone at Gold’s and I knew you wouldn’t do that. And during dinner, Corrine refused to even look at you because she’s a smart baby and she even knew something wasn’t right. But it was really clear after dinner when you said you were leaving.” She nearly chokes on the words as they leave her lips.

“You have to know how hard I tried to not say it.”

She nods, thinking back to the tears in his eyes and the tight grip he had on her wrist. “I do know, I saw it. You were fighting him.”

“Aye, I was,” he whispers.

“You were doing it for your family.”

His grip on her tightens still and he presses another kiss to the crown of her head before he says, “that I was, love.”

~~~~

Despite no longer living in a magical forest over which he reigns as king, Emma’s father chooses to have a small ceremony to celebrate the birth of his son. As strange as it is to be 30 years older than her brother, and for his niece and nephew to be older than him, Emma happily attends the small gathering hosted at Granny’s once everyone has finally woken up from their naps. Their sleep schedules are going to be completely messed up for the rest of the week, but that’s something she’ll just have to deal with.

When Corrine, Henry, Killian, and Emma finally find their way down to the diner, the party is in full swing. Emma doesn’t miss Killian playfully swiping a donut from Ruby’s tray, giving a little piece to Corrine and finishing the rest himself. She could scold him for feeding her sweets before dinner, but seeing them together and seeing her back to her normal playful self with him makes her heart swell.

She catches Belle at the counter and hops into a stool beside her. “Thanks for your help today.”

“Oh, of course.”

“What, uh,” she starts again, contemplating whether or not it’s logical to start this conversation. “What happened to Gold?”

She purses her lips and looks down. “I sent him over the town line. He won't be back.”

“I’m sorry.” No matter how much she can’t stand Gold, she couldn’t imagine being in Belle’s position; loving someone so evil and having to make such a hard choice.

“Don’t be. I did leave him, you know, in the Enchanted Forest. He started working with Neal and… I was just unhappy with the changes I was seeing with him. He was starting to show his true self. So I left, and he seemed to just snap. I knew they were going to do something drastic when I found out that Neal spoke with your parents, so that’s when I stole the memory potion and sent that message to Killian.”

Emma draws her brows close together as she spins in the stool to face Belle. “Wait, you sent the message?”

“Yeah, you didn’t know?”

Emma shakes her head; the information is making more and more sense the more she learns. “Thank you. Seriously, thank you. You probably saved everyone in Storybrooke. You definitely saved my family.”

She smiles up at Emma. “It was the right thing to do,” she says, before she becomes distracted by whomever has just entered the diner. When Emma turns, she sees Robin’s friend Will waving at her and making his way towards them. She excuses herself when he kisses Belle’s temple softly and wiggles his eyebrows at Emma.

When she gets to the booth that Henry’s sitting at, she takes a seat enthusiastically and bumps his shoulder with his, making a comment about his new uncle to which he barely responds.

“I’m sorry, kid. I know this sucks,” she says after a moment of pointless small talk.

“Yeah.”

“You spent two years thinking your life was one thing and now it’s something completely different.”

He nods. He’s silent for a few moments and she sits with him, knowing that he may need time to ponder through his thoughts. “Why did he do it?” he finally asks.

She sighs and puts an arm around him. “I don't really know, Henry. Your dad… something happened to him and he just couldn’t handle not having his family with him.”

“We weren’t ever a family, though, not really. I mean, sure, we hung out, but it wasn’t anything like what you and I have, or even what me and Regina have.” She nods. “It was only a few months that I knew him. And he left you in jail.”

“I know. I’m sorry that you had to see your dad like that.” He shrugs. “You know I wouldn’t have let anything happen to you, right?”

With a nod, he says, “I know. That’s not what I'm worried about.”

“Can I ask you something?” He nods. “What made you come to the woods? What happened with you and Belle that made you do that?”

He shrugs again. “I don't know, really. We were messing around at Granny’s and I was talking about how mad I was, and that I wanted to just take the dagger and give both of them a piece of my mind. Then Belle said ‘if only we had the dagger,’ and I told her we did have it. And she said we had to go and put an end to this. You guys probably should have just brought it with you.”

Emma nods in response, laughing lightly at his logic. She was expecting some type of grand revelation between the two of them, but the reality was much more simply: Belle knew that Neal and Gold were up to no good, and she decided that she had the power to put a stop to it. “You’re right, we should have. Luckily, we had you to save our butts.”

“My dad…” he starts, ignoring her lightheartedness. “I just can't believe he would do something like this.”

She makes a bold move and says, “is that what you told him? When you went to the sheriff’s station?”

Henry chuckles sadly and rolls his eyes. “You mean Killian didn’t tell you?”

She bumps his shoulder again and responds, “I don’t think he would even if I begged. He respects you too much.”

He nods back at her, still looking down at his glass of water and plate of cake. “I guess I told him that. I told him I was done with him. I said he could’ve had a chance but he ruined it by doing this.” Emma nods softly. As much as it hurts to hear her son say these things about his father, a part of her must admit that she’s relieved to hear that he’s made this decision. She isn’t exactly psyched at the concept of giving Neal visitation rights after this. “I told him he’s a selfish dick for trying to keep my mom away from the guy she loves.”

She freezes at that, and not because her kid is using the unsavory language that he probably learned from her. Henry has always been a smart, perceptive kid, but has he always been this perceptive? To the point where he knows she loves Killian before she does? “Henry...” she tries to speak but can’t.

“It’s okay mom. Maybe two years ago I would’ve wanted you to be with my dad, but… I don’t know. Hook has only been here for a few weeks and he’s been more of a dad to me than Neal ever has.”

~~~~

Corrine is put to bed by her father several hours later after a tantrum over not being able to put her hand in a bowl of hot soup. She wanted to grab the floating crackers as Tink dropped them into the dish, and each time Killian stopped her hand she screamed no at him. At one point, it started to get out of hand and Emma called, “Corrine Alice Swan, you get your hand away from that bowl, right now,” as if the child could understand full sentences. She understood the tone, though, and boy, did she respond with a vengeance.

Killian took her upstairs to her crib once she started screaming so loudly that Emma’s sure the entire town heard. Now that she can’t hear the blood curdling screech anymore, she’s about 98% certain that Killian is in the bedroom playing a One Direction music video, but that’s alright. The two of them dancing along together is quite possibly the cutest thing she’s ever seen, so she thinks she’ll let it slide as she ascends the stairs and opens the door slowly.

What she’s met with is not a pair of One Direction fans, but rather, a swaying Killian holding a tearful but relatively calm Corrine as he hums lowly in her ear and rubs up and down along her back. Emma swoons, again overtaken by the image of dad-Killian in all his glory.

He’s only known his daughter for about five weeks, but in that time they’ve become so close. Each day, Corrine learns more and more as she explores her world, and Killian is always trying to help her along by teaching her new words and phrases. He’s a natural with her, especially at this age, and the more of it Emma sees, the more she wants.

“It’s time for sleep, my darling. Mummy and daddy will be here when you wake,” he whispers softly into her hair, and when Emma looks again, she sees Corrine’s thumb hanging out of her mouth and her face squished into his shoulder. He turns around and catches Emma’s eye, blushing fiercely as he bends to place the baby in her crib. Once she’s settled, he rubs a finger along her sweet face to remove one final tear and backs away before making his way towards the door and following Emma out.

Emma doesn’t miss the promise he makes his sleeping child to be here when she wakes up; he’s still reeling from almost losing her, and it breaks her heart.

“She didn’t need the phone, huh?” she jokes as they make their way down the stairs.

He laughs lightly in response and says, “I believe she was too tired for that. It’ll be difficult to get her back on schedule, I’d say.”

When they get back into the diner, Killian disperses into the crowd and Emma sees Henry talking to Regina. She’s happy that he’s rebuilding his relationship with her, she really is, but she’s also having trouble getting past their history. Try as she might, she can’t unsee that small child waiting on her doorstep begging for help defeating his Evil Queen mother.

Regina stands from the booth when Emma makes herself visible and walks over to her, clearing her throat and brushing down her blouse before she speaks. “Emma, I was thinking it might be good for Henry to spend the night at my house tonight. He’s open to it, but said we had to check with you,” she says bitterly.

Emma raises her brows, glancing back at Henry, who gives her a smile. “He is?”

“Yes,” she responds sharply, as if Emma has offended her. “He has his own room, why should he stay here?”

Emma lets out an exasperated huff but nods her head. As much as her delivery absolutely sucked, Regina has a point. Perhaps she should start thinking of a permanent living arrangement herself. “Okay, if he wants to, then that’s fine.”

Regina looks chuffed as she says, “good,” with the soft hint of a smile before heading back to the booth to collect Henry.

With both kids gone or asleep, Emma suddenly finds herself free of her motherly duties for at least the next few hours, and so decides to follow Killian to the patio with two tumblrs of rum, neat.

“So, Gold’s gone,” she says once she’s sitting next to him, and he tips his glass to her in thanks.

“Aye, I ran into Belle earlier. Relieved?”

She nods, taking a sip from her glass. “Yeah. I’m still… I don’t know. I’m pissed.” He nods back at her. “He knew that we… were together on the ship, so he’s known this whole time. He knew it in the Enchanted Forest, and he knew it when he came back here. He could have just let it go and accepted that it was over between us, but he didn’t. And he messed up because of that.”

“Aye. It’s quite frustrating, isn’t it?” She nods in agreement and rolls her eyes as she stares into her glass. “Do you think he knew about Corrine all this time?”

“That she’s ours?” He nods. “No, I think he genuinely blocked the possibility that we have a kid out of his mind. I think when he found out from you and Henry at the pier, that’s what clicked his plan into place for him. He realized that he would’ve lost without this memory potion.”

“Makes sense,” he starts, sitting up in his seat slightly. “I mean, it doesn’t. But it does.”

“Yeah.” They clink their glasses together as they both finish the contents, feeling the warmth rushing through their veins as it combats the cool bite of the late-autumn air. “I have a question,” she states.

“Go on.”

“Can you tell me what Henry said to Neal?”

He purses his lips, glancing up at her and shaking his head. “I don't want to violate his trust, love, but I can tell you that he’s a very smart lad.” She nods. “And I can also tell you,” he starts again, slowly and hesitantly reaching his hand towards her’s, “that Bae is not exactly safe to be around, and I’d feel much more comfortable if you and Henry stayed far away from him.”

“Did he threaten Henry?” She feels her palms starting to sweat.

“Not Henry, love. The lad stepped away from the bars and Neal said some things about you that I’d rather not repeat. That I wish your son hadn’t heard. I stepped a bit too close— in anger, I’ll admit— and he lunged for me, as well.”

She nods her head again, looking down at the table grievously at the news. Before everything, before Neverland and before the curse, she thought she may have been able to have a good co-parenting relationship with Neal, or that they may have even been able to become friends again. But now, he’s gone and ruined everything because he thought he could have more than he even deserved.

“Thanks for going with him.”

“Of course I would, love.”

“And thanks for… for coming after us, in New York. If you hadn’t…”

He shakes his head to silence her and says, “It was the right thing to do.”

They sit in comfortable silence for a few more moments before she says, “can I ask you something else?”

“What is it, darling?” She smiles at the fond nickname.

“How did you do it? How did you get to us?”

He looks down with a small, shy smile and says, “Well, the curse was coming, so I ditched my crew and took the Jolly Roger as fast and as far as I could to outrun it.”

“You outran a curse?” she asks with a doubtful smile.

“I’m a hell of a captain,” he returns in a flirty tone, to which she responds with a soft laugh. “Once I was outside the curse’s purview, I knew that the walls were down. Transport between realms was possible again; all I needed was a magic bean.”

“Those are not easy to come by.”

He looks down again and takes a breath. “They are if you have something of value to… trade.” His words are clearly calculated as they leave his mouth.

She hums again and asks, “and what was that?”

He smiles, eyes still looking at the ground, until he looks up and raises his brows at her, smiling as if he wasn’t about to admit to her that he sold his heart and home to find her and save her family. “Why the Jolly Roger, of course.”

She’s frozen. Her brows pinch together as they often do when he says something heartfelt and profound, although this time feels different. It feels like more. “You traded your ship for me?”

He doesn’t hesitate, answering her with a firm nod. “Aye.”

It happens so fast; she’s kissing him and his hand is lacing through her hair and hers through his. Her heart feels about ten times bigger than it should be at the feeling of his lips on hers after such an emotional confession, and she doesn't know if she’ll survive much more of his thoughtful words and selfless actions. When she finally pulls from him slightly, it’s as if he’s taking stock of what’s happening between them; as if he can’t quite believe that they’re here despite having been here before.

“I—” she starts, although she isn’t quite sure what she wants to say. She smiles as he does, the feel of his thumb running along her jaw and chin and his nose nuzzling lightly against her’s stirring the butterflies in her stomach and the heat much lower. “I want you,” she finally whispers. “All of you. Every part of you and everything that comes with it… I want it all, with you.”

It’s as close to a profession of love as she’s ever come before. She’s perhaps closer to telling him that she loves him now than when she actually said the words to Neal over a decade ago. She thinks she should be afraid— of his answer or of what may change between them, she isn’t sure— but she isn’t.

“I want everything with you, too, Emma. Always.” His use of her name rather than any number of nicknames he has to choose from, and the meaning of his statement, isn’t lost on her.

He kisses her again, like he can’t stay away from her any longer and absolutely needs to have her lips on his. While the last kiss was soft and slow, this one is more passionate and heated as he presses closer to her and laces his hand tighter into her hair. He pulls her gently towards him and she hears his chair scraping against the ground as he scoots forward. Once he’s got her where he wants her, he deepens the kiss, curling his tongue against her bottom lip until she opens up to him. It doesn't take much, the feel of him pressing close to her driving her mad with want.

She’s just about lost her mind when she starts to shift in her seat, planning to move forward and hoist herself up and onto his lap so that she can get closer to him and hopefully sate the heat erupting through her down to her core, until she hears someone behind him clear their throat.

Shit.

“I think it’s about time you and I have a little talk about your intentions with my daughter.” Emma squeezes her hands around the collar of his jacket as her eyes fly open. Thank god she hadn’t actually mounted him…

Killian clears his throat in an attempt to calm himself down before answering Emma’s father, although he still looks completely wrecked and refuses to turn around. “That’s a little old-fashioned even by my standards, and I still pay with doubloons.”

“Yeah, well, I’m leaving,” he says firmly, although she can hear a smile in his voice. “I was coming to give you a hug, but I’m not sure I want one anymore,” he jokes.

She laughs breathlessly as she stands up, moving to her father and giving him a tight hug. “How’s mom feeling?”

“Good, just tired. I’m happy that everyone threw this together, but I feel guilty being away from them, so I'm gonna go back to the hospital.”

“Give her a hug for me?”

“‘Course,” he says, kissing her cheek sweetly, then making a disgusted face and laughing.

Her breathing is still rapid and her heart is still racing as she sits back down next to Killian, so she takes in a big gulp of air and wishes she had more rum.

“Awkward,” she says with a small laugh.

He laughs. And he keeps laughing, and eventually he rests his head against his arm on the table and continues on laughing until no sound is coming out and he’s just a mess of shaking shoulders and teary eyes. At some point, she started laughing too, and anyone who exits Granny’s at this point would probably have the two of them committed.

“We can’t catch a break, love,” he remarks through more chuckles, and she laughs harder still.

Then she has a thought and acts on it so quickly that she can hardly even keep track of it. “Take me upstairs,” she says boldly, desiring not to be interrupted again when all she wants is to feel him on her.

He raises a dramatic brow and cocks his head at her in question, or perhaps seeking confirmation, and asks, “aye?”

She nods, biting her bottom lip in a way that she thinks may be more flirty than she intended before she leans in again and kisses him softly. “Take me upstairs,” she repeats against his mouth.

He stands so quickly that the table shakes and the glasses nearly fall over, and she laughs again. He holds out a hand to her, his smile bright and beaming, and when she takes it, she knows that things between them are shifting and that her life is changing.

She can’t wait.

~~~~

Read Chapter 8

A/N: there’s one chapter left!! The next one is..... pure smut. Like, there’s a little plot in there but... it’s smut. So. Stay tuned if you’re into that?

#walk with me #my writing #captain swan #cs ff #captain swan fanfic #captain swan AU #cs ff au #once upon a time #once upon a time fanfic #ouat ff #ouat ff au #ouat au #once au #once fanfic #walk with me ff

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ghastily · 4 years ago

Text

[13] 100 Word Drabbles: Megatron

warnings: a mix of angst, fluff, and romance

relationship: Megatron x Human!Reader, some Pre-War/Gladiator!Megatron x Bot!Reader

notes: Dragging everyone into Megatron hell with me using exactly 100 words.

➥ Read on Ao3!

1. catch: caught doing something they shouldn’t

It's Energon.

Pink, and glowing so brightly it lures you in, appealing to the most basic of your human instincts — curiosity. There's no one else around and so you reach out for it, just to dip a finger in. Maybe a little taste, what could it hurt?

Until a giant servo slams itself down to block you, the force reverberating through the floor and rattling your bones. You fall back with a gasp, heart hammering in your throat.

“Megatron! Where—”

“You know,” He frowns and you shrink back at his tone, embarrassed at being caught, “It's poisonous to humans.”

2. note: leaving a message

You didn’t have the courage to tell Megatron your feelings, not to his face, so you wrote it down. Spilling out everything you felt onto paper. It wouldn't be easy to forgive him, you didn’t know if you ever would but you saw him trying. And so you wanted to try too, to move past the bad blood and into the future. One day, you wrote with shaking hands at the end, I hope that we can become friends.

He approached you, optics tired and smiling tightly, with the note pages pinched between two digits, “I would like that too.”

3. bed: tucked into bed

Some nights you don’t bother with your human-sized bed. Some nights you sleep on Megatron’s chest, smiling as he frets over you and the way his gentle digits adjust the blanket covering you. You playfully swat at his hand and he smiles, finally done fussing, and curling his servo over you protectively. “Are you sure it’s comfortable? Do you need anything else?” “Yes, Megs. I’m never been more comfortable.” You settle in with a yawn, adjusting a pillow under your head. He offlines his optics and slips into recharge, as you're lulled to sleep by the hum of his spark.

4. embrace: a hug

Megatron was not overly fond of his holoform, gray hair and tired eyes only served as a reminder of just how far along in his life cycle he really was. He didn’t want you to see him, not like this, but he wouldn’t deny you this indulgence. “Megs?” You smile at him so radiantly that he forgets everything, “Is that — it is you!” He can’t answer, not when you so suddenly throw yourself at him, arms tight around his neck and squeezing. Megatron smiles and squeezes you close, content to have you in his arms so solid and warm.

5. jacket: bundling up before going outside

This planet was not hospitable toward the delicate nature of humans. Blindingly white, covered in snow and ice it reminded you a lot of the pictures you saw of the North Pole. The child inside of you wanted to go make a snowman — desperately. And Megatron was ruining everything! “Hm, you may need more clothing items. Your core temperature is still not at acceptable ranges.” “This isn’t helping, Megatron! Free me!” You hiss at him, trying to flail your arms in anger only to fall and land spectacularly on your face. It makes you even angrier hearing him laugh.

6. pain: looking after the other when they have a headache

They happened sometimes, these migraines of yours. Pain so unbearable you had to lock yourself away in a dark room and hope it went away soon, eyes screwed shut. Since being on board the Lost Light, you had taken to holing up in Megatron’s berthroom when they struck. He never spoke to you. Megatron brought you painkillers that you choke down with a grimace, and a cold compress that he would replace each time when they warmed. The room blissfully quiet and dark except for the glow of his optics and a dull light so he could continue his work.

7. laugh: at a joke, funny story, etc.

Megatron heard you before he saw you at Maccadam’s, watching entranced as you laughed at something a group of bots said before taking their order. So enamored, he stopped in the middle of a sentence while talking to Impactor.

“Now that is an aft,” Impactor smirks, knowing it’s gotten to him when Megatron snaps back with a frown, “Don’t be so crude.”

Impactor hums and waves a servo in the air, “Hey! Another round here!”

“No, ignore him!” Megatron looks aghast, reaching over the table to put his servos over Impactor’s mouth. You laugh again, and it’s music to Megatron.

8. roam: getting lost

“I don’t know where we are.”

“Nor do I,” Megatron’s voice comes over the radio, neither of you were willing to risk being found by connecting to the internet. He had adopted a human vehicle mode since you escaped together — a truck that looked as rough as he felt. You sigh and lean back in the seat, watching an endless expanse of desert pass by.

“Maybe we can stop somewhere and get a map.”

Your stomach growls and you blush.

“And some fuel for you,” Megatron remarks, amusement lacing his voice even through the static of an old radio.

9. diner: eating at a 24 hour diner

“Be careful.”

It’s the dead of night when he pulls up to the diner, and you clammer out with a nod, pulling the hood of your jacket over your head. Inside is blessedly quiet and empty except for a bearded man in the corner booth, and a lady brewing coffee. You mumble you order at the counter.

“Everything okay, hun?” The elderly woman passes you a plastic bag filled with foam containers — you take them with your head down, “Yeah. Thanks.”

You pass her a crumbled bundle of bills and coins, heading back outside and climbing into Megatron’s cab.

10. rocky: finding the other bruised and bloody

He looks like garbage, tossed out and left to be collected in the morning but the flicker of light in his optics tell you he hasn't given up yet. He’s busted up, marked up, and covered in dried energon.

“H-Hey! Do you need help?!” The moment you reach his side is when he suddenly comes to life — body jerking unnaturally and he growls a warning. You ignore it.

“.. You’re Megatron, right? You use to come to Maccadam’s.” He refuses to answer so you sink down beside him, leaning against the wall. “Guess I’ll wait here with you then..”

11. shield: shielding you with their body

You don’t see the blaster bolt coming toward you, like a deer caught in headlights you remain fully rooted in place as a dark shadow passes over you. The impact of the bolt hitting metal knocks you flat with the winded knocked out of you.

Megatron looms overhead, giant metal body blocking you from harm.

“Run!” You don’t, “I can’t fight with you here!”

“GO!” He roars and you gasp, brain sputtering back into action as you scramble to your feet. Something else hits Megatron and his body shakes around you — you nearly lose your balance before taking off.

12. twinkle: stargazing

On the roof of a gas station, you’re happy and warm with a blanket around your shoulders and legs dangling over the side. You meant to watch the stars but Megatron makes it difficult, he’s staring so intensely at you as he leans against the side of the run down building. “The stars are up there, Megs.” You gesture toward the sky. He leans down to your level, voice low and warm — purring, “All I see are the ones in your eyes, they're more beautiful than any galaxy I have ever seen.” “You’re terrible,” Your cheeks burn, looking away.

13. onion: a sad moment

“I see,” He growls and turns away with fury in his optics, “They've gotten to you too. Turning you against me with their lies!” “Megatron, that isn't true!” You plead with him, spark aching and broken. “I love you and I agree things need to change but this.. There has to be some other way!” He slams a fist into the wall, shoulders slumped with the weight of the cause, expectations, deaths, and energon, weighing him down. “There is no other way! They won’t listen to words so I have no other choice! We are not disposable, we deserve better!”

#transformers #maccadam #megatron x reader #reader insert

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weathergirl8 · 4 years ago

Text

Cave-In (Part 6)

This is my first time writing in TAG version. I normally write our boys in TOS or Movie universe for the last sixteen years. So, hopefully I’m doing them justice!

I’ve been a little MIA lately. College has been a little intense these last few weeks as we head toward the end of the semester. Add Covid-19 work stress and we all know how fun that has been.

I’ve been feeling angsty lately, so inadvertently so are the brothers.

BTW, this is taking on a mind of it’s own!

@gumnut-logic remember when I started this originally to cheer you up. It’s kind of exploded and we’ve traveled down the rabbit hole. Not sure where we will end up, but I’m sure it’ll be a fun ride, right?!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The steady rhythm of a heartbeat disturbed him as he stared out the hospital window of the darkened sky. He would usually welcome the rhythm, whether he was looking for stability in music, art, or life. At this moment, that rhythm was slightly off.

Virgil returned his gaze to the pale figure that laid sleeping in the bed before him. His honey orbs were painfully aware of how young and fragile the eighteen-year-old looked.

It had been touch and go for a while as the youngest Tracy was rushed into surgery to remove the offending objects protruding from his abdomen and patch up the wound. That was hours ago now.

Virgil readjusted the sling that held his newly casted arm. He had fractured both the radius and ulna in his left arm. Closing his eyes as he felt a slight throb from his head, he was thankful for the medication he had been given for his aching head. A moderate concussion had been the diagnosis. The doctors had advised him to remain bedridden for at least another twenty-four hours, but with some coaxing and debate that he would still be in a hospital, he could roam free as long as he rested.

Opening his eyes, he returned his gaze upon his baby brother. Alan hadn’t been as lucky. The remains of the pod frame had thankfully missed any vital organs, but he had lost a lot of blood during surgery. It had taken its toll on the younger pilot. That wasn’t what had Virgil so concerned. It was the lack of response from the ordinarily vibrant teenager. Alan never regained consciousness before he entered surgery. Alan had a severe concussion, and Virgil knew all too well how serious that could be. The doctors reassured they didn’t see any bleeding in the brain, and that only time would tell how severe a knock to the head Alan had taken.

None of it made the Thunderbird 2 pilot feel any better.

“Hey,” Scott said, interrupting his thoughts. The eldest Tracy eyed him with concern as he caught his brother’s gaze. He placed a comforting hand on Virgil’s shoulder. “Alan will be okay.”

“It should’ve been me, Scott,” Virgil whispered. “I let him take the lead.”

“No, Virgil. There’s nothing you could’ve done,” Scott argued. “If this is on anyone, it would be me.”

“Neither one of you get to take the blame for this,” Gordon rebuked, folding his arms across his chest as he leaned back into his chair. “This was a freak accident that none of us could control. If anyone is to blame, it’s the GDF.”

“John said he is handling it. I trust him,” Scott acknowledged. It was no secret how angry he was with the GDF. Due to the hoax call, they were without two pilots for the next 6 to 8 weeks, Alan potentially longer.

“How long before John, Grandma, and Kayo arrive?”

Scott looked at his watch. “They should be here within the hour.”

Virgil walked over and placed himself in the empty chair across from Gordon. Leaning back, he returned his gaze to their unconscious sibling.

-TB-

“Our operative is adamant that he received a positive transmission,” Col. Casey repeated.

“How long has this operative been with the GDF?” Kayo countered.

John met Kayo’s eyes in understanding. “Wouldn’t be the first time the Hood has worked his way into your organization,” the IR space monitor added.

“I assure you, we would know if we had a mole,” Col. Casey scoffed.

“With all due respect, Colonel Casey, you’re going to have to do better than that! Two of our operatives are critically injured because someone else didn’t complete their job,” John fumed, his teal eyes glistening with rage.

Col. Casey paused, calculating her next move. “Let me do some digging, and I’ll get back to you.”

“Please do,” John said and disconnected the call.

“John, I know you’re worried about your brothers, but this isn’t her fault,” Grandma Tracy said, eyeing her grandson with worry.

“Grandma, the GDF is becoming too much of a liability to us. I can’t continue to risk our lives for them when they aren’t being held accountable.”

“This isn’t your fault either, John,” Kayo reminded, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder from the copilot’s seat of the Tracy jet.

“I’m the one that made the decision this was a viable call and not a hoax. This one is definitely on me, too,” John argued, gripping the controls.

Kayo shook her head, groaning as she faced Tracy stubbornness head-on. “If your brothers were here, they’d argue that they collectively agreed to take the risk. It’s what we do, John. Virgil and Alan will be okay.”

“You’ll feel better once you’ve seen them,” Grandma Tracy smiled, standing behind him. “You’ll see, kid.”

“Yeah, maybe…” John nodded and focused on the hospital's coordinates in front of him.

-TB-

Gordon entered the sterile hospital room, smirking as he noticed Virgil’s sleeping head resting upon Alan’s bed. “Finally got him to sleep?” he asked his eldest brother, nodding toward Virgil.

“Refused the couch, so this is a start,” Scott grumbled, gleefully accepting the cup of coffee his brother offered.

“Small wins,” Gordon nodded as he leaned back into the chair he had vacated. He allowed his own tired eyes to stare at the pallor face of his still unconscious little brother.

“How was your call with Lady Penelope?” Scott asked, interrupting the aquanaut’s thoughts.

Gordon smiled. “It was good. Penny sends her best. You were right about John. He isn’t messing around. Apparently, he and Colonel Casey got into it. John asked Penny to do some digging of her own.”

Scott took a sip of his coffee and nodded in satisfaction. “Good for John. I was contemplating doing the same thing.”

Gordon rolled his eyes as his eldest brother’s protective nature began to shine. Taking in a deep breath, the second youngest swallowed some of his own coffee.

“Gordy?”

“I’m fine, Scott. Just worried about Allie is all,” Gordon said, refusing to meet his older brother’s worried blue eyes. “I wish the kid would wake up.”

Scott moved away from his perch by the window and took a seat next to Gordon. “Me too, but Alan’s tough. The last update we got from the doctors sounded hopeful. Alan just needs some rest.”

“Yea, I heard. It’s just so quiet without him buzzing around talking about the next meteor shower. Just last night, he was bugging me about joining him on the roof. I think the next one was supposed to be in three days.” Gordon frowned, rubbing his neck. “I should’ve paid more attention.”

Scott squeezed Gordon’s leg reassuringly. “Allie will be okay, Gordon. The bloodloss just took a lot out of him. He’ll be awake in no time, rattling all of our ears off.”

“I can’t wait to poke fun at that shiner he’s got, though,” Gordon grinned, earning a chuckle from Scott.

“Poor kid does look like he went a round or two, doesn’t he?”

A beep sounded from Scott’s watch, interrupting them. “Grandma, Kayo, and John are here. Will you be okay if I go down and meet them?”

Gordon rolled his eyes once more. “Go on, it’s not like either of them are going anywhere soon,” the second youngest said, eyeing his two sleeping siblings.

“You know that’s not what I meant, Gordon,” Scott said, eyeing his little brother pointedly.

Gordon smirked. “I’m fine, Scooter.”

“Alright,” Scott said, heading toward the door. “I’ll be back before you know it with the rest of the cavalry.”

“Hey, Scott,” Gordon called, causing the eldest to pause. “Thanks. You know…”

Scott smiled. “Don’t mention it.”

TBC...

#thunderbirds fanfiction #thunderbirds #thunderbirds are go #random muse #allie goes rogue #virgil tracy #gordon tracy #scott tracy #alan tracy #john tracy #kayo kyrano #grandma tracy #colonel casey #my writing #my works #part 6 #thunderfam

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crystalwillow · 4 years ago

Text

Pitter Patter, Part One

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x Georgia Valentine (F!MC)

Collab With: @brycelahelalover

Word Count: 4.5K

We loved our last collab we done last time that @brycelahelalover and I decided to do another one. In this one Bryce and F!MC are having a baby and learning to become the best parents they can be, so their child doesn’t have to experience what they did as children. I am adding some personal feelings and thoughts to my part of this collab. So it is a little but about me and what type of person I was going through school and my thought process and how that has developed over the years up until now, when I’m 22. I hope you enjoy this one! Remember to keep an eye out for part 2 which will be posted by Chahnaz, as well as a little side story she wants to write too.

=================================

She had always had a hard time trusting people, but in particular, she’d had a hard time trusting men all her life. She was the shy kid in school who had a small group of people she would hang out with and if they weren’t at school she would always find a quiet spot to sit by herself and pass the time by sitting studying for a subject as she ate her lunch. She never caught anyone’s eye, meaning she never had a relationship. Though that was much to her relief as she already had enough to deal with, and there was no way she could handle a relationship. So when she started her time at Edenbrook hospital after graduating med school, she had no idea that she would be where she is now at 31.

--- 8 Years Earlier ---

“You seriously don’t see children in your future?! Like at all?”

Georgia shook her head as she swallowed her bite of pasta salad at the question asked by one of her friends, Angelica.

“Nope. Not at all.”

“Why?”

Georgia shrugged. “I just... don’t feel like that’s in the cards for me so why bother thinking about it?”

Angelica smiled sadly and gently rubbed Georgia’s wrist before saying goodbye and heading back behind the counter of the coffee shop to continue with her work, leaving her friend to study for an exam.

--- Present Day ---

Bryce sat up in bed with a loud yawn as he stretched out, the person beside him groaning in tired annoyance. “Shut up.” they mumbled, rolling over and stuffing the pillow over their head. Bryce grinned lazily before laying over them and resting his head on the pillow. “Ahhh yes. Much comfier... I should have ordered the Georgia style mattress when I brought the frame instead.” he teased. “Get off of me you fat oaf.” Georgia protested, her voice muffled beneath the pillow.

“It even talks.. cool. Creepy.. but still cool. Tell me, do you love me?”

“Yes. You know I do.”

“mhm. Are you in love with me.”

“Bryce...” she sighed.

“Tell me.”

“I can’t breathe. I’ll tell you that for free. Anything else and you’re gonna have to pay.”

Bryce Chuckled rolling off of her and back onto his half of the bed, Georgia throwing the pillow off of her head.

“Wow. You are RED.”

“And you’re clearly in the wrong profession, Sherlock Holmes.” She retorted smugly.

Bryce looked at his girlfriend with his trademark smirk and eyes sparkling with mischief before launching himself at her and smothering her with affectionate kisses and a massive hug, resting his head in the crook of her neck as she hugged him back.

“We need to get up Bryce.”

“I don’t want to.”

“We have to. I have work and you have shopping to do.”

Bryce groaned into Georgia’s neck and she laughed at him. “Come on.”

“Nope.”

“Bryce.”

“Ugh, finee. But you owe me later.”

“I’ll make it up to you, promise.”

“You had better.”

--- 4 Hours Later ---

Georgia was walking through a hall on her way to the cafeteria to get some coffee, when a blur of colour zoomed past knocking her into the wall. “Oof.” she said aloud as someone came back around the corner, when she met the persons eyes she took in a sharp breath. Bryce looked at her apologetically.

“Sorry babe.”

“No, it’s okay. What are you doing here anyway? I thought it was your day off?”

“It was supposed to be, but I’ve been called in to assist on an emergency surgery. We’ll have to finish the shopping together later.”

“Oh. Okay, well... good luck.” She smiled and went up on tiptoe to give him a quick kiss before he rushed off again. As she trudged onward, Georgia ran into Zaid who waved her over.

“What’s up?” she asked as she stopped beside him

“Baz told me that you’re needed upstairs.”

“Oh. Okay, thank you.” She smiled as Zaid nodded curtly and left, leaving Georgia to go up to the diagnostics office.

When she got there the team was already half way through a differential, she took a seat and done her best to catch up despite the fiery death glares her boss was giving her. They were strong enough that she could have sworn her skin was burning.

“That would be everything for now. And Valentine.”

“Y-yes, Dr. Ramsey?”

“I won’t accept tardiness on my team. If it happens again you can kiss your spot goodbye. Understood?”

“Yes, Dr. Ramsey, Sir.”

She bowed and backed out of the room as if he was royalty before turning around and heading off to her patients again. Later in the day she met up with Bryce and they went to finish the grocery shopping together. Though the car ride there seemed quiet and tense as Georgia looked out of the window with a distant look in her eyes.

“Are you okay sweetheart?” Bryce asked, concern on his face as he darted glances to the seat beside him. But he got no answer. “Geor-”

“I’m fine.” She snapped out of seemingly nowhere forcing Bryce into a silence making the atmosphere in the car very awkward. When they reached the parking lot of the store and Bryce killed the engine after parking the car she spoke up again. “You stay here. I’ll get everything we need.”

She still had that tone in her voice and Bryce could tell she was doing it again. Trying to put distance between them, and it was then he registered what the look in her eyes truly was. A mix of fear and uncertainty. Sighing, he locked them in the car and took her hand in his tentatively and stroked the back with his other spare one. “Babe. It’s okay.” He whispered looking at her even though she refused to look back at him. “I understand that you get scared. And that’s okay, Just please... don’t push me away. I’m here for you Georgia. Through whatever life will throw at you. I’m in your corner.” He watched for a reaction from her, but she just shook her head as she blinked back tears. “Oh sugarplum.” He sighed, unbuckling her seatbelt and pulling her into his lap. She silently snuggled closer into him as he rubbed soothing circles onto her back and kissed the top of her head delicately as if she was an expensive piece of antique china porcelain he couldn’t afford to break. Georgia cried quietly into his chest until she fell asleep, Bryce laying her in the back of the car and covering her with a blanket before locking the car and heading inside to do the shopping himself. By the time she woke up, they were back at Bryce’s apartment and her head was in Bryce’s lap as he watched a show on TV whilst absentmindedly playing with her hair. Her slight movement and yawn alerted him to the fact she was awake now. He glanced down to find her glistening green eyes looking up at him, they were still tired and had a mix of emotions flowing through them.

“Hey.” He said with a soft smile at her, which she returned.

“Hey.” She whispered back, sitting up to stretch some more before laying back in Bryce’s lap, his hand going back to playing with her hair. “I’m sorry for earlier.” She mumbled, staring at the screen as if it was a window.

Bryce sighed. “It’s alright. You’ve explained everything to me before. I’m not mad. You’re perception of men hasn’t exactly been the greatest growing up. Your dad wasn’t the best, your mom only ever dated men who would break her heart and was too stubborn to end things because she didn’t want to give the man the satisfaction of her doing so. And I’m your first ever love. Navigating a relationship when you haven’t had the best examples is hard, I get that. I mean, look at my parents. I’m blessed because they stayed together, but... they weren’t the best example of what love should be. When I say I’m in your corner, I mean it. We’re in this whole adventure together. It’s new and scary for both of us, but don’t let the feeling of fear rule your thoughts. I’m not leaving you, I love you too much. I’d be insane to leave such a beautiful woman. There’s nobody like you. You’re smart, funny, caring. You may not see it yourself but you’re also very courageous at times. Nothing is going to change the way I feel about you, ever.”

Georgia smiled at him as a tear rolled down her cheek. She had only been awake for approximately 5 minutes and he had made her cry. Bryce looked down when he heard a sniffle and looked at her with a look of adoration mixed with concern.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. It’s just... you’re so sweet when were together. Why don’t you show this side more often?”

“You mean in public with our friends?”

She nodded.

“Because this side of me is reserved for moments like this. Where it is just us, and I can be as sappy and loving and worshipping of you as I like without judgement from the likes of Jackie.”

“Bryce...” Georgia smiled genuinely as he bent down to press a soft kiss to her lips. She kissed him back, and when they pulled away their lips were a little plumper.

--- 3 Weeks Later ---

Bryce sighed as he got into his car after one of the most intense surgeries he had conducted, he was equal parts worried as he was tired. What was so urgent that Georgia wanted to speak about? He was taken over by confusion as he drove towards his apartment where he knew his girlfriend was waiting for him. As he parked in the lot of the complex, he took a moment to breathe as he killed the engine before heading upstairs on tired feet. As he opened the door, the familiar smell of his favourite rice dish hit his nostrils and he perked up a bit before dread overtook his senses. If she had cooked his favourite meal what was this about if not breaking up? He stepped over the threshold and closed the door, tossing his keys into the bowl on the table by the door, and hung his jacket on the coat stand, before kicking his shoes off and wriggling his toes with a sigh of relief.

“Bryce!”

“Ah!!” he screamed as his girlfriend ran over and jumped into his arms, hugging tightly.

“I missed you today.”

“I missed you too, honey” he yawned.

Georgia lead him to the couch and sat him down. “You relax here. Dinner is almost ready.” She said with a smile and kiss to his cheek before heading back to his kitchen. When she returned she was carrying a tray that had a massive bowl of rice and chicken on it.

“I’m too tired to lift a fork right now babe. I just got out of an 11 hour surgery and-”

“Stop right there. That’s why there’s only one bowl, I’m going to feed you because you need to eat.”

Bryce smiled with a small chuckle. “You’re going to make an amazing mother to our children one day. You know that?” He asked as he turned his head to look at her, suddenly feeling more alert when he registered how serious her expression had turned. “Is... Is that what you wanted to talk about?”

“Yeah...”

Georgia placed the tray on the coffee table and sat next to him as he sat forwards and turned his body to face her, and they took each other’s hands.

“Is there something wrong? Are you unable to have them? Because that doesn’t matter if that’s the problem, we can adopt. There’s hundreds of children looking for loving homes. And.”

“Bryce. Will you shut up for one minute and let me talk?” she asked as she cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah. Of course, sorry. I just.”

“It’s okay. I understand. But I wanted to talk about it because I think I’m ready. To start trying for a child. That is.. if you are too?” she said with hopefulness in her tone.

Bryce looked at her as a silence stretched out between them, he watched in awed perplexation as she lightly bit her lower lip, internally asking himself if this was really happening and if he was ready for this step in their relationship too. After a while, Georgia started to get worried.

“Babe? ... B-Bryce?” she asked, her voice loud in the silence bringing Bryce back to the present moment. He looked down at their hands held in one another’s a small smile creeping onto his features as hot tears of emotion pricked his eyes. He looked up to be met with her green orbs sparkling with a mix of emotions as he cleared his throat.

“Yeah.” He nodded, squeezing her hands. “I’m ready too.”

Time seemed to stop in that moment for them yet still go on around them as they hugged tightly whispering sweet nothings to each other and shared kisses that were equally as sweet. They shared the bowl of food and washed it down with their favourite drinks before they both headed to bed, exhausted from their days.

Two months after their discussion, Bryce and Georgia started trying seriously for a child. Soon the days turned to weeks, weeks to months and months to almost a full year until the morning of his 33rd birthday Bryce was woken up by an ear-piercing scream. He flew out of bed and into the bathroom where he found Georgia on the floor crying, and spotted a pregnancy test on the side. He walked over and risked peaking at it, breath catching in his throat as he saw it.

“Babe...” he said quietly as he crouched beside her and pulled her into a hug. Tears glistening his eyes too. Georgia couldn’t manage any words that morning as they got ready and made their way to work other than what food she wanted from the coffee shop as they stopped off on their way to Edenbrook. When they reached the hospital they stopped in the atrium and took a seat on a bench close to the main doors.

“How are you feeling?” Bryce asked

“.... Shocked. I...”

Bryce smiled and squeezed her hand tightly, conveying he knew exactly how she felt with his touch and the look he gave her.

“I wasn’t ready to see a positive after so many negatives. I just. I can hardly process my thoughts. I... How are you feeling?” she asked back looking into his eyes only to be met with a warm, excited smile.

“Honestly. Pretty great, this is like, the best birthday present ever.”

Georgia froze as she suddenly remembered what day it was.

“Ohmygosh. I’m so sorry, I’d planned to cook breakfast for you and everything. Not wake you up by screaming and crying on your bathroom floor.”

“It’s fine babe, honestly. But I have been meaning to talk to you about us too.”

“You have?”

Bryce nodded, uncertainty clouding his eyes for a brief moment before being replaced by his trademark happiness. “I’ve been thinking maybe we should move in together now. I mean, we’re taking the step of having a child, so it only makes sense we live in the same place now instead of separately. Which has been torturous for me by the way.” He said teasingly.

Georgia smiled at him. “We should give it thought for today and talk it over in more detail tonight after work, back at my place.”

“Yeah, sure. No problem.”

They both leaned forward for a kiss, but it was cut short at the sound of a familiar voice ringing out through the atrium.

“VALENTINE!”

Georgia cringed at the sound of Dr. Ramsey’s voice and pulled away with a sigh. “Sorry. I should.. get going.” She whispered.

“Okay. Come. Find me. Later.” Bryce said with a smile, kissing her between each word.

Georgia gave him a smile and returned his kisses before taking her bag and following her boss up to the office to start her day at work.

Inside the office before the morning consult started, Dr. Ramsey rounded on the young doctor.

“You’ve had all morning to suck face rookie, I suggest if you want to do it for longer that you give up your spot for someone who will value it and not act with such reckless abandon.”

“Are you a female, Dr. Ramsey?”

“I’m sorry?” He asked, everyone looking at Georgia confused.

“Are you a female? Did you find out this morning that your pregnant? Is it your boyfriends birthday? And last but certainly not least, is the topic of later discussion with your boyfriend already in your mind? In other words... Are you walking amongst the clouds this morning, Dr. Ramsey?”

“I-”

“You’re pregnant?! Congratulations.” Baz exclaimed happily, wrapping her in a hug. “I’m going to be an uncle, can you believe it?!”

“I’m sure Zaid is going to be thrilled.” A stuck up voice said

“Excuse me. Zaid Mirani is very good with children and not half as bad as he portrays himself.” Georgia said defensively to the posh, stuck up woman who had replaced June’s spot on the team.

“And for future reference, you address Dr. Ramsey with respect as he dese-”

“I suggest you, Dr. Portavia, address the members of my team who have been here longer than you with respect. Including myself. Dr. Valentine is well within her rights to talk to me as she was. We have somewhat of a friendship outside of these walls, I take the boss position too harshly sometimes in moments where I shouldn’t. Now. If we are done with the arguments?”

The team sat around the table. Baz next to Georgia as always and 2 seats left empty between themselves and Dr. Portavia as Dr. Ramsey briefed the team on their new patient.

---

Consumed by the busyness of her day and lost in the amount of tasks she had to do, Georgia completely lost track of time until she ran into Bryce and saw him in his regular clothes.

“Hey babe.” She greeted with a smile and quick kiss before turning to her patients chart she had placed on the desk of the nurses station.

“Hey.” Bryce said back with a yawn. “How are you?”

“Pretty good. Today is hectic but I’d be lying if that wasn’t one of the aspects of this job that excites me.”

“Today? Honey, when was the last time you sat down?”

“In the diagnostics office after I left you this morning.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Yes. I’ve had a cereal bar that was in my pocket. Other than that I’ve just been keeping my water intake way up. ... Not really had the chance to stop for longer than 2 minutes.”

“And... what day is it?”

Georgia gave a chuckle. “It’s your birthday silly.” But her expression fell as she took in the serious look of concern on Bryce’s face. “Wh-what is it?”

“It’s 4:27am of the day after my birthday.”

“What? No it’s not.”

“Georgia. I’ve been waiting at your place for you all night.”

“But...”

“No buts. You’re clocking out and coming home with me. Now.”

Georgia sighed as she felt sadness and a pang of guilt radiate in her chest. She’d missed her boyfriend’s birthday completely, and now she felt completely rotten.

“Oh. O-okay then. I’ll just... get my... stuff.” She stuttered before heading off to the locker room. Bryce flagging down a nearby nurse and asking them to keep an eye on all of her patients. On their way out they passed Ethan coming into the hospital. He stopped in his tracks as he heard Bryce’s hushed words towards Georgia.

“...you’re pregnant now. You can’t pull almost 24 hour shifts and survive on cereal bars and water anymore. You need to take care of 2 people now.”

Equal parts intrigued and worried, Ethan called out to them.

“Valentine. Lahela.”

Georgia and Bryce stopped in their tracks and turned to him.

“Hey Eth- Dr. Ramsey.” Georgia said sweetly whilst Bryce gave a curt nod to the attending.

“Are you only now going home?” Ethan asked

“I uh...”

“She is. Though I don’t see why it concerns you.” Bryce said coolly

“Bryce. He’s my boss.”

“Right.”

An intense awkward moment passed between the three of them as Bryce stared as Ethan with his chest puffed out, holding Georgia’s hand protectively. They all knew why, but Bryce needn’t worry. Ethan was aware that Georgia didn’t reciprocate his feelings towards her in a romantic way and they were contently settled on being friends. That didn’t stop Bryce from being protective of what was his though, he felt it was his duty to protect her from other bachelors. Young or old.

It was Ethan who broken the silence. “Right, well um. Take the day off and rest properly. I’ll see you tomorrow Valentine.” He said with a soft smile and single nod before heading to the elevators, Bryce walking out to his car still protectively holding Georgia’s hand. When they got back to her apartment Bryce carried Georgia up to her front door, only placing her on her feet to open the door before picking her up again and taking her inside and straight to her bed.

“Keep your butt planted here, I’ll heat up your dinner.”

“Okay.”

Bryce turned quickly and made his way to the kitchen so that Georgia wouldn’t see the worry in his eyes. When he came back with a plate full of steaming hot food, he found the bed empty.

“Babe?” he sighed, placing the plate on the bedside table

“Yeah?”

Bryce turned around and saw Georgia behind him.

“I thought I told you to keep your butt on the bed?”

“I needed to pee.”

“... so?”

“So I went. I wasn’t going to pee my bed Bryce.”

Bryce sighed with dejected tiredness. “Just. Eat your dinner, I’ll come by later or sometime tomorrow and we can talk about moving in together then okay?”

“You... aren’t going to stay?”

“I have a shift that starts in an hour and a half. I can’t.”

“Oh. Okay. Well um, see you later. I love you!” Georgia called out as Bryce moved past her and out of the front door. Guilt settled in Georgia’s chest as she heard the door close behind him, her ‘I love you.’ left unreturned.

--- The Next Day ---

It was late in the afternoon the next day and Georgia was half way through her rounds when she bumped into someone’s chest as she rounded a corner.

“Oh! Sor- Oh. Bryce.” She said as she turned her gaze to the floor and maneuvered around him and carried on her way. She hadn’t seen or heard from him since he left her in her apartment to head to work the previous morning, so she knew to avoid him. It had always been that way for her, she had a good relationship with someone, things went great, then she got carried away with something she loves to do and makes them mad, they don’t talk to her, she avoids them. So when Bryce caught her arm gently and pulled her back, it took her by surprise and her breath hitched.

“I have work to do. I need to get to the lab.” She said professionally never meeting his gaze.

“I’ll walk with yo-”

“No. I’m internal medicine. You’re a surgeon. There’s no reason we need to be walking together unless we’re heading to the same patient room.”

“I’m also your boyfriend.”

“Are you? Because the last time I checked, even if a boyfriend is mad with their other half, they at least send them a message saying hey, hoping their okay and ending it with I love you. Which by the way, you never returned. So if you’ll excuse me, I have to get some run-ups done on these blood samples.” Georgia huffed as she turned on her heel and stomped towards the labs.

“Georgia!” Bryce called out as he chased her through the halls.

“Just leave me alone, Bryce.”

“Would you just talk to me for a second and tell me what’s wrong?!”

Georgia halted to an abrupt stop.

“I told you what’s wrong Bryce. You’ve not text me back, you’ve ignored my calls and you never returned my ‘I love you.’ yesterday. I’m pregnant with your goddamn child and you’re acting like one all because I lost track of time and almost worked 24 hours! I get that could have endangered the baby but I’m a doctor, Bryce. I was going to eat a proper meal as soon as I got home.”

“And when was that going to be?”

“As soon as I’d filled in those charts and said goodnight to my patients. I was 20 minutes from being done for the day when you dragged me away.”

“I did not drag you!”

“I’m not saying you physically dragged me.”

“Then what are you saying?”

Georgia just gave him a look and just like he had done to her, walked away from him without another word, leaving Bryce to throw his arms up in exasperation before heading back to work. Soon months had passed, and Georgia was now 7 months pregnant. She and Bryce got over there little bump and had made the decision to move into a 3 bed house close to Edenbrook, which they had both gotten the day off of work to move into properly. Georgia watched from the top of the stairs as Bryce carried in the last box from his car, kicking the door shut behind him. Feeling her gaze on him, he looked up flashing his trademark grin with a wink.

“Like what you see?”

“What I see impregnated me, sooo..”

“Fair point.” He chuckled then pointed to the box. “Last one. Where’s it going? It’s not labelled.”

“In our bedroom.” Georgia smiled before heading towards the nursery to carry on clicking the pieces of the plastic drawers that would hold the toys together. She was clicking the wheels in place when Bryce came in the room smiling at her.

“What?” Georgia asked with a brow raised in curiosity.

“Nothing. I just feel like a proper adult now. I have a job, a beautiful girlfriend, we have a baby on the way and we just got our first place together.” He said, sitting next to her and pulling her to his chest as he leant back on the wall. Georgia smiling up at him. “Yeah. It does feel pretty great doesn’t it?” she smiled. They stayed there in the spot for a while, just looking out of the window and watching the trees swaying in the wind before carrying on with building, and setting things up. After a long day moving into their new house, they settled into bed after enjoying a warm bubble bath together, excited for the day they would be able to finally meet their bundle of joy.

#pixelberry studios #playchoices #choices stories you play #dr bryce lahela #bryce lahela #bryce lahela x f!mc #bryce lahela fanfiction #oph f!mc #open heart fanfiction #choices fanfiction #dr bryce lahela x f!mc

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crackedoutgiraffe · 5 years ago

Text

The Stars in Your Eyes

Part 2 of To the Moon and Back

Part 1: Chapter 1

5/1/2013

3 months and 15 days after Maeve was killed. Reid still had dreams about her. He wouldn’t talk about them with you, but he would wake in terror and be calling for her.

With the case in South Dakota, Reid finally opened up to Rossi that he wasn’t sleeping well. Rossi told him to give in to his dreams and play out his ‘fantasies’.

That night Reid told you about his dreams and you told him it was ok that he still thought of her. He felt bad that he couldn’t get over her and that he was engaged to you. There wasn’t much you could do to help him, but you did what you could.

He told you that he had a recurring dream where Maeve would ask him to dance and he would always say no, that night he danced with her. The dreams stopped after that and you two resumed your normal life.

5/25/2013

The Replicator, as he had been named, was terrorizing the entire team. When the team finally got to wind of his deeds, he was already plotting his plans to murder Strauss and Blake. After the case in New York, the team decided to stay the night and get some rest before the flight back home.

Strauss was missing and it was the team’s job to find her. Hotch stayed with her while she died and Rossi stayed with her at the medical examiner. There were few clues but the team eventually got to the conclusion that the replicator’s real name was John Curtis, an FBI agent.

After the helicopter crash, almost being blown up, and having numerous surveillance photos taken of you, some of which were more risque (Morgan never let you live that down), Reid saw just how close someone could come to hurting you.

He begged for you to take a break and let him protect you but you refused and continued on with your work. He would barely leave your side during cases and made you promise before every case that you both would make it out alive.

1/24/2014

With the arrival of the new section chief, everyone’s behavior shifted, JJ’s more than most. Will came in on the 23rd saying that JJ hadn’t come home and that she was missing. The team quickly did what they did best and started to look for her. You, Reid, and Garcia broke in the Secure Compartmentalized Information Facility to dig up whatever information you could on JJ’s state department mission.

Everyone brought their heads together and figured out that the best way to get JJ and Cruz, who was also found to be missing, back was to call Emily. She gave valuable information about JJ’s deployment that led the team to find out who the mole was.

When the team got to the server facility they were holding JJ in, you, Emily, and Hotch ran to find the entrance to the basement. The three of you moved down the stairs and to a single room. A man was standing next to a blonde and holding a knife to her throat. Hotch fired two shots into his back. He was dead on the spot.

JJ was beaten up. Her hair looked wet and her shirt was partially unbuttoned. Cruz was laying on the ground in a pool of blood. You were quick to run over to JJ, but she pushed you away and begged you to help Cruz.

Emily helped her down and then came to help you and Hotch. By the time you helped him up, JJ was gone. Cruz helped direct Emily to the roof, and she was quick to follow.

You and Hotch helped to carry Cruz back up. When you returned to the surface, the team was still engaged in a firefight with the goons. Hotch carried Cruz and you covered him. Reid, Blake, and Morgan knocked out the last gunman and joined you in the main lobby.

JJ and Emily joined you all moments after a body had fallen from the sky. JJ gave her greetings to her teammates and Reid was overjoyed to see her ok.

The next night JJ was discharged from the hospital and Rossi invited everyone out for drinks. During the outing, Reid never let you out of his sight. That night he asked you, “Promise me, promise me that whatever happens to us, we pull through. No matter what happens neither of us can die.” He held out his pinkie and you gave him the only acceptable answer, “I promise.”

3/14/2014

Reid had almost been killed by a man with rabies the day prior, but now it was time for you and Morgan to have your fun.

Morgan told you he got Garcia’s and Reid’s physical tests waived, but he had a prank he wanted to pull. Three days ago he forged an email saying they had to take the physical endurance tests. They had been spotted at the track on the 12th getting ready to take their test before they were called away for a case.

Morgan and you strolled up to the track in disguises and surprised them. They were not happy, to say the least.

Morgan and you were yelling words of encouragement their way and helping them train. When they were all tuckered out, Morgan told them the truth, that Morgan had their tests waived. They weren’t happy with your deceit. They tried to run after you two, but they were too tired and you were too fast.

When you drove Reid home that night, he gave you the silent treatment. You tried to joke with him about it, but he was not having it. He eventually broke and started laughing when you had to help him up to the apartment because his muscles were so sore.

3/8/2014

The team was called to a case in Texas to investigate prostitutes killed with carvings in back. The team looked at all the evidence and the new body that showed up and put an APB out for Justin Mills.

Within hours Mills’s car was spotted outside of El Lobito’s diner. The team rushed over there with numerous cops. Mills was inside freaking out and the cops were outside preparing to take him down when a shot was fired.

The bullet hit the sheriff and the shootout began. Blake tried to go and help the sheriff who was bleeding on the ground. You heard Morgan scream Reid’s name and terror flooded your body. You ducked down behind the car door you were firing from and turned around to see Reid bleeding on the ground and Morgan trying to drag him behind the car. No matter how much you loved him you still had a job to do.

The police officers rushed the building and JJ and Morgan followed him. You went around to the back of the police car to find Blake talking to Reid and calling for help with her hand over his neck. The blood was flowing faster than she could stop it. Morgan and JJ caught up to Mills and shot him.

The ambulances arrived right as Morgan and JJ returned from the abandoned building MIlls retreated too. The paramedics got Reid on a gurney, Morgan hopped in the back with him to get stitches. The deputy came over to give you and Blake information on how to get to the hospital.

When you arrived Reid was wheeled into surgery, and Morgan was treated for his wounds. Blake paced through the waiting room and you stayed in a seat tapping your foot. Eventually, the silence got to you. You stood up and walked out of the hospital and to a nearby bench. Rossi found you sitting by yourself and came to sit with you.

“Did you know that he wants to have kids, can you imagine that?” you put your head on his shoulder. “Spence as a dad.”

“That child would be so lucky,” he moved his head to look at the stars, “they would have the best parents in the world.”

You and Rossi sat in silence for another hour before JJ came to tell you that her, Morgan, Hotch, and Prentiss were heading back to the station. Rossi got up to join them. You told JJ you would call her when Reid woke up.

You made your way back inside to find Blake and Garcia with a surgeon.

“What’s going on?” you rushed into the waiting room.

Garcia gave you a quick hug, “Doc, this is Y/N, Reid’s fiance.”

“Agent,” he extended his hand and you shook it, “Dr. Reid is going to be fine, he’s actually very lucky. Couple centimeters to the left and it would have hit his carotid.”

You sighed with relief and went to the room number the doctor provided. Reid was laying in the bed with bandages on his neck. He looked so peaceful. Garcia started to lay out some of his favorite Doctor Who figurines.

Eventually, he woke up and you gave him a big kiss. Blake had gone back to the team but you stayed for a little longer. He eventually told you to go back and join the team. You reluctantly obliged and headed for the station. Your breathing was erratic when you walked in. Hotch noticed this and forced you to stay at the station to look through old files for anything they missed.

It wasn’t until later that you were told about the corrupt deputies. It wasn’t after they tried to kill Reid a second time that Hotch told you about the danger you were in at the station.

Before sunrise, the town was wiped of their corrupt deputies and everyone could rest easy. The team stayed in Texas for an extra day to give Reid more time to rest.

On the flight home that night, Reid was asleep on the couch with his head in your lap and you petting his hair.

1/27/2015

6 months until your wedding. You got a call from Hotch in the middle of the night that you needed to go to a cabin in the woods. Hotch told you to not tell Reid.

When you got to the cabin the team was standing around a body on the floor with three bullet wounds. It was Jason Gideon.

Hotch called Reid an hour later with the news. He drove his beat up VW bug to the cabin. When he walked in he looked bad. His hair was disheveled and he had been crying.

During the entire case the team tried their best to comfort Reid. He had been through so much during his life.

Just like with Maeve he stopped being able to sleep. He would wake up at obscene hours of the night and leave your bedroom. You would follow him out to see him playing chess by himself.

“What’re you doing?” you asked, groggily.

“I’m trying to finish his last game,” his eyes never left the board.

“Gideon’s?” you sat down on the floor across from him. He responded solely with a nod.

The two of you played through his game, and eventually Reid fell asleep on the couch. You covered him with a blanket and returned to your bed.

Your entire wedding was planned. All you had to do was keep Reid alive for six months.

#spencer reid #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid x reader #spencer #Criminal Minds #criminal minds fic

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prorevenge · 6 years ago

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A unique way to share your money among your heirs in a way that is actually fair

This story is the story of a good friend's of mine grandfather, and how he dealt with his inheritance in a very unique way. He had 2 sons, and each of them also had 2 sons. In the last half year of his life, my friend and me visited him every morning and every evening. You see he did not want to go into a retirement home, and apart fro getting ready in the morning and in the evening he did not really need help.

Now I need to explain something real quick. Back in the day we still have mandatory service in the army for 12 months, but there was several way around it. I will only explain the most common way, since it is connected to our story. You see instead of gong to the army, you could say you refuse to go to the army for ethical reasons (which was really just a formality, you simply wrote a1 page essay why you think you being in the army would violate your personal ethics, and they pretty much had to accept it). BUT that meant you had to go into civil service. Civil service could be any kind of job tat in a wider sense is a service to society. So these jobs ranged from kindergarden to retirement homes and anything in between like hospitals, homes for the physically or mentally disabled, meals on wheels, pretty much anything you can imagine. You would be paid for that time the same amount of money you would get in the army, and had the right to certain perks like a free room, health insurance,m work clothes etc. the same stuff any soldier gets. Plus since soldiers get free food you either got free food or a food allowance. I did my time in a retirement home, and it was an awesome experience. I think a job like that really widens your horizon as young arrogant shit, and really matures you and shows you what is actually important in life.

Back to the story. I was just done with my time in the retirement home, and for one year imply wanted to job around and make some money. Then one of my best friends comes to me and tells me he needs my help. His grandpa can no longer do everything by himself, but really only needs help in the morning to get ready and in the evening. Since I have learned how to do this from real professionals, he asks me to show him, so his grandpa does not yet have to go into a retirement home (he later admitted grandpa said he would rather kill himself then get into a nursing home, and he seemed really serious about it. He did not tell me at the time since he did not want to pressure me into help like that, which I really appreciated).

He was one of my best friends, and I really liked his grandpa (when I was younger, I did not have a grandpa, but we visited him all the time and I became his unofficial 5th grandson) so of course I said yes. The original plan was to show him for 2-3 weeks, and then observe him for another 2-3 weeks, then he would do it on his own. But we ended up doing it together for over half a year, then grandpa had a stroke and died within 2 days in the hospital.

2 days days later my friend asked me to come with him to the lawyer where the lst will would be spread. His grandfather had specifically asked that his will should be read the day before he gets burried, which is quite unusual, but not illegal as such. I asked why he anted me there, and he told me the lawyer had officially invited me, since grandpa had left me something as a thank you for my service. I was a bit embarrassed, but also happy that grandpa had thought so highly of my service he even put me in his last will.

Now my friends dad is an entitled asshole and the same goes for his uncle. We arrived there, and went into the room. My friend is F, you get 3 guesses who ME is, entitled is ED an entitled uncle is EU.

ED (to me) : why the hell are you here ? I know that dad called you in jest his 5th grandkid, but this is for real family.

EU : I bet the little golddiger hoped he would get some money in the will.

Me : I was asked to be here by the lawyer, take it up with him i have no idea why I am here.

ED : IF YOU PULLED SOMETHING TO GET TO HIS MONEY I WILL SUE YOU SO HARD EVEN YOUR KIDS WILL STILL NEED LAWYERS !!!!

F: show some respect and stop shouting, i know you 2 did not really give a shit about your dad, but show at least a minimum of respect.

EU: HOW DARE YOU TALK LIKE THAT TO YOUR ELDERS YOU LITTLE SHIT.

F : you 2 get exactly as much respect from me as you showed your own father NONE.

He really shouted th4e last word, and it finally shut the 2 up.

WE sat down and still had to wait for the other 2 grand kids to arrive. The 2 sat right behind us, and what they talked about relay made my blood boil. Apparently the had both gotten new cars, new jewelry for the wife and had planned a huge holiday. All that was paid for by credit and they had planned to pay for it with the inheritance. None of then said even a word about missing him, being sad that he died, NOTHING. ONLY memememe and money, money , money. They seemed to be in competition who could spend the inheritance faster the way they planned away the money.

Then finally we where all there and the layer read out a short letter, what I tell you here is a much shortened version, but the real thing was several pages. But it boils down to this :

IN recent years I more and more realized that some people in my family cared a lot more about me then others. I am especially disappointed in my 2 sons, but I wanted to be really fair and not biased, so I came up with a point system :

letter/phonecall : 1 point + 1 extra if it is very long

Visit : 2 points per hour plus 1 point per hour of travel to me and back

Helping me out with something : 3 points per hour

This is the final result over the last 3 years of my life

ED : 8 points

EU : 10 points

EUkid1: 150 points

EUkid2: 133 points

Fbrother : 288 points

F : 7341

Me : 5883

My lawyer has already liquidated most of my assets except the house. Once it is sold, the money will be divided by the points, so we know what each point is worth, and then every person gets a share of the money according to his points.

For about a minute you could hear a pin drop, then both ED and EU started shouting at the same time that they knew we would have pulled something and this will would never stand. Of course they tried to sue (EU his kids and ED together), but they lost, and there was a secret clause (not really secret, it was simply not read to us that day, so nobody realized it was in there since we all assumed everything was read to us on that day by the lawyer)in the will that if someone sue's against the will, he loses his share of the inheritance.

It took nearly 3 years until all the lawsuits where over. I was blown away when we finally got the money, I a not naming a sum, but it was way more then I felt comfortable accepting, so I wanted to give at least some of it to the other 3 grandkids, but my friend finally convinced me to accept by saying to me : you cared for him when he needed you, without expecting anything for it, which makes you 10 times more his family then any of those fuckers. They got what they deserved.

(source) story by (/u/hicctl)

#prorevenge #by /u/hicctl #pro revenge #revenge stories #pro revenge stories #pro #revenge #last10

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jxneun · 5 years ago

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[one-shot] say nothing more, baby

Pairing: implied Yamato/Taichi from Digimon Adventure

Rating: pg-13, tw: Character death, Hanahaki disease

fic inspiration from the song “like i need u” by keshi.

—

laying in bed waiting for your touch

Restless, tossing and turning

in the dead of the night, ears ringing

stay with me

nauseous, dizzy

eyes growing misty

i don’t want to be alone

filled with regret

wanting to reset

you don’t need me like i need you

yellow carnations bloomed,

these unwanted feelings consumed

wish we never met

left the boy torn, dragged through the mud

petals tainted by splotches of blood

pain, that’s an option

an inevitable infection

trauma inflicted on the destined

—

Yamato Ishida was stunned.

Lost in the confines of Tokyo U Hospital, the blonde felt lost in the eerie feeling the sterile white walls gave. Takeru was by his side when he received the call from Hikari. Speechless, with his lungs threatening to collapse after running into the unfamiliar building, especially upon hearing the news from his best friend’s little sister, whose voice was hoarse on the phone and reduced to mere whispers, as if she had just mustered up the strength to speak on the phone after sobbing relentlessly, informed them that his best friend was in the hospital.

His best friend, Taichi.

His partner-in-crime aside from Gabumon, his comrade, his best friend, his inspiration.

His exuberance, a demeanor akin to no other, shined brighter than a thousand suns. His smiles and laughter imprinted in his memory, alongside the desperately thrown fists and tears, reminded him of home.

For a disease that is allegedly produced in fictional Japanese literature, a disease that is observed to have been a direct result of unrequited love. The physical manifestation of the psychological pain, exacerbated further by heartache, was akin to somatoform disorders, but the disease had limited primary research findings on it as to the origin of the disease. Perhaps, this just served as a cruel reminder that God ceased to care.

Hanahaki disease, a disease ultimately caused from prolonged and extreme pain as a direct result of grieving a lost, unreturned love; painfully beautiful, it was equally fatal, with patients dying within mere days. Going from perfectly healthy, to frail and on the verge of death, all from an unreciprocated love. .

Hikari found out, after finding Taichi collapsed in his room in the late afternoon, with blood and petals left at the scene. Next to him, was the referral from the doctor’s.

Prognosis: severe case of alleged Hanahaki disease.

Duration: onset of disease, 2 weeks with the patient remaining mostly asymptomatic. Flareup occurred on March 4.

Symptoms: Coughing, blood in sputum, dizziness, nausea, fever, mood swings

Condition of patient: requires immediate treatment as soon as possible. Dr. Narukami M.D. at Odaiba General Family Clinic referral to Tokyo U Hospital. Immediate surgery recommended within 1 week, otherwise proven fatal, may result in asphyxiation due to uncontrolled growth of yellow carnations in lungs.

It was a cruel reminder, that fate was never on their side.

They were chosen as children to be the Digidestined, thrown into the Digi World; they were merely children whose clothes were far too big for them, children whose appetites exceeded their stomach capacity, children who were burdened and pressured as result of their parents’ problems and the weight of the world on their shoulders.

Feeble attempts to return to their world, turned into a mission to save both the Digi World and their world. Achieving the impossible, such as going through worlds via portals or a digital device to fight infected Digimon served as a reminder that in their world, the impossible could very easily be feasible. Taichi was resilient, he was a natural born leader. He was an athlete, his immune system stronger than no other, his appetite overwhelmingly large as a growing boy, his demeanor and boisterous laughter so full of life.

Yet, Yamato could not help feeling shocked.

Pale, with a weary smile that masked the pain, Taichi appeared sick, decrepit, and so, exhausted. Feeble attempts to muster up greetings, and reassurances to not worry, since he felt fine, and that he had accepted the outcome. The outcome that his love had not returned his feelings, the love whose identity remained unknown to Yamato. It was too late for preventative care, Taichi had refused to come in for early checkups, and the buds had sprouted into fully grown, beautiful carnations. Carnations that were equally deadly, unfortunate, and tragic.

A mixture of resentment, bitterness, mirth and frustration bubbled in his chest. Yamato was puzzled. Who could Taichi possibly be so in love with, that his love had left him incapacitated? Who would not return their feelings for the brunette boy? Shaking his head, Yamato recollected himself, but his thoughts were interrupted by a series of coughs.

If he did not know that Hanahaki disease was not contagious, he would have thought the persistent scratch and gnawing at his throat was a sign.

The image of Taichi laying in his hospital bed was burnt into his memory, as he quickly was escorted out of the room. One of Taichi’s coughing fits had erupted, so Hikari and Takeru quickly rushed out into the hallway to call the nurse. With blood staining the corners of his mouth, and full blown flowers blooming, Yamato could never forget the image imprinted into his memory of the boy who was reminiscent of courage, ambition, and hope. The stems and leaves filled his esophagus, the sprouts depleted his already limited air supply, and petals covered by blood and bile filled the bucket next to his bed; the damage had clearly taken a toll on the boy, and fast. The nurses escorted Yamato out, reuniting him with Takeru and Hikari, who were lucky to not witness the emptiness in Taichi’s eyes, almost as if he had expected this outcome, but did not let anybody know, due to his stubbornness. Taichi, whose voice was painfully hoarse, made feeble attempts to speak to Yamato, despite his earlier coughing fits. Yet, the following words he muttered left Yamato in an intense flurry of emotions,

“Yamato, please go.”

—

Patient ID: 4242564

DOB: 05/19/19XX

Patient Name: Yagami, Taichi

Diagnosis: Hanahaki Disease

Treatment: Immediate surgery to restore respiratory functioning. Requires removal of yellow carnation flowers from lungs, which are constricting air supply.

Expected recovery: If successful, 7-8 months with rest, close monitoring from family members in case of flare ups.

The paper that Hikari was holding, despite being a thin sheet with printed letters, felt like a quick dose of reality. Hikari called her parents, giving them updates, and the address of the surgery unit. Her parents, frantic and deeply afraid, just as they were when they heard that the kids were returning to the Digital World as mere children, had a semblance of hope amidst their worries. They wanted to put their trust and faith into the medical professionals at the highly-esteemed hospital.

They had giant digital dinosaurs and birds appear in Odaiba. How far-fetched was this disease occurring in their world, really?

Yamato felt torn. Usually, the two were able to communicate non-verbally; after all, Taichi wore his heart on his sleeve. Yet, this time, he simply could not understand. He did not even know that Taichi even loved someone, to the point where he had secretly gone to the doctor's and hid the fact that he needed immediate medical attention. He endured the pain to the point that Hikari had found him cold and lifeless on the floor with the petals scattered around him; the thought of the flowers taunted him, and reminded him of his friend, whose demeanor was untypical of the brunette. The unspoken communication between them bewildered Yamato, and scared him.

Knuckles growing white, his tight grip crumpled and threatened to rip the sheet of paper. Jaw clenched, tears threatening to spill, Yamato was so tense, and furious that the world was against them, and had decided to hurt his friend, his formerly abrasive and reckless friend whose compassion and courage had saved hundreds, if not thousands of people. His friend, whose stubborn nature, was easily just as self-sacrificing and selfless, had demanded his best friend to leave the room, so that he would not have to see him in that state.

With a mirthful chuckle, Yamato wiped away at his tears, which threatened to spill at any given moment. His vision was blurry, and the noise coming from the bustling hospital was deafening. Bitterly, he thought to himself, denouncing the way that movies portrayed grief. His world of color did not come to a halt; traffic lights beamed, and the city of Tokyo was still lively as ever. His world of color, instead was muted, and it was difficult to concentrate on anything. He had dropped everything he was doing, when he received the call from Hikari. He couldn’t stop thinking about Taichi, and his bleary eyes, raw from the hours of crying in the waiting room, failed to shield him from his obstructive thoughts in facing this cruel reality. Hikari was sobbing, almost hysterical. Takeru comforted her, holding her closely, his tight embrace and face buried in her shoulders indicator enough that he was just as distraught. Taichi’s parents rushed into the emergency room, demanding to be at their eldest son’s side. Demanding answers, the duo were frustrated, as to why there were no other forms of treatment, or medication.

To this, the nurses shook their head, despite the couple’s insistence. Taichi was transferred to the intensive care unit of the Tokyo U hospital, and the nurses informed the Yagamis: Taichi, in an unconscious state, is physically unable to consent to the procedure. It was up to the Yagami family to decide whether they should proceed or not. The implications of the surgery was that Taichi would possibly never be the same afterwards, his lungs were salvageable, but his memories would be in fragments.

With such an intrusive procedure, it was difficult to tell how Taichi’s body would heal afterwards, or if he had a strong chance of surviving it. Yet at the same time, this was life-or-death. Hikari, after maintaining her composure, softly asked the questions everyone was thinking,

“Could we please see him? Will he be okay?”

This was all because of deceivingly harmless yellow carnations. His louder-than-life friend, who effortlessly ran from goal to goal and led his football team to victory, was the same person who passionately sprinted across the Digital World to save his friends; this same person looked unrecognizable, frail, and passive. All because of some flowers.

Yellow carnations, the flowers representative of rejection, bitterness, an unrequited love, are simultaneously considered the flower of friendship.

As if time went still, the low-light fluorescent fixtures of the hospital building and the vision of the Yagami family and his brother grew hazy. Yamato felt a sharp, sudden pain in his chest. Unable to hide the discomfort on his face, he excused himself as to not worry the others.

In the restroom, even with the dim lighting, the scene before him was unmistakable.

Orange petals accumulated in the sink, and he was left breathless.

After a quick google search, he realized the cluster of orange petals consisted of marigolds. Marigolds symbolized strong passion, being associated with a legendary brave and courageous lion.

At the same time, they represented cruelty, grief, and jealousy. How ironic.

Fate really was mocking him.

—

no time for nonsense

courage and friendship

a will weaning, weaker than his grip

can’t ask you nothing

grip on this fate

a fate he realized too late

drank, feeling nauseous

Scared and breathless

Oh, he could never guess

too many toxins

to the last beeps on the monitor, the angels sing

yet, what’s left is this scratchy, lingering sting

not even conscious

sheets blood-stained red

regret, from words left unsaid

say nothing more, baby

unvoiced emotions which undoubtedly dictate

the harsh decisions made at this rate

say nothing more

#j9 writes #digimon #taichi yagami #yamato ishida #tai kamiya #matt ishida #digimon adventure #oneshot #taito #yamachi #taiyama #hanahaki disease #they’re in high school so expect teen angst #tw: death #tw: character death #one-sided love

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darkdevasofdestruction · 5 years ago

Text

White Lies : France/2P!France - Francis/Francois Bonnefoy

((I had this plot in mind with the idea of creating 2 alternate endings, one in which you end up with Francis, and in the other, with Francois~. ))

Life was never easy, especially when you move in a new country all of a sudden due to job opportunities...But I can't really complain now, can I? After all, I'm doing what I've been dreaming, which is being a Vet. Saving animals has always been my career-dream and now that I've achieved it, I only have 2 more. To travel the world and have fun...And to find my significant other.

Walking down the Champs-Elysee, passing idly the passing markets, I listen to music and look up at the evening sky, painted with various gorgeous shades of orange, pink and purple, feeling at ease. My walk from work to home isn't too long, just about 30 minutes on foot, which makes me able to relax and enjoy the tranquil atmosphere of this enchanting country.

This walk...Made me feel nostalgic for years ago when I first came here with a University program, 7 years ago, to spend the whole Summer holiday working for an animal shelter and learning the language, which was probably the easiest way that I could manage to work abroad with no problem, get easy money and have some expenses paid by the University.

My new Summer home in Paris is a little but very chic apartment, in a neighbourhood full of flowers everywhere, very close to the center of the city, so the whole first day was filled with unpacking and arranging everything in its right place, making me exhausted and to sleep immediately.

The next day, however, I woke up energised and ready to explore the city and start a new Parisian lifestyle, which will be a bit weird to adapt to, but nothing impossible. Leaving for the first time without my parents is going to be a real challenge, but if my dreams are going to come true this way, it's gonna be worth it~.

I go first to a little cafe next to my block and get a warm hot chocolate, a croissant and bread with butter & jam, a really nice breakfast and now I'm ready to explore!

I went to see the easiest route from home to work, which was almost a straight line, thankfully, and from home to the center there were a few turns, but nothing too difficult to remember. A smile was plastered on my face the whole time as I walked up and down each and every street and alley, got a very good ice cream and some pastries from the boulangerie, took tons of pics and selfies everywhere and tried to make the best out of this whole experience.

I am only 20 years old, I have the whole life ahead of me and there's nothing stopping me, not even the night!

Okay, never mind, scratch that, maybe it will defeat me, a tiny bit, because I kinda got lost in the center, my phone is dead and I have no idea how to get home...Great! What a new adventure!

Thankfully, I spotted a small, vintage, very coquette and intimate cafe so I shrugged and went inside, thanking every deity that it's empty and my shyness won't get the best of me, and I looked around, admiring the tons of sweets on display, feeling my mouth watering.

I was snapped back to reality by a friendly baritone voice, which made me squeak in surprise and turn around with wide fawn eyes. The man in front of me, who I could only guess either worked here or was the owner, was pretty tall, with long blond hair and his sapphire blue eyes held a very comforting and calming warmth.

"Bonsoir, ma belle mademoiselle. Que fais-tu seul a cette heure?"

the man asked, concerned.

"Uhmm...I got lost...Oh, wait, wrong language...Uhmm. Je suis...Perdu? Je me suis perdu? Mon francais est...Tres...Terrible, je suis tres desole!"

I stammered, trying to remember all the words I've been learning for the past 8 years in school and highschool...

But it failed.

"That was tres adorable, mademoiselle! Don't worry, I know English as well, but I appreciate you trying your best to speak my language."

he laughed warmly.

"M-Merci...So, uhm...I just moved here and it's kinda my first time abroad, all alone, nonetheless and I explored the city all day long. I got distracted by the pretty lights so much that I didn't realise my phone's battery died while taking pictures and now I can't seem to remember the way home. I know, it's very silly."

I explained, scratching the back of my neck sheepishly and embarrassed.

"What an adventure indeed, dear. And how did you find your way here? Not all that many people come by."

he guided me to a table next to the glass wall so I could see the lights better.

"I was looking for a familiar street, when I saw your cafe here with lights still on. I'm...I'm pretty shy, so when I saw that nobody else was there, I thought I'd drop by and get something to eat. When I saw how incredible everything here looked...Well, I kinda lost my thinking."

I chuckled, making the man laugh gleefully.

"Que magnique! May I recommend you my favourite?"

he asked, getting up, a spark of excitement in his eyes.

"Yes, please! You did all of them? Alone?"

I asked, shocked.

"Mais, biensur~! Excuses-moi un moment, I will come right up!"

he went in another room for a bit, making me look down at my hands, grasping them together anxiously, then looked outside, admiring the beautiful lights from the Eiffle Tower, before the door opened once again, revealing the Frenchman with a white plate painted with pink flowers full of different cakes and other little sweets which made my jaw drop in shock.

"H-Hey, isn't that too much? I-I mean - !"

I stuttered, feeling my face heat up with a powerful blush, which only made him laugh.

"Nonsense! It's not every day a beautiful young lady comes into my humble cafe, especially not one from another country. It's from the house, so don't worry."

he winked, making me hide my blushing face with my hands.

"You're too kind with me, and I didn't even have the manners to ask for your name...I'm Y/N, it's really nice to meet you."

I managed to say after some time, trying to calm down my blush.

"Francis. Francis Bonnefoy, at your service, my dear."

he nodded, sitting down in front of me, putting a white rose in the vase.

"Francis...What a beautiful name."

I smiled softly.

"You can't let me eat everything by myself, okay? I accept no refuses!"

I said in a firm voice, making him chuckle.

"Very well, very well, a lady's wish is my command."

he obliged, getting another little fork for himself.

We chatted about my new job, about life here, about literally everything and anything that came into our minds, all that for about two more hours before we realised it was very late and he escorted me home with ease, because thankfully, I was smart enough to write my address on a slip of paper and put it in my wallet before I left my new home and from then on, since we exchanged phone numbers, we'd meet up as frequent as possible.

These 3 months of Summer have been the most beautiful I have ever experienced and it's all thanks to Francis and his never-ending kindness. The best part of it is that he surprised me with a trip to Disneyland just before I was to leave for home and I kid you not, I never cried of happiness so much in my life.

We took an infinite amount of pics of literally everything and went to all the rides there, making it a truly day to remember. I was so depressed that I had to leave, but he promised we'll stay in contact until I am able to come again next, which thankfully, I managed to make it every Summer, for the whole 6 years of Vet Medicine.

He was even there for my graduation, which I never expected, but yet again, made me cry in happiness.

Since by now I could speak French fluently and I've already worked there before for many months, I managed to score a job at one of the best Animal Hospitals in Paris, which made me and Francis become even better best friends.

Very often, we'd even sleep at each other, watching movies together, eating dinner and honestly, I'm so happy I got to meet someone as amazing as him.

Now I'm 27 and things haven't changed between I and Francis one bit, except for the fact that he told me that he's a country, France, of course, and all that came along with it, such as other countries, the 2P's, responsibilities and so on, which of course, were a bit confusing, but nothing I couldn't handle and give my eternal support for.

That is, until our first fight.

It wasn't really a fight, more like him telling me something concerning another World Meeting and me getting overly worried about him, so much that we argued about what he should do, without realising that he's been doing this for hundreds of years and he clearly knew what had to be done.

I never really argue with anyone, but when I do, I feel incredibly dark and sarcastic, so I stopped talking and took a deep breath before saying anything else.

"Look, Francis, I love you a lot, okay? You know this very well. I will go take a walk to calm down before I say something I will regret later that I don't even mean, anyways. I just...I want you safe, okay? Don't forget that." I muttered before leaving his home to walk around the park nearby.

Unfortunately, that walk wasn't a long one for before I realised, a hand covered my mouth so I wouldn't scream. I was threatened with knives and guns by some men dressed in black looking extremely threatening.

"We have seen you with the man who calls himself 'Francis Bonnefoy'. We want to know everything you know about him." the one in front of me asked in a raspy voice. "Wh-What? What's with Francis? What do you have with him?" I tried to ramble, not knowing what to do. "Tell us everything you know and we won't hurt you." said the one holding me before tugging on my hair, making me yelp a bit at the sudden pain. "I-I don't really know what you want me to say! He's just a man who owns a little cafe and he's very sweet, what else is there to say? He's very sweet with me and always texts back very fast and-" before I could continue my rant, I felt myself getting above the ground, as the one in front of me started strangling me in the air. "Who do you think you're talking to, wench?! We are the Russian Mafia and that man has important information." he screamed in my face, as I tried to breathe. "I...Don't know anything weird about him...Believe me..." I managed to choke out, before another voice rung out. "She speaks the truth. I never told her anything that might endanger her." were the words spoken that made the assailant drop me to the floor. "Francis...? What are you doing here?! Run! They want to hurt you!" I yelled at him, but he only shook his head and helped me back on my feet. "No, dear, I won't run. They have been targeting me for a while. I tried to make sure you were safe, but I didn't expect something like this. I'm sorry for putting you in danger and getting you harmed." he sighed, apologetic. "But...But Francis...I can't let you go with them...! They will hurt you...I couldn't possibly...I can't let you go..." my tears started welling up in my eyes as I threw my arms around his torso, afraid to let go of him. "Don't worry, ma belle fleur, I will return to you no matter what. I'm a country, remember? I can't die." he winked, trying to reassure me. "But you can feel pain! That's not okay no matter how you look at it!" I tried to protest, but he only pushed me towards his home lightly. "Don't worry, Raven. After all...All my life I've been in pain. A bit more won't change anything. Be careful while I'm gone, please." he said with a sad smile before he got taken away by those creepy men, as I screamed after him until my lungs gave out.

No...Screaming and crying won't solve anything, I have to do something about it, I can't just sit idly!

I ran back inside and to my surprise, Francis' phone was on the bed.

He knew something like this would happen...

Damn it.

Looking through his contacts, I see various country names and I stopped when I saw "England". Despite everything, Francis always spoke very nicely of England and the rest of the countries so...Hopefully, this will work.

"Hello? Is this England?" I ask meekly and unsure of what to say. "This better not be some stupid prank of that frog or-" he replied in a very annoyed voice. "N-No, nothing of the sort! Mr. England, France has been kidnapped by the Russian Mafia and I don't know what to do to save him! Will you please help me out?!" my voice dripping with desperation. "So what? It happens sometimes." he answered in such a nonchalant voice that it cut off my words. "B-But...! H-He's my fiance! Please, Mr. England, I don't know what I should do! Those men were really terrible and I don't want France to get harmed!" I cried in the phone, but I only earned a sigh. "Listen, miss, I understand that you are concerned, but that fro-...France is a country, and this sometimes happens to all of us. It's not the first time for him and it won't be the last time either. I suggest you wait for him with some wine, some baguettes and he'll get over it." he tried to suggest, but by this time I was boiling with anger. "You...How can you be so ...So cruel...Francis only spoke nice words of all the countries and especially of you, England. I can understand now why he always felt so lonely there...Because all of you are nothing more than a bunch of selfish jerks! I hope you sleep well tonight knowing that a man who cares about you like a brother and would do anything in his power to save you is being tortured! Good bye." I said in an extremely passive-aggressive tone, not letting him protest, before I hung up.

That was frustrating...Stupid England...

Taking a deep breath, I look through his contacts again and see someone called "Francois" with the French flag emoji next to it. This must be his 2P... He spoke so nicely of him, saying how fragile and emotional he really is, despite his rough exterior...He's just like Francis...But with different ways of coping with pain.

I call him and wait anxiously for him to answer, and when he did, I was greeted with a gruff voice that intimidated be, but I had to stay strong for Francis.

"Oui?" he answered. "H-Hello, are you Francois? France?" I managed to breathe out, cursing my shyness. "I'm his 2P. Why do you have France's phone?" he asked annoyed. "Y-You're still France, even if you're his 2P, right? And...Francis got kidnapped by the Russian Mafia." I said, this time with more confidence. "And...? What do you want me to do?" he asked, once again, very bored. "What the HELL is with you, people?! One of your own is kidnapped and tortured for information and who care so little?! Why are you all so pathetic and cowardly that you won't even help someone who holds you in such high esteem?! What, afraid to get a nail broken?!" I scream at him, forgetting myself with anger. "And who are you that you care so much for a country that's gonna outlive you in the blink of an eye?" he groaned, most likely rolling his eyes. "I am his fiancee, damn it! I am at his home and he intentionally let his phone on the bed, in hopes that one of you, his FRIENDS, is going to help get him out of there!" I reply sternly...

But he hung up without another word.

What...The hell?!

I tried ringing 3 more times, but I got rejected.

Fucking fantastic...So much for reliable peop-...Countries.

The next one I call is Canada, but he was very far away with business and couldn't come to our aid any time soon.

I gripped the phone tight in my grasp, cursing, before I get startled by the door opening, making me squeal in fright and surprise, as a tall, blond man looking very much like Francis, but rather disheveled, entered.

"F-Francois...?" I asked, to make sure. "No, it's freaking Papa Noel, Joyeux Noel!" he rolled his eyes before plopping down on the couch. "U-Uhm...A-Are you here to help me save Francis...?" I inquired, unsure of what he was doing. "Depends on you, toots. What's in it for me?" he lit up a cigarette. "Uh...You saved your other self? You did a good deed? I don't know, doesn't it matter to you at all that he's in trouble?!" I looked at him shocked as he just shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time. So, what are you willing to do to save him?" he asked, getting up, closer to me. "We've been together for 7 years. Anything that's possible for me to do, I will do it, if it means he gets out of there unharmed." I said, looking determined. "Then...How about we fuck?" he muttered with a smirk. "Wh-What?! What the hell are you asking?!" I cringed, stepping back. "You said you'd do anything, right? Would you do this? I look almost just like him, in the dark, you wouldn't even realise the difference, so what's the problem? He won't have to know." he got very close to my face, whispering in my ear. "LEAVE ME ALONE!!" I screamed, slapping his face hard. "D-Don't EVER do that again! Not to me, or to anyone else! EVER!! I don't get why you came here if you weren't willing to save Francis, but if you just got here to mess with me, then kindly GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HERE!" I yelled, trying not to let the tears in my eyes fall, before I went to Francis' bedroom and locked the door, sliding down, hugging my knees and choking on sobs.

I tried to repeat to myself "Not again" again and again, until I got back to my senses and calmed my breathing and remembered that I must continue calling all the countries available.

China refused. Japan said "I will see what I can do" which is a very subtle denial. Italy cowarded. Spain has to take care of Romano. Prussia and Germany are dead drunk. The Nordics were busy with official meetings and businesses. The Baltics declined, the Balkans declined....The whole Europe declined...America declined...Asia declined... Everyone declined. But Russia's answer scared me the most.

"I'm sorry, dear, but I don't control the Mafia, so I can't do anything about it. And at the same time, I can't harm my own people either. But I will tell you, they won't leave France any time soon, for sure."

And...That was it. All countries declined helping one of their own and I was at the verge of despair. The only one who wanted to help was Francois...And with such terms...And what a scary approach... B-But...As long as it saves him...Does it even matter anymore...?

I slowly unlock the door, gathering courage to get out and swallow my pride, and to my surprise, Francois was still on the couch, smoking.

"You're still here." I mumbled, looking away. "Oui. And I heard everything. What are you gonna do, mignonette?" he asked, tilting his head a bit. "I...Uh...W-Well...I-If I do it...W-Will you promise he gets home safe?" looking anywhere but at him, I grip the phone tightly, trying to fight my anxiety. "Ohh~? So you will do it, after all? To save your amour, you'll let another taint you, touch you, corrupt you~?" he asked, tauntingly. "Oh, shut up, you jerk! I just want to save my fiance, while you're here like some mercenary, seeking favours!" I bite my lip, trying not to outright scream at him again. "Tsk, tsk, I'm just doing what's best for me. You can't blame me, we're all selfish." he shrugged, getting up. "No...Not all of us...Francis isn't. Francis would have tried his best to save any country. ANY. Country." I glared at him. "You've known him for 7 years, not for 700. I think I know him better than you do." he smirked, challenging me. "You may know him, France, the country, but I know Francis, the heart inside him. I know the real him. You just know the facade he's putting. Now stop arguing with me and let's go save him already!" I stomped on the ground frustrated, only making him chuckle. "Do you even know where we have to go?" he asked, lighting up another cigarette. "Of course not, who do you take me for? Nostradamus? All I know is that Russia said he isn't in control of his people and that they didn't leave this place and are probably in some hideout here, in Paris." I told him, looking away, pondering. "You're lucky I know all the sketchy places around here..." he nodded, signing me to follow him to his car, a nice black Cadillac.

On the way to the first hideout, it was silent, with the exception of Francois puffing his cigarette from time to time.

"So, mignonette, how did someone like you meet someone like him." he asked, trying to make conversation. "You're saying it in a very weird way, y'know? But...7 years ago I was able, for the first time, to leave the country. I came here, to Paris, to work at an Animal shelter for the whole Summer, sent with a University program. After unpacking everything, I started exploring the city, but soon I realised that my phone died, it was night, and I had no idea how to return home. I found Francis' cafe...And he was so sweet with me...We kept in touch all the time, even when I had to leave back home and we wouldn't see each other for the rest of the year...He has always been so kind and patient with me..." sighing, I look out of the window. "Huh...Tres drole." he muttered, throwing the cigarette butt out of the window. "What is funny?" I asked, rising a brow. "You." he snorted. "What? Why?" I looked at him, confused and slightly shocked. "When did you first fuck?" he teased, looking at me. "Wh-What the hell, Francois! That's an intimate question and I refuse to answer!" I huff, looking away. "Oh, come on, I won't tell anyone. Is he any good? Do I need to teach him-" he continued, but I stopped him quickly. "Shut up!! We didn't, okay?! Now stop asking! I don't know if he's...G-Good or whatever the hell you want to know, so drop it!" I exclaimed, extremely embarrassed. "You mean to tell me you've been together 7 years and didn't fuck? No long and sensual "I missed you" fuck? No quick and rough "Don't leave me" fuck? No very kinky "This is better than porn" fuck?" he chuckled, seeing how flustered it made me. "Enough!! Th-That's enough! Stop it already! No, we did nothing of the sort, now please, DROP IT! I don't want to know or talk about it or anything similar!" I tell him firmly, hoping he'd stop already. "You're no fun...Come on, toots, you're an adult, these things are normal and fun, not tabboo, so chill. Maybe you really need a good fuck." he muttered, trying to make me calm down, but I only gripped my hands tighter and glued myself to the door, as farther away from him as possible. "You don't know everything, nor everyone, so don't speak for them." I answer barely above a whisper, which only earned me a sigh. "You're either only best friends, he sucks in bed...Or you've been really hurt in the past. So, which is it, mignonette?" he asked, solemnly. "...Who hurt you, Francois...?" I feel myself asking without realising. "Huh?" he breathes out, looking at me shocked, but before I could say anything else, he stopped the car abruptly, saying "We're here."

We get out of the car without another word and search the whole shelter from top to bottom, but find nothing but dust and blood.

"So...Not here. How many other places are there?" I asked, biting my lip. "Many. Too many. Are you sure they were Russian?" he asked again, looking at me. "Yes. They said so when they attacked me. And their accent was very thick as well...I could recognise a few words myself when they were whispering between themselves before Francis came." I nod, sure of my information. "Very well. That means there are only 2 more places to check. They are pretty far away from each other, but should work. Also, I need to get some fuel." he sighed, getting back to the car. "Okay. I pay. It's the least I can do..." I tell him, looking ahead at the new road. "I won't complain." he chuckled, lighting up the 100th cigarette.

We spent about half an hour in silence before I got the courage to ask him again...

"Who hurt you so much, Francois? You're constantly using this vices and facades to cover up that you're in pain..." I stammered, not really sure where I was getting at. "Shut the hell up." he ordered with the most deadpan expression so far. "I-I don't want to insult, offend or hurt you, Francois. I just want to understand you. You're not a bad person, I can sense that. You just have a different coping mechanism-" I continue, trying to let him know I'm not attacking him, but he got angrier. "I SAID, SHUT IT! What the hell is so difficult for your stupid brain to get?! STOP talking about it!" he yelled, gripping the stirring wheel and glaring ahead. "I'm sorry! Okay, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you...I just...I just...Wanted to thank you for being literally the only person to want to save Francis and..." I scratch a bit at my arm, closing my eyes, hating the sudden change in tone. "I'm not doing it for him, I'm doing it to fuck you!" he sneered, shifting his glare at me now. "That's fine...Doesn't matter, as long as he's safe...Any help is appreciated..." I whispered, hanging my head. "Oh, really? Then if a group of hobos offered to to save him, if they gangbanged you, would you do it? Or if some fetishist were to ensure he got out the next second, but he got you as his sex slave?" he shouted more and more, making me shed tears and choke on sobs. "I-I just want my Francis to come back to me unharmed...I don't want to see him in pain ever again...I just want him to be okay...He's been through so much and he still smiles...He's saved me all these years, and now I owe him at least this...I just...I just want him safe and sound..." I sob, biting my lip and gripping my arms, trying to stop myself from crying, but to no avail. "...Get out." Francois muttered barely audible. "Wh....What....?" my eyes widened as I managed to move my gaze to look at him. "Get the fuck out of my car. Now." he wasn't looking at me anymore, but outside, as he put a very sudden and brusque break, making me squeak in surprise at the impact. "B-But...Why? Didn't you promise you'd help me save him? You are his last hope, Francois, you can't abandon him like this! We're so close to-" I tried to argue, but I suddenly find myself with the barrel of a gun at my forehead. "Fuck if I care anymore. You're annoying, you piss me off with your lies. That's all that you are, a selfish liar! I don't believe a word you're saying! I don't know why I agreed to this bullshit, he'll get out of there anyways! You're not even hot enough to bother going through all this just to fuck you! Go find him on your own, now get the fuck out of my car!" he growled, cocking the gun.

He was looking at me with his dark purple eyes, right into my e/c ones, glistering with tears and betrayal...But deep inside his own eyes, shock, mixed with a glint of hurt and skepticism were swimming. "I may be a liar...But at least I'm not lying to myself and to my own heart about my feelings. Goodbye, Francois. Drive safe home." I sighed, looking at him with betrayal and resignation as I stepped out of the car and started walking ahead.

I didn't realise how cold it was before, but now...It's really not very nice. And the fact that it's so dark and scary isn't helping either. I turned on my phone's torch, trying to see where the hell I was, but all I could see were trees every where I looked. At this point, I don't know if I should be scared that there's no passing car...Or if there WOULD be one.

I literally had no idea what to do, and Francois just went ahead with a terrible speed...Hope he won't have an accident or something. The pain in his eyes as he spoke to me...Those were the voice and look of a desperate man, wanting to take away the pain somehow. I can't blame him in any way...For I understand him more than I wish I did. If it wasn't for Francis... Well... I just think Francois should allow himself to feel happiness and not be afraid to grasp hope, no matter how thin that thread may be.

I was so deep in thought that I didn't realise the car that was coming from behind me until it was too late and the lights were already on me. Next to me, a black Ford started very slowly driving next to me, as the driver pulled down his window and whistled me.

"Hey, babe, want a ride?" he asked in a slurred voice. "N-No thanks..." I mutter, trying to walk faster, but to no avail. "Aww, come on, sweet tits! Let me get ya home! I can't let a babe like you walking alone at night, can I?" he purred in that disgustingly drunk voice of his. "I'm very close to my boyfriend's home, so please, leave me alone." I tried to reason, clearly scared, but he only laughed. "There ain't no house in the next 5 kms, missy, so don't try to lie to me!" he said in a low voice as he stopped the car.

By this point, I started running as fast as I could, cursing myself for not doing anything to maintain my physical endurance because my lungs were burning and my legs were aching like all hell, and before I knew it, I was on the ground, the remaining air in my lungs knocked out from the weight on top of me.

I tried to struggle, but I could only jump back to my feet when the bastard rolled over to get a better grip on me, but I couldn't run... He held my arm so tight that I was afraid it might break, making me turn around to try and scratch him, but that only annoyed him and made him rip open my f/c shirt, exposing my almost naked top.

By this point, I kept screaming and struggling like a wild animal trapped in a cage, but he was much too strong for me to do anything. Memories of the past kept flooding my brain as he put his hand on my neck, while the other was roaming my body.

I thought that was the end of me, until I heard a very loud car accelerating in our direction, then two deafening gun shots...And then silence.

As soon as those shots were dealt and I could no longer feel that forsaken grip on me, I sprinted into the woods, not caring about anything else in this world, not hearing, nor seeing anything.

That is...Until again, someone took a hold of my wrist and spun me around in his arms, making me scream, beat and struggle whoever that was, way too scared to rationalise anything anymore.

"Mignonette! It's me, Francois! Calm down, damn it, I'm not gonna hurt you! I killed that fucktard, nobody will hurt you, chill already." he tried to calm me down, but all I could do, as all strength left my body and my legs were shaking, was to fall in his arms and sob in his chest almost falling to the ground, were it not for him.

It might have taken a good 5 to 10 minutes of sobbing before I managed to calm down enough to be able to speak coherently, while Francois tried his best to soothe and calm me down.

"How the hell do you always get in trouble, Mignonette?" he tried to joke light-hearted. "I don't know, but I'm so done with this! I hate this, I hate this, I hate this! Why is it always me?! What did I do so wrong in this world that I attract such...Such...Monsters?! Why does everyone want to hurt me like this?! Is this it, Francois?! Is this the pain you're feeling?! Because if it is, then FUCK IT, I don't want to feel anything anymore! Take out my heart, I don't need it! I don't want to hurt anymore! MAKE IT STOP ALREADY!! Why me?! Why again?! Why like this?! I just want to be happy for once, is that too much to fucking ask in this world?! IS IT?!" I screamed and cried and pulled at my hair in desperation, not caring about any self-esteem anymore and just letting all the raw emotions plaguing my heart, soul and brain out. "So I was right...You have been hurt before." he muttered to himself, almost as if he hated himself for being right. "Yes, fucking hell, yes, I have, damn it! Three fucking times! Each time, it hurt so bad, and in different ways! But the first one...Oh, the first one....I was barely 17, damn it...It was my first relationship...So why did he have to do such things to me?! I didn't know any better, I was naive, innocent and learning...I thought it was normal...And...And...And I stayed almost 2 years like that...And I didn't tell anyone what happened...I was scared, I didn't want to admit it, I was weak...And powerless...And I still am...Because no matter what I do, a drunk, horny man will always get his way because of his fucking physical strength! CURSE YOU! Monsters, all of them! Wretches! Burn in hell, all of you!" I confessed to everything that's happened in the past, not even sure why or how did I manage to finally say everything that was darkening my heart, but I did. "Je suis desole, Mignonette. I truly am. I shouldn't have let you alone in these places. It's my fault, I admit. I was pissed off that you said the truth and I couldn't stand it. I went to search the 2nd place, but there was nothing. That means Francis is definitely in the 3rd and last place." he stated, slowly helping me get up. "Hope so..." I mutter, feeling drained of all life and hope.

We walked back to the car, him holding me close to his chest, and as the car's light came in our sights, he realised my wardrobe malfunction and took off his shirt, handing it to me, as he remained shirtless, not even flinching at the cold, all the scars on his body now visible.

"Don't you hate it?" I muttered, looking away as I buttoned his shirt and rolled up the sleeves since it was way too big on me. "Hate what?" he asked, getting in the driver's seat. "Dunno... The World. People. Life. Yourself." I mention, shrugging. "I do. Why?" he furrowed his brows, not quite getting where I was going at. "And how do you cope with it?" I asked, still glaring in front of me. "Not very well, as you've seen so far. Drinking, Smoking, Whoring. Not very healthy." he explained, looking at me from the corner of his eye. "I hate alcohol. I couldn't get drunk, even if I wanted to. Makes me sick. Smoking makes me sick too...And...The other one...Even if I wanted to...I...I..." I trailed off, biting my lip in annoyance. "You hate yourself too much, but also, distrust everyone else around you, hm?" he tried to reason. "Sorta, yeah, I guess. I'm scared, I'm afraid, I'm anxious and ashamed...I just want to run away and hide somewhere nobody could ever find me even when I think of it. I start shaking and...And I can't. It leads to panic attacks. So I'd rather...Not. And I'm so tired of everyone telling me I'm broken or whatever just because I don't care about anything of the sort." I sighed, leaning my head on the door window. "Does he know?" Francois asked, but I only shook my head. "Last times I told someone...My boyfriends...Things got very bad. It's like a stupidly annoying Pavlovian instinct. I know things won't be bad if I tell him...But I'm also afraid." I mutter, looking out, and before he could say anything else, I ask him "We've arrived, right?" which earned me a solemn nod.

Getting out of the car, we went in silence to the shelter, this time smaller than the first one, and noticed light emanating from inside. Upon further inspection, Francois confirmed that Francis was inside, so he got out the rifle from his car and climbed a tree, easily taking out the 2 bulky men who kept Francis captive, allowing me to easily run inside and use the knife given to me to cut off the restraint that bound him to the chair.

I was so mirthful that Francis was okay and somehow, there was no scratch, bruise or wound on him, so I threw myself in his arms, hugging him as tight as I could, considering the event of this night. However, things weren't always easy to deal with, especially when it comes to the Mafia, but before anything could happen, I hear a rustle from the other room, which somehow, the other two omitted, allowing me to quickly snatch the pistol from one of the deceased's grasps and point it to the door, revealing a scared Mafia mobster.

"Hello, fuckass." I said venomously. "You don't even know how to use that and yet you dare threaten me?!" he shouted, ready to take his own gun, until the sound of me cocking mine echoed in the whole room. "Will you take the bet? What's faster...Me pulling the trigger, or you taking the gun and killing me? What say you? The brain or the heart, which would you prefer?" I asked, taunting him. "You little bitch...! Who do you think you are, opposing the Mafia?! Mr. Russia will wage war on this stupid country!" he shouted in anger, visibly shaken up. "Hahahaha...I've been called worse in a day, is that all you can do? How weak. No wonder the others didn't let you do anything to help them. Oh, and, by the way...Mr. Russia has no control over the Mafia, so he won't take any action against you...Or to help you. Trust me, I called him a few hours ago. So before talking...I'd rather check if all I knew were lies. Just a sound advice for the future...Which you'll never have, at this rate." I grinned mockingly at him, but just before I could say "Goodbye" and shoot him, a gentle hand grasped my shoulder, as the other went to the pistol, setting the trajectory away from the villain, who fell to his knees in fright. "Y-You're insane, woman..." he muttered, shocked. "Francois, what's the meaning of this?! What if he attacked us?! He messed with Francis, he messed with me, he messed with you! We can't let him escape!" I raised my voice at him, but he only shook his head. "You've been through enough today, and it's mostly my fault. Go stay with your paramour...I won't let your hands be bloodied. You don't deserve such a fate to haunt you for life." he explained, gingerly taking the gun away from me. "I have enough things to haunt me for more than this lifetime, one more, what could matter?" I tsked in annoyance, looking away. "It always matters. I hope you won't get to experience more misfortune." he muttered, pushing me towards Francis, as he took the enemy away, to kill him in the woods.

Taking a deep breath to calm my annoyance, I jump in Francis' arms once more, burying my face in his chest, just happy to have him safe and sound, back in my life. With tears in his eyes, he kissed the top of my head and thanked me over and over, but not for saving him necessarily, but for being here for him at all times. He never expected anyone to bother to save him, which I noticed myself, unfortunately.

I told him part of our story, clearly only the not-so-dark parts of it, and by the time I was about mid-story, Francois came back.

#####

Francis/France Ending

"Okay, love birds, are you done reuniting? We should get out of here before their little group of boy scouts return to give us more trouble." he rolled his eyes seeing us hugged and sappy. "Oui, mon ami, tu as raison. Ma cherie, let's go home. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that trouble just for me. I'm a country, I won't die, and yet you still came after me, despite the dangers." he said in a soft voice, clearly touched. "Silly...Country or not, you still feel pain, and that is the last thing I want you to feel. I love you so much, Francis, you don't even realise. You brought light into my life, into my heart...And I wanted to be able to save you, just like you saved me all these years we've known each other. Je t'aime trop, et tu es mon coeur. I will stay by your side until you get tired of me." I confessed, cupping his face and looking at him with endless love and admiration.

Poor Francis was left speechless, so much that he just started kissing me passionately, then hugging me tight to his chest, earning a groan of annoyance from his friend.

"Take that to the car, idiots! Hurry up!" he clapped to hurry us up back to the car, which we did, and now we were on our way back home, Francois driving us, as we stayed in the backseat, cuddled to each as if tomorrow was the last day alive.

Back home, we plopped down on the couch, finally able to breathe, knowing we were safe, but after about 5 minutes, Francois got up to leave...Which didn't happen, for I stopped him with a hug.

"Thank you for helping me save him. I owe you the world." I whispered, thanking him with a smile on my face. "Oh, shut up. You pissed me off enough for a day. Just go stay with him and leave me alone." he groaned, trying to pry me off me. "There's no chance you're gonna get rid of us after today! There's no escape for ya!" I laughed, finally letting him go, before the door was slammed open, revealing a blond man with short hair, green eyes and abnormal eyebrows. "Ahem. I see that bloody frog is alright. Was that a prank or-" he asked, seemingly irritated. "You...Are you England?" I asked, my eyes wide. "Yes, of course, who else? Wait-...Was it you I spoke with on the pho-" but I didn't let him finish because I slapped him with all my might, before starting to shake him roughly. "YOU LITTLE SHIT! YOU DARE COME HERE NOW, HOURS AFTER I CALLED, WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WAS PRANKING YOU, IMMA KILL YOU, YOU-" but I was stopped by a hug from behind and a chuckle. "Ne t'inquiete pas, mon amour, it's just how Angleterre is, please forgive him." he shook his head with a chuckle, making me gasp. "But...! But! But Francis! It's not fair at all! You would give your life on a plate to save others, especially this tea-jerk, but he just calls you a frog! It's not okay!" I pout, clearly upset at the his mean friend's behaviour. "It's better to forgive and forget than to stay with hate in your heart. It will only hurt you, not them." he said with a wink before kissing my forehead. "Fine, whatever...But you're still not off the hook! And you're still a jerk! And if you call Francis a 'Frog' again, I'll make sure to stash a hundred frogs down your throat!" I threaten him, which made him nod, awkwardly. "Uh...Yes, France, I'm glad you're find. I will take my leave now, farewell." he nodded again before leaving. "You see? He came here because he was worried, in his own way." he smiled softly, before guiding me back to the couch to calm me down. "Mon Dieu, you sure are loud, all of you...Bonne nuit. Don't call me again." Francois shrugged, exiting the room, leaving only me and Francis there.

We went to change in our PJs and cuddled in bed, both of us afraid to let the other go after such a night.

"I was so happy to see you that I forgot to even ask if you were okay, desole, ma fleur." Francis said, caressing my face. "I'm okay, don't worry about me, honey. Francois made sure nothing happened to me." I smiled softly, kissing his hand and leaning my face on his palm. "I haven’t seen him like this in a long time. How did you convince him to help you?" he asked, making me chuckle awkwardly. "It's...A long story, but it really wasn't easy to persuade him. But you were right about him, he's like you in many ways, despite hiding it. My shirt's buttons got ruined and I couldn't cover up and he instantly gave me his shirt. And he made sure nothing bad happened to me. Without him knowing where you could be, I wouldn't have been able to find you." I breathe softly, as if afraid he'll be taken away again. "I am grateful that I have such an angel in my life. Thank you for everything, my darling. Je t'aime trop...Je t'aime plus que tout au mond. And I can't wait until I marry you and I'll see you as the most beautiful bride in this world." he confessed, kissing me tenderly, making me giggle. "And I can't wait until I finally get to call you my beautiful husband and we'll be so happy...And Francois' face as the Man of Honour...It will be priceless!" I laughed sofly, making him grin. "It will be hilarious indeed." he snorted, hugging me tight to his chest, ready to sleep. "I love you so much, Francis...Never ever ever forget that. I will stay by your side for as long as you'll have me." I whisper, returning the embrace, drowning in his warmth. "An eternity by your side sounds like the best gift anyone could receive." he replied, closing his eyes, letting the dream world take over him.

#####

Francois/2P!France Ending

"Okay, toots, get your fiance outta here and let's get home before more of these fuckers get here." Francois tapped his food impatiently on the ground, ready to go. "Fian-..." Francis tried to ask, but I shushed him quickly. "I'll explain when we get home, now come on." I hurried him back to the car, where the other Frenchman drove us home, where we could finally breathe. "Thank you so much for saving me, dearest. You really shouldn't have put your life in danger. I'm immortal. They couldn't kill me no matter how much they'd tried." he tried to reason, but I only shook my head. "Francis, no offense, but I really don't care. Francois...I lied to you. Not much, only this part at the beginning, but I still did, so I really have to apologise from my whole heart for misleading you. Francis, I'm sorry to you too. I claimed to be your fiance and called everyone in your contact list in hopes that they'll help me save you. Francois was the only one who wanted to help." I told them the truth with a sigh. "Why would you say that, cherie?" Francis asked, confused. "Come on, Francis, think a bit! What managed to get to people's hearts more? 'Please, help, my best friend has been kidnapped!' or 'Please, my fiance is in danger, help me save him!'? I was desperate, I had to do something, right? You're the only person who ever cared about me and you've always been so sweet and kind with me, I couldn't let you in harm's way, so I did anything I could to save you, even if it wasn't much. I really hope you don't hate me after this, but even if you do, I'm just happy you're safe now. I never lied when I said I loved you, but this is no romantic love, but one very pure and caring, like that of siblings." I smile at him softly. "I could never be upset with you, ma belle fleur, for I feel the same. I am forever grateful of what you did and I'm really sorry that you had to go through all this just for me. I owe you the world." Francis replied, hugging me. "No, you don't. You've already given me the world being being present in my life." I chuckled, holding him tightly. "So...Everything else you said was true or a lie?" Francois asked, raising his eyebrow. "I didn't lie to you with anything, except this little detail." I smiled at him, guilty. "Then what about at the beginning. When you accepted my terms." he furrowed his brows a bit. "I didn't lie. I said I'd do anything for Francis." I declared with a side-smile. "What do you-" Francis tried to ask, but Francois cut him off. "My flat is upstairs, I want to have a little chat with Mignonette here." he muttered before taking off. "Okay. Francis, I'll see you in a bit." I wave at him, smiling, before following Francois out of the room, into his flat.

It was darker and it smelled like cigarettes, but it was pretty nonetheless. I didn't take more than 5 steps inside and I felt myself get pinned to the wall, Francois holding both of my wrists above my head with one hand, while the other was on my neck.

"You say you'll do it, but look at you, you tremble like a leaf." he got close to my face, saying in a low voice. "I said I would, I promised, now stop doing this, please, and just get it over with." I managed to whisper, looking away from him. "Is this what he'd do too? Is this why you won't ever bother trying to get away?" he asked, in a softer voice than before. "Y-Yes...I told you I didn't lie about anything else, why keep bringing it up? And I said I'd keep my promise. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't fight you off, so why try...?" I bit my, trying to stop myself from getting my eyes welled up with tears once again. "And I promise you, it's not that bad. I know you've been through a lot before and feelings are more powerful than ration...And allowing yourself to feel vulnerable once in a while isn't always damaging." he confessed, caressing my cheek. "You shouldn't be one to talk, when you don't do it yourself. You don't let your guard then while at it, instead, you let all your hate, anger and frustration get out, but...You never let happiness and love in, do you? We're the same, we just do things differently." I explained, but he only tsked in annoyance and threw me on the bed, him towering over me again, his face very close to mine. "And what the hell would you know about it?!" he growled, glaring at me. "Nothing...But maybe...Maybe I'd like to find out." I mutter, intertwining my fingers with his. "I really don't know anything. I'm 27 and all I've been doing is hate the world and everything around me, including myself, for my own misfortune and choices. I was weak, I couldn't control anything around me, when it came to my love life, because everything else was in my grasp. I'm a smart girl, I won't deny that, and I'm also fairly lucky. But not in this department." I let out a shaky breath, slowly raising my gaze to meet his. "What the hell are you on about?!" he sneered at me, his deep, violet eyes filled with despair and hurt, which made me raise up a bit and kiss his lips as soft as I could, shocking him. "Maybe...Maybe I want to see if the world is better with the right people...Not THE World...Just...MY World." he was so shocked at the gentleness with which he was being treated, that a soft blush covered his cheeks. "What was that for...? Why would someone fragile like you, who should find someone kind and gentle like Francis, want to be me, who forgot how to smile and how to live?" he asked, with an expression that showed anger at himself. "Because, maybe, we both need help from someone who understands and goes through the same...Or well, at least similar pain, don't you think?" I inquired with a hopeful smile. "And what do you propose, then, Mignonette?" he muttered, getting closer to my face. "Hello, Francois, my name is Y/N. Would you want to get to know each other better?" I extended my hand for him to shake. "Bonjour, ma cherie, Y/N, je m'appelle Francois Bonnefoy, ca va?" instead of shaking my hand, he kissed it softly and said those words in a very suave and confident voice, that gorgeous and melodic accent resonating in my ears with each vowel and consonant. "Tres charmant, Francois. That was very nice..." I muttered, using my other hand to hide my blush, but he took it in his and kissed my wrist, and teasing smirk on his face. "Did you like that, dear? Do you want me to say more?" dropping his voice by an octave, he got so close to my face, that I could feel his breath. "Your accent...Is very...Ho-...Uh, nice. Yes, nice. Uh...French. Wait, no, ignore what I've been saying-" I ranted, looking anywhere but at him, flustered at what I was saying without realising, but instead of saying anything, Francois leaned in and kissed me tenderly, making me feel more flustered, but at the same time, calmer as well. "You were saying...?" he asked, the ghost of a smile evident on his face. "Hot." I breathed out barely above a whisper, making him chuckle. "That's what I like to hear, ma cherie~." he confessed, taking out the hair from his ponytail and helping me lean on the bed post, as he put his arms around me, holding me to his chest and kissing the top of my head. "What do you think? Is this what Francis would do?" he asked, playing with my hair. "Is it what Francois would do?" I asked, looking up at him. "...If it's you, then it is." he muttered, resting his chin on my head. "Then we're doing very well." I answered with a smiled, cuddling closer to him, feeling at peace, after such a long time.

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eds-trashmouth · 5 years ago

Text

Can You Hear My Heart Beat For You? (2/3)

A/N: I know it’s been literally forever. But I did it. I finished this part. I decided to end it here and part 3 is going to be the sexy time. So there will be smut, but this one was already long. I’ll link part 1 incase you need to reread it. I know it’s been so long. Also, I will be finishing the second part of Good Side. I just figured I should finish this first since I started it first. Also my girl Sara gave me the idea for Eddie to say he’s lovesick (the scene went differently than I thought it would so it’s not exactly what we talked about but I still wanted to give her credit for that one)

Pairing: Reddie

Word Count: 3,000k+

Rating: PG-13 for trashmouth

Part 1

(AO3)

8 days 1 hour and 17 minutes

Eddie could not for the life of him get his mother to make him another appointment. He knew he couldn’t fake something too terrible, it had to be small and fixable. Like a cold. But the last time he went for a cold he came running out of the doctors room like a bat outta hell so his mother has been worried about sending him back to that doctor. He still refused to tell her exactly why he was running but she accepted the simple “I didn’t wanna be at the doctor anymore Ma” answer so really what more could Eddie ask for.

He had asked Bill a hundred times what he should get a check up for but Bill refused to help him lie to get a guys number.

“Just go into the office and ask for him. Easy.”

“It’s not easy Bill! How many times do I gotta say it?!”

“Oh my dear Eddie. It is indeed that easy. You just can’t accept the fact that you have to put yourself out there to get what you want.” Maybe Bill was right. He couldn’t just expect the world to work around him and his insecurities. He had to step up and take control of his own love life.

“Okay Billy, you’re right. Time to put myself out there.” Eddie stood up quickly, wiped his sweaty palms on his pants, and stormed out of the room. Not even 10 seconds later he was coming back in.

“This is my room, my mom won’t let you stay here alone...”

“It’s also almost midnight on a Friday, I doubt the doctors office is open.” Eddie’s eyes widened.

“Oh yeah. That too...”

It’s been days since Bill had told Eddie to stop being a pussy. As the days passed, so did Eddie’s confidence. It only took him 2 days 20 hours and 56 minutes to decide...he was a coward. There was no way he was going to just march into a doctor’s office to get some perfect boy’s number. He could, however, ask a certain hopeless romantic to help him out.

“Ben, I just need your advice.” Eddie had told him the whole story as soon as he answered. However, he called him on a Monday, his day for studying so Ben was a little less than helpful. He could hear a sigh and rustling on the other side of the phone then silence. He waited.

“Eddie, you do realize you’re an adult right?”

“Of course I do Ben. But I can’t just go and ask him. I just can’t. What if he says no?”

“You’re missing my point. You’re an adult. You can make your own appointment, and go by yourself. Then go from there.”

“Oh,” How had he not thought of that himself. It was so obvious. He wouldn’t have to worry about his mom, and if he changed his mind he could just leave. “You’re right. I can totally do that. Thanks Ben.”

“You’re welcome Eddie. Now please let me get back to his paper. It’s due by midnight.”

“Yes sir! You got this Ben.” And with that, he hung up. He would call in the morning and set up an appointment.

1 day 12 hours 8 minutes

It was time for his appointment. Walking through the too familiar hospital had his stomach churning. His mind kept racing. What if Tozier was taken? What if he was a jackass? What if he was straight?! He pushed down all his thoughts and took a deep breath before opening the waiting room door. He could tell by the mass of people that he’d probably have to wait awhile. There were at least five different families waiting to be seen. Each more annoying than the next. The first name called was an adorable little girl with her hand wrapped in gauze. Eddie assumed some kind of cut; probably pretty bad if they’re coming to the doctor. Eddie got a little nauseous just thinking about it.

He waited an entire hour to be called. Perhaps they were short on staff today. The same fiery redhead called for him with a smile. This was it. This was his chance. Did he know for sure Dr. Tozier would be performing his check up? No. But he decided if he didn’t see Tozier today then that was fate telling him it wasn’t meant to be. This was his ONLY chance. The nurse led him back through the same hallways and down to a similar room as before.

“The Doctor will be with you shortly, you’re welcome to have a sucker while you wait. Oh, I’m Beverly by the way. In case you need anything.” With a smile and small wave, Beverly was out the door. Eddie could feel his anxiety starting to show its ugly head. In just a few short moments he would, hopefully, be face to face with the man of his

dreams. Tozier wasn’t even here yet and Eddie could already tell his face was pink. He would just simply ask. ‘Want sum fuk?’ And that would be that. He had to be casual. He couldn’t let him know he’s been pining since the last visit. A soft knock on the door kicked him back to reality.

“Come in.” Eddie heard himself speak as if on impulse. The door opened and he almost cried. There stood a short middle aged woman, her blonde hair pulled into a tight bun.

“I’m Dr. Sylvia, what seems to be the problem today?” Her voice was soft but confident. Suddenly he forgot what he even thought of to say. He was only thinking of Tozier. Fuck. He obviously didn’t have a cold. He wasn’t throwing up.

“Uhh, I’ve been having some minor pain in my finger and I was wondering if I uh broke it?” The Doctor squinted a little as if confused, then nodded and walked close to Eddie.

“Which one seems to be the problem?” Her hand held out waiting for Eddie to place his.

“My uh, left middle.” He gave her his left and watched as she began bending his finger with no issues. She pressed softly on each section of knuckle. Eddie hissed a bit when she got to where his finger met his palm, realizing he should at least pretend something hurt.

“So here?” She pressed again a bit harder.

“Yeah, it’s not too bad. I was just worried.” She nodded once again.

“Well, it’s most definitely not broken. I believe it could just be that you smashed it a little or hit it on something. I’m sure it’ll get better all on it own.”

“Thank you miss.” He was embarrassed.

“You may leave whenever you like. Thank you for coming in today.” She left the room as Eddie let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. That was his chance, and Tozier wasn’t here. It was silly of him to think he would have the exact same intern over two weeks later. But wishful thinking is Eddie’s specialty he supposed.

13 hours 45 minutes

After his less than successful trip to the doctor Eddie decided the world hated him enough today, and he would stay in. Forever. Or at least until tomorrow. Sadly, his friends had other plans. Around 10pm there was a small rock on his window. Then another three hit simultaneously. He knew it was Bill, that was his signal to sneak out. He couldn’t be bothered to moved. The covers helped to hide his sadness, his pathetic sadness, from not getting a date with a stranger. A wonderfully eccentric stranger. It’s just...nothing had ever felt that easy. He never felt something so electric so quickly. It was like there was a magnet attached to Tozier’s lab coat or something. He was attracted immediately. His phone rang, pulling him out of his thoughts. With a sigh he answered.

“Stop moping and come out to the new over 18 club with us! It’ll get your mind of your love life. Hell, maybe you’ll even find a cute boy to dance with.” He expected Bill, not Mike, to be calling him. He could easily tell Bill no, but Mike? Everyone knew he’d never say no to hanging out with his homeschooled friend.

“Mike...I just. Wanna lie here and wallow.” If Mike let it go then he’d be golden. He could just stay in bed for the rest of his days.

“Cmon Eddie. Come dance with us. It’ll be fun I promise.” With a sigh and a small squeak Eddie agreed. Saying goodbye and getting up to get dressed. He knew he wouldn’t have time to tame his bedhead the way he’d like to so he settled for just brushing it back into a beanie. He never wore beanies, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t look cute in one. The light blue beanie matched his light blue v-neck he paired with a pair of black overall shorts. Of course a huge hoodie to cover him until they got to the club as well. A quick and easy outfit, perfect for dancing but not enough to get any unwanted attention. He’d go, dance with the boys a little, then make an excuse to go home.

The club was about a 15 minute drive in Mike’s old pickup. It was still in the city but almost on the outskirts. Eddie watched as buildings faded and passed by the window. His mind still going back to that cute set of curls with an adorable face to match. He was utterly infatuated and there’s nothing that he could do about it. He didn’t even know his fucking name. His plan had failed. His simple, basic, stupid plan. Failed. The dark blue exterior was lit up with seemingly every colored light imaginable. “Nerve” in bright neon caught Eddie’s eye immediately. It was nice. Definitely a dance club.

As they got to the bouncer, the music from inside came busting through the doors. Although muffled, he could still tell they were playing some rap song with a good beat. Getting in the door was easy enough though, Bill and Eddie were now sporting a black X on their right hands symbolizing they were underage. No drinking for them. The other boys went straight for the bar while Bill and Eddie grabbed a booth on the side of the giant dance floor. They would go actually dance later but for now Eddie just wanted to sit.

“So how was Doctor tall nerdy and curly today?”

“Nonexistent.” Eddie looked at his palms, a little embarrassed.

“What do you mean? What happened?”

“I should’ve known it was a dumb plan. He only filled in the last time because the doctor was busy. I didn’t even see him. The world just has it out for me Billy.”

“Cmon Eddie. You know that’s not true. So you didn’t get to ask out this guy? Oh well. There are plenty of guys out there. I know you gotta sort through the bullshit but it’s not like you’re destined meet your soulmate at 19. You have plenty of time my friend!”

“I know, it’d just be nice to have a boyfriend ya know? Or at least a date every now and then so I don’t feel like I’m making absolutely zero progress.” At that, Mike and Ben walked over with some mixed drinks and a few waters.

“These bad boys are for you bad boys.” Mike winked giving a water to both of the younger boys. After that, the conversation went casual. Boring casual, but casual. Eddie was in his own little world. Still wallowing in disappointment. He was watching Mike and Bill talking but couldn’t get himself to actually listen. His mind always going back.

“I’m gonna head to the bathroom. Then probably dance a little, I’ll come get you before I go out there.” Eddie excused himself from the booth and went searching for the bathrooms. It didn’t take too long, just down a hallway, then some stairs, then to the left. On his way through the hallway he spotted an outdoor area with some chairs and tables. Probably for smokers. The bathrooms were nice enough, for a club at least. No vomit on the floor and no shit smeared on the walls so it’s got that going for it. He did his business, washed his hands for exactly 20 seconds, and headed back up the stairs. An obnoxious voice caught his attention as he walked past the outdoor area. Looking toward the voice, his breath hitched.

There he was. Still tall. Less nerdy. More curly. He wore a black flannel over a vintage band tee and ripped black skinny(ish) jeans. He was a walking wet dream. His hair seemed to curl out in every direction and his glasses nowhere to be seen. He couldn’t help but stare, the guy he’d been pining over for weeks was standing 15 feet away. Right next to the redheaded nurse, Beverly? If he remembered correctly. Like some kind of destiny. Eddie was never one to believe in destiny, so maybe it was his doubts that made him walk away or maybe it was just his anxiety but as he met Tozier’s eyes he walked.

More like he ran, as he decided to leave he caught a glimpse of the set of curls making their way toward him. And he ran, like he always did, hoping to whatever would listen that Tozier hadn’t seen him and he could just go to the dance floor and disappear. The dance floor was dark, only a few lights from the stage to illuminate it, and a giant group of people. It was perfect to hide in. He made his way to the middle, slowly moving his hips to the beat as he walked to make it seem like he was dancing. Surprisingly once he got to the middle he saw Mike and some boy dancing. Well more like grinding on each other. As he got closer he could see blonde curls and a cute face. Mike sure does have a type, and this boy is one hundred percent it.

“Hey stranger. Took you long enough to get back.” Mike was smiling and turned to his dance partner. “This is Stan. He got ditched while his friends went out to smoke. I told him I’d keep him company.”

“Hi Stan, I’m Eddie. Mind if I dance with you guys?”

“Well of course you can. That’s what we’re here for isn’t it?” Eddie couldn’t help but smile as they went back to dancing. The music seemed to flow through his whole body. He wouldn’t say he was the best dancer but he could definitely keep rhythm. He was questioning wearing shorts in December but out here on this sweaty dance floor he couldn’t be more happy to have them. It’s just a perk that they also made his butt look pretty good.

“Staniel, please tell me you were going to introduce me to these cuties.” Eddie slightly jumped at the loud voice behind him. He saw Stan roll his eyes but smile.

“Of course I wasn’t Trashmouth. I was saving them the hassle of knowing you.” Eddie turned to see who Stan could possibly be talking to like that, however he wasn’t expecting to be met with the familiar face of a beautiful stranger.

“Well, if it’s the cutie from the clinic! Glad to see cancer hasn’t taken you yet! How have you been feeling?”

“Lovesick...” Eddie couldn’t believe that came out of his mouth, but he couldn’t help it. He was staring again. “Uh! Sick, just sick. But uh, I’m o-okay now.”

“How is it that we meet again little Eddie Spaghetti? Seems like fate doesn’t it?” The smile on the taller boy’s face seemed to stretch ear to ear. He was so pretty. Eddie was royally fucked. He couldn’t even speak. He just stared.

“How is it that you managed to weird out the shyest boy here?” Stan was shaking his head watching the interaction.

“He doesn’t mind, do ya Eds?” He winked. He fucking winked, like Eddie wasn’t having an internal crisis right in front of him. He wanted to speak but with the shock of Tozier standing in front of him he couldn’t say a word.

“Ya alright there Eddie? Do you need to sit down?” Mike was to his side instantly, checking on him. Eddie really didn’t deserve him and he’d remind him of that later. When he could speak. “Let’s get you to Bill and Ben.”

“Wait. I’m a Doctor. I’m sure I can help him.” Tozier was still being as cocky as ever and something about him drives Eddie crazy.

“You’re an intern, not a doctor.” It came out like word vomit. It seemed like Eddie either said too much or nothing at all. If the rudeness of his statement offended the boy he didn’t show it. He simply smiled that ear reaching smile and bent down to get a closer look at Eddie.

“How high is that heart rate, do you think sugar?” His face was inches away and Eddie couldn’t help but count the freckles splattered across his face. His eyes scanned his whole face taking inventory of those freckles, landing lastly on his lips. He could tell they were a little chapped but in this moment Eddie couldn’t think of anything more appealing than smashing his soft lips into them.

“My eyes are up here darling, at least ask my name before undressing me with your eyes.” Eddie felt two fingers lifting his chin so he could get a look into his eyes.

“I-I wasn’t undressing y-you. Don’t be so cocky, it’s not a flattering look on you.” Tozier’s mouth hung open, definitely not expecting Eddie to have an answer.

“He’s a fiesty one! I like a spicy bottom.” It was Eddie’s turn for his jaw to hit the floor. Mike and Stan watched as the boys slipped into their own little world right there on the dance floor.

“A little forward, huh?”

“When I see something I want? Definitely. I can show you just how forward I can be if you’d let me check out that little body of yours again.”

“I don’t even know your name, as you so crudely pointed out seconds ago. Unless your parents named you Trashmouth and for that I’d say I’m so sorry.”

“What can I say? I’m just talented with my mouth.” That smirk again. “You definitely need my name, so you know what you’ll be screaming later. Richie, Richie Tozier. At you service luv.” Eddie cringed at the terrible British accent but couldn’t help feeling smitten at the same time.

“Well Richie. I’m not one to go home with just anyone. So no can do my good sir.” This time Eddie slipped into a British accent, making Richie’s smile even wider.

“My lord, you are perfect.” The sudden softness in his voice sent a shiver through Eddie’s entire body. He was back in Eddie’s face, he could feel his breath on his lips. “Let me at least take you out. I can’t let you run out of my life like I let you run out of that exam room.”

Without anymore thought, Eddie surged forward catching Richie’s lips with his. It didn’t take long for him to feel Richie’s tongue working his mouth open. He’s never been a fan of smoking, but he could get used to the taste of this Trashmouth.

“How about you pick me up tomorrow? I’ll go to dinner with you then we can see where it goes from there loverboy.”

“That sounds like dream.”

-Taglist

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