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sneezyminniejo · 1 year ago

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Hi can i please request a beomgyu sickfic where he's sick but had to take care of another member/s not realizing he's even worse off. Or maybe he knew he's sick as well but just keep pushing through so the other could get better? And the members realized somehow when he broke down/collapse? Thanks btw!

Here it is. Hope you enjoy

tw: fainting

It's Probably Just Allergies

It had started innocuously enough. A sore throat here, a cough there, a couple of sneezes in the mix as well. Also ankle braces. The members of TXT were currently experiencing a bout of bad luck. Yeonjun had badly sprained his ankle a week ago and still wasn’t really allowed to put weight on his foot. Meanwhile Soobin, Taehyun, and Kai had all caught a cold two days ago. Either way, current comeback preparations have been eased up on a bit to allow rest and recuperation for the group. As much as the members protested the break, it was really the only way for everyone to recuperate and continue preparations. They were planning on having a comeback directly followed by their next tour starting. Therefore it was important for all five members to be at their healthiest.

Beomgyu was currently in the kitchen making a big pot of soup and some bulgogi. Yeonjun was in the living room watching tv and Beomgyu’s pretty sure that the other three are currently knocked out in their respective beds. Or at least trying to sleep. From where he was in the kitchen, Beomgyu was able to hear a fairly loud triple sneeze come from Soobin’s room. It was honestly quite impressive. Soobin’s room was at the opposite end of the dorm from where the kitchen is and his door is closed. Beomgyu dished up the food and placed the bowls of food on four separate tv trays they had accumulated at some point.

First he had brought Yeonjun his tray since said hyung was the closest. Then he brought the next two trays to Taehyun and Kai before bringing the final tray to Soobin. After Beomgyu made sure his group was fed, he served himself a bowl of food and joined Yeonjun in the living room. The younger man sat down with a contented sigh before digging into his food.

“How are the others Gyu-yah?” Yeonjun asked, beginning to dig in himself. Apparently the older had decided to wait for Beomgyu before he started eating.

“I think Kai is the only one that’s really been able to get any sleep. Both hyung and Tyunnie’s beds were covered in tissues, while Kai seems to only have gone through a few.” He paused for a moment to eat some more food. “Although, hyung and Taehyun have both been sneezing up a storm. I think Kai’s cold is actually mostly in his chest. He keeps coughing.”

Yeonjun nodded as Beomgyu explained how the others were doing. He honestly wishes he could help the younger out with taking care of the others, but he’s under strict orders to not put any weight on his injured ankle until a minimum of two full weeks have passed. It’s far too difficult to try to carry stuff along with balancing on crutches, so he’s had to deal with Beomgyu taking care of him as well. In all honesty, the other three could probably take care of themselves, but yesterday all three of them woke up with a decent fever and both Yeonjun and Beomgyu insisted they stay in bed until they don’t need medicine to keep their fevers down.

As soon as the two in the living room finished eating, the younger of the two immediately got up and began to clean up all the dishes. Beomgyu wound up having to quietly get the dishes from Soobin’s room, as the older man had fallen asleep. Beomgyu collected the rest of the dirty dishes and began washing them. It was one of the few times that he wished the dorm had a dishwasher, but that’s life.

After what felt like two hours, but was more like forty-five minutes, Beomgyu finished washing all of the dishes that were used for lunch. He was feeling a bit tired, so he quickly checked in on everyone before going to his own room to take a nap.

Beomgyu woke up two hours later, feeling completely groggy. He glanced at his alarm clock as he tried to wake up and startled at the knock on his door. “Come in.” He said, before trying to clear his throat of his post nap grogginess.

Yeonjun half stumbled into the room, not having gotten the hang of using door knobs with crutches under his arm. “Hyung. What are you doing up?” Beomgyu asked, somewhat alarmed.

“Soobin, Taehyun, and Kai are asleep and manager-nim finally dropped off the humidifiers that we asked him to get yesterday. Anyway, I tried to open and get them set up, but I’m having trouble carrying everything.” Beomgyu stared at him for a solid thirty seconds, blinking blankly.

“Hyung, why would you try to carry something like a box or a humidifier? You can barely carry your phone in one hand while using your crutches.” The younger man stood up and stumbled slightly, but he quickly regained his balance.

“You okay Gyu-ah?” Yeonjun asked, completely ignoring the younger’s question when he saw Beomgyu stumble.

“I’m fine. That sometimes happens when I stand up right after waking up.” “Shit. Sorry Gyu. I didn’t realize you were taking a nap. I didn’t mean to wake you.” Yeonjun apologized.

“It’s fine hyung. It’s been two hours. So I probably needed to wake up anyway. Let’s get the humidifiers opened and set up in the bedrooms.” Beomgyu rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he walked out of his room.

Once the duo was in the living room, Beomgyu opened up the boxes and snuck into his sick members' rooms to get them properly set up. For how little it took for Beomgyu to set up two humidifiers, he found himself feeling fairly tired and tried not to sigh in relief as he sat back down on the couch next to Yeonjun.

"Want to watch a movie hyung?" Yeonjun nodded and turned on Disney+ so they could watch The Lion King. Beomgyu got up again to make some popcorn and get juice for the two of them to share before sitting next to Yeonjun on the couch.

As the movie played, the three sick members emerged from their rooms and joined in watching the movie. Yeonjun tried protesting that the trio were out of bed, but Taehyun pointed out that staying in bed all day was boring. Besides, They’re still resting, just in a different area. Kai chimed in that with all four of them in the same part of the dorm, it’ll be easier for Beomgyu to take care of all of them. Yeonjun agreed with that and dropped the subject.

The rest of the day passed just like that. All five members watched movies while Beomgyu occasionally got up to get things for one or more of his ailing members. After watching four movies, the group unanimously decided that it was time for bed. Beomgyu made sure that everyone took their medicine and had everything they needed before going to his own room to sleep.

The following morning, Beomgyu woke up not really being able to breathe and with what he could only describe as excruciating pain behind his eyes. The sliver of sunlight that was peaking through the window of his room caused him to cover his head with his blanket. Unfortunately, a minute later, his phone's alarm began blaring, signaling that he needed to get up and begin tending to his members. He shuffled out of bed, and with his eyes closed, made his way to the bathroom where everything was stored.

He opened his eyes long enough to find the excedrin and take a pill before he went back to his room for a little bit so it could kick in. Once it started to kick in and light was bearable, Beomgyu once again made his way back to the bathroom to get everyone’s meds.

The first room he went to was that of Soobin’s. As he approached, he was able to hear the leader sneeze twice. He knocked on the door before opening it, and found Soobin getting dressed.

“Hyung, why are you getting dressed? You should be resting.” Soobin sniffled before grabbing a tissue and blowing his nose. “Can’t rest today Gyu. I got a text from manager-nim saying that he couldn’t rearrange schedules today, so we all have to be there, no exceptions.” Beomgyu sighed and nodded his head. That was not ideal.

“I’ll go make sure the others are awake and get started on breakfast then.” Beomgyu left the room and went to check on the other members. Turns out, that was a good thing, because Yeonjun, Taehyun, and Kai were all still fast asleep. No one was terribly pleased about having to wake up when they all thought that they had the day off.

Beomgyu decided to make eggs for breakfast for everyone. As he was adding the pepper, his nose twitched. He quickly placed the pepper shaker on the counter and turned to the side, sneezing twice quite harshly.

“Bless you, hyung.” Kai said before walking over and handing the older man some tissues. Beomgyu blew his nose before quickly washing his hands and getting back to cooking. It only took a few more minutes for breakfast to be made and for the group to begin eating.

The van pulled up before the five men finished breakfast, their manager arriving earlier than expected. This caused them to rush out of the dorm and at one point, Yeonjun lost his balance on his crutches and almost fell over. ONly to be caught by Soobin. Beomgyu was the last one to get to the van. First, he had decided to go grab everyone’s medicine and also blow his nose again. Ever since he had sneezed while making breakfast, his nose had been running. He also grabbed a pack of travel tissues for good measure before joining the others.

By the time that the group got to the company, Beomgyu’s headache had fully abated, but he had kept sniffling. He even needed to blow his nose just before they arrived. He wound up sneezing right after getting out of the car.

“Are you okay hyung?” Taehyun asked in a whispered voice, because for him his cold had settled in his lungs and the amount of coughing he had done led him to developing laryngitis.

“I’m fine Tyunnie. It’s just my rhinitis acting up. Pollen’s probably high if I had to guess.” Beomgyu said. Taehyun looked at him a tad skeptically and took his phone out to check the pollen count. Sure enough the pollen count was listed as high. However, while they were still trailing behind the other three, the second youngest placed his hand on Beomgyu’s forehead. “It doesn’t feel like you have a fever, so I believe you, hyung.” Beomgyu nodded and sniffled, bringing his hand up to wipe his nose. Truthfully, Beomgyu didn’t feel sick aside from the stuffy/runny nose and the sinus headache he woke up with, he felt completely fine.

The first item up on the agenda was vocal practice. Why this particular group vocal practice couldn’t be rescheduled is anybody’s guess. Especially since the other vocal practices and lessons had been rescheduled. Either way, it was a bit of a mess. The only one that was able to properly participate was Yeonjun, even though he did wind up resting his injured foot on a chair while doing it.

Because Taehyun had no voice, he obviously couldn’t sing. Soobin and Kai were both sneezing and coughing periodically. Beomgyu did his best, but the stuffy nose caused by his allergies made it a bit difficult for him to reach the notes with the desired sharpness. He tried to begrudgingly blow his nose a couple of times, but it didn’t really work.

After that, the group was filming some kind of video for a charity. Once they entered the practice room, they found out that they would be playing various games along with some dance challenges. Before filming started, Beomgyu found himself at the tissue box, trying to rid his nose of whatever had been irritating it all day.

Once again, one of the members approached him and placed their hand on his forehead. “Are you feeling alright Beomgyu?” Soobin asked before he himself grabbed some tissues from the box.

“I’m fine hyung. It’s just allergies. Pollen’s a bit high today.” Beomgyu said before clearing his throat. Soobin nodded in understanding and went to join the others. As soon as Soobin turned around Beomgyu stifled a yawn into his fist. He found himself feeling more tired than usual, but he assumed it had been because his allergies had clogged his nose overnight and he hadn't been able to sleep properly because he had likely started snoring.

The filming had also been a bit of a mess. There was a fairly lengthy debate as to whether or not Yeonjun could do a three legged race solo, on the grounds that his one good leg and two crutches equals three legs. The other four were arguing that while technically, it could be counted as three legs, Yeonjun would still be at an unfair advantage because he wouldn’t have to coordinate walking with anyone, only himself.

Ultimately, Yeonjun was allowed to participate. Naturally he won. Although Kai and Taehyun both wound up in coughing fits afterwards. Yeonjun sat out of the dance challenges, but was able to participate in the other games.

The filming had actually taken a couple of hours and everyone was pretty tired by the time they were allowed to go back to the dorm. During the van ride, Beomgyu and Taehyun had fallen asleep. There were soft snores coming from both men, and this time it was the eldest who asked the question.

“Does anyone know if Beomgyu-yah’s okay? He normally doesn’t snore.” Yeonjun said.

“Gyu’s fine. His allergies are bothering him.” Soobin responded. Yeonjun nodded and turned back to look out the window.

“Binnie, can you and Kai carry Gyu in and I’ll wake Tyunnie?” Yeonjun didn’t say it, but he felt that the healthy member should be allowed to sleep as long as possible since he’d been taking care of all four of them. Soobin and Kai were quick to agree.

Beomgyu wound up waking just as he was getting placed on the couch. He woke up kind of slowly, but as soon as he was fully coherent, he was rushing to grab his bag to make sure everyone could take their medicine. “What does everyone want for dinner?” He asked as he grabbed a tissue and blew his nose.

“I was thinking we could order spaghetti and meatballs.” Kai said. The others were quick to agree, except for Beomgyu who went to the kitchen and began looking through the cabinets.

“We have all the ingredients right here. I’ll make it. Besides, it’s not too often that we can have home cooked meals instead of takeout.” The others kind of wanted to argue because while they’re normally so busy that ordering takeout is the easiest thing to do, they don’t need home cooked meals every day of their break. The only reason none of them actually argued was because Beomgyu is very stubborn and none of them felt like arguing a point when it didn’t matter in the long run.

Beomgyu was in the kitchen getting everything ready. He had just gotten the pot of water on the stove and was in the process of getting the noodles out of the cabinet, when his vision began swimming. As soon as he got the pasta out of the cabinet, Beomgyu saw black dots float across his vision. The next thing he knew was that the floor was getting much closer.

All four members startled at the loud crash that came from the kitchen. They all made their way to investigate when they didn’t hear Beomgyu say anything. They found him on the floor with dry spaghetti spilled all over the floor. Soobin quickly turned off the stove and he and Taehyun moved to bring Beomgyu back to the couch after they did a quick examination to make sure he hadn’t hit his head.

Yeonjun had kind of hobbled to the bathroom and grabbed the thermometer and put it in Beomgyu’s mouth as soon as he returned. “Hyung, you don’t have to take his temperature. I checked earlier and he doesn’t have a fever.” Soobin said. Taehyun rasped an agreement that Beomgyu didn’t have a fever.

“The three of you have been running fevers since you got sick. And everyone knows that if you have a fever, you’re not going to feel a fever on another person.” Just then the thermometer beeped and Yeonjun pulled the device from Beomgyu’s mouth. Right before he could read the number out loud, Beomgyu came to.

“What happened?” Beomgyu asked as he sat up, only to be pressed down by Kai.

“You fainted hyung. I think we might have gotten you sick.” The maknae said. Beomgyu shook his head at that.

“I’m not sick, guys. It’s just allergies.” “I hate to break it to you Gyu, but allergies don’t typically come with a fever.” Yeonjun responded. Beomgyu’s eyes seemed to widen a bit at Yeonjun’s response.

“I’m sick?” He asked rhetorically. ��I honestly thought it was allergies, but that does make more sense.”

“I’m going to call our manager and update him. Kai, you can go ahead and order dinner. Gyu, don’t get up unless you need to please.” Soobin said, his leader voice leaking through. Beomgyu agreed. Although he did lean forward to grab the remote so he could turn on the tv.

The rest of the night was fairly quiet. Now that Beomgyu knew he was sick, he was realizing how miserable he actually felt. The manager was a little annoyed, but ultimately expected it. It’s why their schedules had been redone for mostly light work until the week before their comeback. As the group was eating dinner and watching tv, the most recent member to fall sick fell asleep on Yeonjun’s shoulder.

#txt #tomorrow x together #sickfic

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mystery-star · 2 years ago

Text

Set it right – John Biebe (Part 2 / 3)

Pairing: John Biebe x fem!reader

Warnings: inury, swearing, bullying, allusions to sex, molesting remarks

Words: 2416

Series Navigation: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Do no repost my work on other sites or platforms

“All good?” he asked

“Shit” you muttered when moving your foot made you see stars. Obviously noticing something was wrong, he came closer and tried to help you up but stopped when you cried out.

“What happened? Where does it hurt?”

“My foot. Ankle” you whined and he carefully moved to have a look.

“Can you move it?”

“Not without pain” you panted

“Do you think you can get up?”

“No” you almost let out a laugh. And even if you could you’d be standing on skates again and you certainly didn't want that right now.

“Alright. Wait here, I’ll get our stuff” he promised and left you, obviously wanting to retrieve your shoes. You considered crawling to the edge of the ice surface but decided against it. Once he was back, John helped you off the ice then assisted you with taking off the left skate “Do you want me to carry you to the car?”

“What?” of course you understood the question

“Or do you want to try to walk?”

“Dunno” you muttered tossing the right skate away and realizing too late that he would have to retrieve it “Sorry I’m such a nuisance today”

“Hey” he said “Don’t you worry. All that matters now is getting you back to your feet” you let out a grunt

“I mean getting you healed, of course” he admitted with a smile “now do you walk or should I carry you?”

“I’ll try to walk” you insisted and after putting on the other shoe, he too changed his shoes, packed up the rest of your stuff and then helped you up. Clinging to his side, you hopped to his car. It took you half an eternity to get there and towards the end you got tired so he lifted you up anyways and carried you the last eight feet or so. “Thanks” you muttered as he sat you down on the passenger seat.

“Do you want to go home?”

“No. To the doctor”

“What about your father?” you shrugged

“I’ll call him when we’ve arrived. I’m sure I can use the telephone in the doctor’s office”

In the end, John had called your father while you were being treated. Luckily, your ankle was only sprained but you’d need to walk with crutches for at least a week. When the doctor told you, you almost laughed because now your teacher had no choice but to let you do the test later. Maybe the day had not been a total mishap. To your surprise, John had still been there when you were discharged to go home; he had wanted to make sure you were doing okay before he left. At least your father was now driving you to school for a week so you wouldn’t have to go there yourself. But unfortunately, some guys from your class approached you.

“What the hell happened to you? Trying to weasel out of the test?”

“Or did you get hurt while trying to skate?” you gave him a glare and they realized that was what really happened “No shit? Wouldn’t have thought you’re that bad”

“Well” you said, grinning “at least I was trying to do something against my deficit. You never tried to become more intelligent” around him, his friends laughed. You saw John among them and he gave you a reassuring smile. The guy you had insulted, however, didn’t like it one bit and he stepped forward, pushing you hard so you lost your balance on your crutches and fell on your bum. Now his friends laughed with him again and when you tried to get up, he wanted to push you down again but this time, John interfered, placing his arm on the guy’s chest

“Guess that’s enough” luckily, they listened and after sharing a high five they walked away “You okay?” only now you saw that John had stayed

“Yeah, I guess” he picked up your crutches, then held out his hand and helped you up when you took it “Thanks. Also for stopping him” he only gave a nod and held out his hand again. Unsure what to do, you took it. He laughed

“I meant to take your bag but that’s fine too” before you could pull the hand away, he tightened his grip on it so you couldn’t let go of him

“I can’t walk like that” you remarked, nodding your head at the crutches.

“How about you give me your bag and I’ll give you back the crutches?” you didn’t want him to carry your bag “or you want me to carry you?” he added in a teasing tone

“No!” you took off the bag and tossed it to his feet, taking back your crutches.

The sports teacher absolutely wasn’t happy about your accident and believed you were just lying but luckily the doctor had written you a note, saying you couldn’t participate in sports lessons for two weeks at least. You didn’t know if you wanted to practice again before you had the test and found it couldn’t hurt. Also your social situation seemed to improve a little; it was like you finally had a friend now. Or at least John made sure no one bothered you again and sometimes talked to you. When you had phoned one of your friends in Anchorage and told her about him, she instantly tried to tell you that he probably was in love with you. From them on, it was more difficult to spend time with John without thinking of your friend’s words.

As the finals approached, you spent even more time with John because he’d asked you if you wanted to study together. The good thing was, while you were with him, the bullies just steered clear of you. But not so today, as John led you to his (respectively his father’s) car to get you home for another study session, Sean – the biggest bully – approached you.

“So, what’s the deal, (Y/L/N)?”

“What deal? What the person you sold your brains to gave you in return?” he ignored your comment but you could see it irked him, especially since his friends laughed.

“No. The one you made with Johnny that he spends time with you”

“Maybe I’m just not as much of an asshole like you are” or maybe one of the reasons Sean left you alone sometimes was because you had started to retort. “Though you really are a good friend to your buddies here” you nodded your head at them “By trying to roast me you make them laugh twice because I roast you back. Of course you don’t need the extra laughs, bet you get them all day when you look in the mirror” when he pushed you, you almost were a little surprised and stumbled a step back. John placed a hand on your arm, threw a checking glance at you before he slightly moved in between you and Sean.

“Honestly, now, John, what’s she got we don’t? Or is it just you play her bodyguard and she spreads her legs for you?” you let out a shocked gasp. “What about we make a deal too, (Y/N)? You get on your knees for me and I leave you alone” you were trying to come up with a witty remark but before could even think about it, John had already leapt forward and punched him in the face.

“Stop” you cried, clinging to Johns’ arm, fearing he’d get in trouble if someone saw him. Luckily, he had calmed down but wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you closer almost protectively. No, possessively. Swallowing, you tried to urge him on to his car but Sean spoke again

“What the fuck’s wrong with you? Is this just because you want to impress her father to get that job in the new sheriff’s department? And because you try to improve your grades to increase your chances?” with that he and his friends walked away. This time you swallowed harder.

“You applied for a post in the department?”

“For after graduation, yes” he sounded hurt

“So that is why you befriended me!” you tore away from him “Because you thought if I told Dad about you being my friend, you’d have higher chances” tears were burning in your eyes and you took a deep breath. After he looked down, he glanced back to you, opened his mouth, then closed it again and looked away. “Wow” you just said and left.

“Aren’t you hanging out with your friends today?” your father asked when he found you sitting in your room and reading

“It was only one friend”

“Was?”

“I just thought he was my friend”

“What did he do?” your father pulled the chair from your desk and sat down on it.

“He used me”

“Used you?” he sounded surprised

“Dad… I know you’re trying to help but I don’t want to talk about it right now” the tears were back and you were glad your father left so you could cry in peace.

Somehow you were almost disappointed when John didn’t talk to you the next day. A part of you had hoped he would at least try to talk about what had happened or deny what you had blamed him for. To you it proved you were right. This afternoon, your father came home much earlier than expected.

“What exactly happened between you and John?”

“Why do you ask?” you had told yourself that you would not let your father know what John did. After all you didn’t want to ruin his career even if he deserved it. No, he just had to look how to get the job himself, without your help.

“Because today, your friend has been at my office and withdrew his application”

“What?” you jumped to your feet “he did what?”

“He said that after what you’d told me he’d better do it this way than ending up as a disgrace”

“What?! Why would he do that?”

“That’s what I’m asking you. What happened yesterday?” you swallowed

“One of his friends said John only wanted to be my friend because he thought it might impress you if John was my friend. Or that he needed me to study for good grades… I…”

“And just because someone claimed that you believed him rather than your friend?”

“No! I asked John if it was true and he said nothing. Also today he said nothing to tell me I was wrong. Or at least trying to tell me his version” he rubbed his face

“I already had an interview with him… I was pretty impressed and I want him to have fair chances to get this job since he clearly wants it” he gave you a hard glare “So you will make sure he’ll revoke the withdrawal”

“What?”

“You heard me. And maybe it’ll do you two good if you have a talk” with that, he left, leaving your thoughts spinning.

After the last lesson on the next day, you wanted to talk to John about it but when you called his name, he didn’t react.

“Would you look at this?” it was Sean. Of course. “No bodyguard this time, huh? Weren’t you satisfying enough anymore?” not knowing what to say, you ignored him and called after John “Hurts, huh? Losing your only friend. Or customer or whatever he was to you” Sean stepped closer and gave you a push “Why don’t you go back to the big flashy city you came from? Bet you got loads of johns there” in your anger you pushed him back and tried to run after John but he was already gone. Luckily, you saw him again outside and after calling out a third time and speeding up you reached him and this time, he stopped.

“Dad told me what you did” you breathed out “That you withdrew the application”

“Suppose I had to. Better than to lose face”

“He was angry at me because he thinks this is my fault” well, maybe it was “I mean… I told him what happened and he got angry at me. He wants me to set it right and have you apply again. Dad says you deserve a fair chance. And I wouldn’t have told him about this. I mean, I don’t want to ruin your future or something”

“He wants me to apply again?”

“Well, more like revoke the withdrawal”

“And he doesn’t think I used you?”

“I don’t know. But it doesn’t sound like it. Or he wants to find it out”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“What do you think?”

“You never gave me an answer. But you also never denied it. I honestly don’t know what to think. Maybe I reacted too harshly...”

“Sean is wrong. I didn’t befriend you because of the job or your father. Because I wanted to” he smiled “Well, maybe I stepped back from the bullying because of who your father is. But more because I didn’t want a state trooper to hear I bothered his daughter. And because I think what they did was wrong” you looked at him, then you just hugged him.

“I’m glad” you breathed and he pulled you closer to his chest

“It’s the other way round” he suddenly said

“What?”

“I didn’t try to befriend you to impress your father and have better chances for the job… I hoped to get the job in order to impress your father and…” he stopped abruptly

“As if you need to impress my father to become friends with me” it was meant as a joke but then you saw his blush and understood “Oh shit” you let go of him. Was he actually saying he was hoping to date you?

“Guess that time I ruined it for good” he said and turned around, wanting to walk away again. You grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to stop. When he turned to you again, you didn’t even think before you moved your arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. He was too surprised at first to do something, then his hand came to your waist.

“Good thing you have me to set it right, huh?” he just looked down at you as if in shock, so you pulled on his elbow “Come on, as far as I remember we had a study session planned for today. But first you have to drop by in my father’s office or I’ll be in trouble”

#Mystery Alaska #john biebe #john biebe x reader #john biebe imagine #john biebe x you

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redswanned · 4 years ago

Text

Always Together pt 1; Porco x reader

Porco Galliard x reader

childhood friends to lovers, canonverse

word count: 2,510

no warnings, some minor swearing

omg this is my first aot fic ever ahhhh!! I didn’t mean for it to be this long haha but here we are. I hope you all like it!

_________________________

A life without Porco Galliard was a life you couldn’t imagine living. Ever since the two of you were in diapers you’ve been the best of friends, which was a pleasant outcome considering both of your parents were close. Every Sunday night you and your family would have dinner with the Galliards. While you played with Porco and Marcel, both of your parents always talked about moving forward in life.

You realized early on that this meant both you and Porco’s parents shared the dream of becoming honorary Marleyens, which was common amongst Eldians. However, in order to achieve that goal, both of your parents as well as Porco’s signed you all up for the warrior program. They were too caught up in the dream of living a life where they were not oppressed, at the cost of their own children.

The training was brutal for mere children, and you felt like you were training harder than actual soldiers. Sometimes it was just too much. As hard as you tried, you noticed yourself falling behind the other kids in training. Hell, even Reiner was better than you by a long shot.

One day, you injured your ankle during the running exercise. Ironically, you weren’t crying from the pain of your swollen ankle. The thought of being ousted from the warrior program and disappointing your parents scared you more. Unlike Porco, you were an only child so your parents were depending on your successful completion of the program entirely to become honorary Marleyans. At this point, you didn’t even bother to reach the finish line. Instead, you wandered off to a more secluded part of the training grounds, an all too familiar tree stump inviting you to rest after a long day. Warm tears flowed down your flushed cheeks as you heard laughter amongst your fellow warrior candidates.

“They’re probably happy that they’ll be selected for a Titan,” you thought sadly to yourself. You sighed as you realized they probably didn’t notice you were even there. As you tried to hold back sobs, you noticed the sound of running footsteps.

“Hey, Y/N, why didn’t you complete the race? Even that dumbass Reiner beat you!” Called out Porco.

Upon hearing his comment, you began to cry more which stopped him in his tracks. Sure what he said was kind of rude but he didn’t want to make you cry!

“Whoa, calm down! Why are you crying?” He yelled out of concern as he kneeled beside you.

“It’s nothing,” you replied as you wiped your tears.

Porco only stared at you frowning slightly. “Y/N, I’ve known you my whole life I know that something is up when you cry.”

Despite his concern, you didn’t feel like telling him the truth behind your tears. “When I was running I tripped and hurt my ankle,” you said as you sniffed back some tears.

Though he didn’t completely buy your reasoning, he did notice how inflamed your ankle was. He’d ask you about the true reason why you were upset later, his first priority was to get you some help.

“Here,” said Porco as he reached his hand out to you, “let me help you get to the clinic.”

You took his hand and felt yourself blush as he wrapped it over his shoulder. “Don’t put pressure on that foot,” he warned as the two of you trudged towards the clinic.

On the way there you saw your fellow warrior candidates conversing amongst themselves.

“Y/N! Are you alright?” Asked Marcel as he and Pieck quickly ran up to the two of you.

“Yeah, I just hurt my ankle back there,” you said sheepishly.

“That doesn’t look too good Y/N, it’s already so swollen. Are you sure you’re okay?” Asked Pieck.

“Um, yeah I’m fine!” You quickly replied through the pain.

“If you were fine I think you would’ve crossed the finish line by then,” said Reiner, more concerned than anything.

However, Porco took this as Reiner insulting you. “You know damn well Y/N would’ve beat you on a normal day!” He spat back.

“Hey that’s enough Porco, go help Y/N to the clinic,” said Marcel trying to diffuse the situation.

Porco just frowned at the crowd and pulled you along. You knew he would always defend you, but lately, he’s been getting more mad at Reiner for even talking to you.

“Porco it’s okay, I don’t think he meant it in a bad way,” you said as you cling to him since he started to pick up the pace after that incident.

“You never know these days Y/N. We’re all competing against each other. He probably feels lucky that you got hurt today since him beating you only boosted his score,” he said as he held the door open for you.

You decided to let it go as you trudged towards the bed and sat down. The burning pain in your ankle wasn’t getting any better as you slipped off your shoes. Definitely sprained, broken at the worst. You sighed at your predicament, knowing that you’d never become an honorary Marleyan like your friends and their families. Porco ran off to tell commander Magath, who then told Zeke to deal with you since he had some experience patching up wounds and since he was the oldest candidate.

“Hey Y/N, Porco told me you hurt your ankle?” Asked Zeke as he began to gather some bandages to wrap your injured ankle in.

You simply nodded before Zeke examined your ankle.

“Ouch!” You squeaked after he tried to move it sideways.

“Sorry, but I think it’s definitely a bad sprain at this point. It looks like you’ll have to use crutches for the next few weeks,” he said as he frowned slightly. He knew the selection of the candidates among the younger bunch was coming up soon, and this injury didn’t rule in your favor.

“Are you sure Zeke? Can’t you just wrap my foot back up and I can resume training?” You asked tearfully.

The older teen felt sorry for you as you were still determined to work hard for the selection. There was no way you could continue training like this, and your physical test grades weren’t even that high, to begin with. There was no doubt you would not be receiving a Titan.

“That will only set you back, just focus on healing, okay? The Marleyan trainers were kind enough to give you a break from training to heal,” said Zeke as he finished wrapping your ankle and grabbing the crutches for you.

You didn’t say anything after, the pain in your ankle was nothing compared to the disappointment and hopelessness you felt knowing you had no chance to improve your training scores. Zeke pat your head as almost a condolence and left the room. As you sat there contemplating your situation yet again, a familiar boy opened the door and took a seat next to you.

“I know you’re not okay and it’s not just about your ankle,” said Porco bluntly as he faced you. You didn’t dare look him in the eyes.

“Y/N, you could tell me. Please?” He said as his face softened.

You might as well get it over with. “Porco, at this rate I am never going to be chosen for a Titan. You know this too. I’ve tried my hardest but I am nowhere on your level or anyone else’s! I’m pretty sure my marks are the lowest out of us. And I’m going to disappoint my parents by not inheriting a Titan! They will never become honorary Marleyans because of me,” you cried.

Seeing you cry was difficult for Porco. He always had a soft spot for you and he immediately pulled into a hug. It was rare that he gave out hugs but you were an exception.

“Hey, don’t cry Y/N, okay? You never know what could happen. You’re way stronger than you think and I mean that. You’re even stronger than that loser Reiner! Don’t give up just yet. You heard Zeke, you need to rest. An injury like that proves you’ve been working hard so maybe those in charge will notice that too,” said Porco as he tried to comfort you. A part of him knew that there was a chance you wouldn’t inherit a Titan, neither would Reiner since there were only five titans available to inherit. Still, you could always work your way up as a soldier and earn merit that way. It was rare though since Eldians are not allowed to order Marleyans. There had to be another way.

His words comforted you a little. It was nice to see someone have faith in you for once. Maybe he was right, there could be another way you become an honorary Marleyan.

Several weeks passed by and the selection for inheriting Titans was revealed. It stung when you realized you were not selected a Titan, but you had prepared yourself for this revelation for the past few weeks. Your jaw dropped when you heard Porco was not chosen either. You stood with the rest of the group as Porco lashed out at Reiner, him yelling in disbelief that someone who he believed performed worse than him was chosen instead. Marcel pried his brother away from Reiner as Porco sobbed in defeat. The whole scene was heartbreaking to watch. You knew how hard Porco worked all these years, but you were also surprised that Reiner was able to get a Titan. That factor made you think that you had some of the necessary skills to inherit a Titan since you were not that far from Reiner.

All of the other chosen candidates left the room for the festival and left you and a sobbing Porco. It was now your turn to comfort him. “Hey Porco, I know you tried your best out there. It’s okay though, you still get to be an honorary Marleyan because of Marcel!” you said trying to cheer him up.

“It’s not about that,” he sobbed, “I can’t believe I’m this weak! I thought I was so strong but clearly, I’m not!”

“Remember what you told me the day I hurt my ankle?” you asked and he looked up, “You told me that I am stronger than I think I am and I think that also applies to you. Don’t give up hope just yet, I think you should stay in the program. You have what it takes to inherit a Titan in the future!”

He wiped his tears and simply nodded, listening to your words. Maybe they’ll hold some truth one day, but he will keep training to get stronger. This time, you brought him into a hug which he returned. “Thank you,” he whispered.

“What are you going to do since you also weren’t chosen today?” asked Porco.

“Be a disappointment to my parents,” you said sarcastically with a small chuckle.

“Don’t think that way, Y/N. There’s always so much more than their opinion of you,” he said frowning.

“Oh I know, it’s just I’m prepared for the guilt I’m going to be feeling. But I’ll probably try studying to become a nurse. At least then I can be useful on the battlefield,” you replied.

Porco’s eyes lit up as you told him of your prospective plans, “I wouldn’t mind having you as my nurse one day,” he said as he blushed.

“I hope for your sake that you aren’t my patient, because well, that would mean you got hurt,” you chuckled blushing as well.

Unfortunately, that was one of the last conversations you had with Porco for a while. Since you didn’t have Marleyan citizenship, you were moved back to the internment zone which showed you how hard life was for your kind. Your parents didn’t help either, they seemed eternally disappointed in you since they relied on you for Marleyan citizenship. You spent your days working at a small restaurant, which was tough since the management was pretty rude. Not to mention that the pay wasn’t great either but it was more than nothing. However, the shunning you felt from your parents was unbearable. Every time you were in a room with them the overwhelming feeling of your failure haunted you. All you wanted to do was to see Porco, but he was too busy continuing training.

Occasionally, on both of your rare days off, Porco would come to visit the internment zone where you caught up on life. You both confided in one another about being perceived as failures, which was not true at all. Without the other trainees around, you and Porco became much closer over the years. You’ve never been able to open up to anyone else and vice versa.

One day Porco came to you and tearfully informed you that Marcel had died early on in the mission to receive the founding Titan. It was one thing losing a friend, but you understood that Porco was suffering the most since Marcel was his one and only brother. Your arms became his safe haven as he sobbed away, missing his older brother and wondering why he had to leave this world so young. You cried with him, you had known Marcel since childhood too and he was suddenly gone. As much as Marcel’s death hurt both of you, it brought you two even closer. Recounting the good times you both had with Marcel was healing for both of you. And when Porco found out Reiner and Bertolt brought back the girl who had inadvertently killed him, Ymir, he knew that it would be his duty to consume her in order to obtain the Jaw Titan. You could not be happier for Porco in that aspect; his dream of inheriting a Titan was finally coming true. At the same time, this also meant he would have to leave you for military duties. As much as you hated that harsh reality, you were happy that his skills were put to use. The news broke out about the new war with the Mid-East Alliance, and you knew it would be a while before you saw him again.

After his parents said their goodbyes to their only son left, you approached your best friend tearfully and embraced him.

“I’m going to miss you Porco, please stay safe,” you cried into his chest.

“I will don’t worry about me Y/N,” he said as he returned the embrace.

You pulled away from him and he frowned at your tear-stained face. “Come on Y/N, you know I hate seeing you cry,” he said with a slight blush.

“I can’t help it,” you giggled in between tears, “Promise to send each other letters?”

“Of course I will,” he said as he grabbed your hand and squeezed it comfortably.

That was the last time you saw Porco Galliard for four years. You didn’t know it at the time you stood on the dock, but your life would change drastically in a way that would change you and Porco forever.

#attack on titan x reader #aot x reader #porco x reader #porco galliard x you #porco galliard x reader #aot x y/n

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prettywordsyouleft · 4 years ago

Text

MonX Hospital | Shownu

Pairing: Son Hyunwoo x reader

Genre: physiotherapist – hospital au / strangers to lovers

Warnings: medical terms, injury and recovery, a water scene, basically you will fall madly in love with Shownu by the end of this >_>

Word count: 4296

You didn’t know why your neighbour was acting over the top like this. Sure, you had taken a nasty fall from your front step four hours ago, tripping on the welcome mat outside your door, of all things, before tumbling off into your garden. You had assured Cassidy then that you were fine and some rest would help. However, she had watched the whole thing, even heard the crack when your ankle had twisted during your accident.

She wasn’t about to let you rest up in bed with just an ice pack and ibuprofen.

However, you had walked into the emergency department and surely that meant nothing was broken, right? There was a little swelling and that was to be expected with a nasty sprain. You had told Cassidy you’d go to your general practitioner in the morning if it was any worse. That would be much better than sitting in the ER department’s waiting room for hours as you had thus far.

“You’ll thank me for this one day,” she told you after your umpteenth sigh and you turned to the woman, shooting her an imploring gaze. She patted your lower arm gently. “You’re too young to be messed up from an injury.”

“You’re not that much older than me, Cass,” you pointed out and she shrugged. “Don’t act like you’re wiser than me over this.”

“Take it from a professional klutz, you’ll ache from morning to night if you don’t get things checked out.”

“It’s probably just a sprained ankle.”

“Do you have a medical degree?” the woman shot back and you slumped into your chair, defeated. Cassidy grinned smugly. “Precisely why you and I are going to wait until some hot doctor comes and-”

“Miss L/N?” an older, balding doctor called from the doors and you gave Cassidy another look.

She helped you up to your feet. “Okay, so he’s not hot but there are always the technicians and other doctors you’ll be seeing today to brighten your mood.”

As you expected, the long hours of waiting around the hospital hadn’t confirmed a break in any of your bones. It wasn’t all good news either. “I’ve done what?”

“You’ve torn a ligament in your ankle called the anterior talofibular ligament. When you rotated your ankle like this,” the doctor picked up a foot model and re-enacted a similar movement as to what you believed had happened before continuing. “It caused the ligament to tear. There’s good and bad news in this. The good is that you came in immediately after the incident occurred so we can begin treatment right away. The bad news is that ligaments vary in recovery rate. Normally they heal within six weeks, and with a solid physiotherapy plan, your motion and strength should return to normal or as best as a normal can be within two to three months. However, as I said, they have a tendency to take their own pace so what we like to see in recovery might not be the actual prognosis time you face.”

“Aren’t you glad I brought you in now?” Cassidy breathed from the chair beside you and you nodded slowly, deciphering all the information given by the doctor. He proceeded in filling in a few pieces of paperwork, one for medication, another for a referral to the hospital physiotherapy clinic, and two more for work and your usual doctor. He then placed your now considerably swollen ankle into a support bandage and issued you some crutches for the next few days.

“It would be best to head up to physiotherapy now and book in an appointment. They get pretty busy by mid-week and so you’ve caught the start of their week well by being injured now,” the doctor mentioned with a wry smile and gestured for the door. “Good luck with your recovery, Y/N.”

“You sure you can hobble up there?” Cassidy asked as you struggled to get a hang of the crutches once out of the orthopaedic department. She smiled gently. “I can dash up and book the appointment if you like.”

“That’d be good and I’ll go fill my prescription while you do that,” you proposed, meeting back up after attending to your different tasks. You frowned at the dazed expression upon your neighbour’s face. “Did it go well?”

“I don’t know if I’ve just sealed your fate or not,” Cassidy breathed out and you cocked your head to the side, waiting for more information. “The therapists up there are something else. And your one, Hyunwoo is his name. I don’t know if you’ll survive your first meeting with him.”

“Of course I will,” you replied, hobbling towards the exit. “Stop dreaming of me meeting someone special within these hospital walls, Cass. I’m coming in for treatment, not anything else.”

You were kind of grateful that Cassidy had work when your appointment in the physiotherapy clinic came around three days later. Because you really didn’t want to hear her tell you, “I told you so”.

Boy, was Hyunwoo something else, indeed.

It wasn’t even just the fact that he was physically attractive. He was too comfortable to be around, joking with you not even five minutes into the first meeting.

“So did you throw out your welcome mat?” he mused, reading over the notes and you chuckled softly.

“Not yet.”

“I figured it might not be as welcomed in front of your home after your nasty fall the other day,” he continued and then looked up at you with a smile. “How’s it been feeling?”

“Pretty sore and stiff,” you admitted and Hyunwoo nodded, ticking a couple of boxes. The initial part of your appointment continued with him asking you questions about your injury and general health and you answering them as best as you can, smiling and laughing along the way. By the end of the questions, you had almost forgotten why you were even here, just enjoying your time with the man.

And then Hyunwoo stood up. “I’m afraid the fun part of today is now over. I have to be a little mean to you now.”

“Mean?”

“I need to examine the amount of movement you have but I promise I’ll end it with a soothing massage afterwards,” he expressed, reaching forward for the crutches you had walked in on and tucked them under his arm. He then held out his other arm. “Here, allow me to help you over to the cubicle we’ll use today.”

Your eyes nearly popped out of your head once attached to his arm for support. It was as strong as it appeared, helping you maintain your balance as you hobbled with him to the space for your treatment.

Hyunwoo was watching you avidly, or at least, how your leg moved, murmuring encouragingly until he had you seated on the bed. He smiled warmly at you. “That was pretty rough, huh?”

“I haven’t walked without the crutches yet.”

“That’s okay, I won’t take them away from you just yet, I promise. But they will be leaving you later next week with all things going well, so let’s help you get to that point, shall we?”

Even though Hyunwoo’s examination hurt, and brought you close to tears twice, he was so gentle and soothing throughout that you remained rather relaxed.

“You okay?” he asked when he was done and you nodded softly, which made him smile yet again. You wondered if you would need any painkillers after this session or if his smiles would continue to remove the pain from your awareness. He patted you on the leg gently and then hopped up. “I’m just going to get the ultrasound machine. Don’t go running off anywhere, will you?”

You laughed at his sentence and once he returned with the machine, Hyunwoo pulled the back of the bed up and helped you sit up before moving to the end of the bed, lifting your leg so he could sit down, placing your ankle on his lap. You were so focused on his actions that you failed to feel the cold squirt of the gel he put on your leg but you did feel the warmth of his hand supporting your leg, and of course the machine, as the wand began to move in slow, circular movements.

“Ohh,” you hummed appreciatively and Hyunwoo chuckled.

“Told you, I’ll make you feel good, Y/N.”

“Well you’re good at it,” you replied mindlessly, your cheeks reddening when you realised what you said. Hyunwoo sheepishly chuckled.

“Good to know my years at school training are paying off.”

“Right, of course,” you agreed awkwardly, fanning the flames licking at your cheeks.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret though,” Hyunwoo mentioned, leaning in towards you a little. He grinned. “It’s the machine doing all the work right now.”

That deflated the tension, both of you laughing together. It beeped three times to let you know it had finished after several more minutes of treatment and Hyunwoo wiped away the excess gel, handing you a sheet with three gentle exercises to try at home and your crutches too.

“I’ll see you on Monday, Y/N.”

“You will.”

“Have a good weekend, and make sure to get rid of the mat until you’re better. I don’t want you hurt any more than you are.”

Did he want you to swoon any harder instead? Nodding in reply, you fare-welled the man before hobbling out of the department, sucking in a deep breath.

You hoped come Monday you would be in better condition to squish down your rising affection for your physiotherapist.

Monday came and went, with much of the same banter and comfortable company from Hyunwoo. As your sessions continued, you grew closer to Hyunwoo. He would ask what you were doing outside of work or plans you had and share tidbits about himself. He was always joking around with you and his touch was just as warm as it had been the first time you met him.

Perhaps he had healing powers within those hands of his. Your leg over the past five weeks had healed a great deal.

“Yes, that’s it Y/N!” Hyunwoo praised as you managed to handle the gym activities today. You were exhausted but felt good to notice the strength returning to your ankle. He gave you a high five that lingered a little before handing you your water bottle. “I’m proud of your recovery so far.”

“Those exercises at home you gave at the last session helped me.”

“Well I’m going to give you a new instruction this time around,” he enthused with a bright smile. “How’s your Thursday looking?”

“Thursday I’m pretty flexible for time, why?”

“I’ll book in the pool.”

“I’m sorry, the what?” you shot back immediately, your eyes rounding as saucers.

Hyunwoo examined your expression for a moment before smiling again. “Are you afraid of water?”

“No,” you replied, your eyes darting away from his torso. Surely he wouldn’t insist on getting in the pool with you, right?

“Good, hydrotherapy is a great form of exercise and strength building-”

“I mean I’m not scared of water but I can’t exactly swim either.”

“That’s fine our pool is designed to be able to reach the floor at all times. It’s not really used for swimming, it’s a series of exercises done in the water to take the weight-bearing aspect out of the equation. I think you could benefit from this. Besides, I’ll be right beside you the whole time. You don’t have to worry about anything.”

This knowledge didn’t ease you any. Not only was Hyunwoo going to see you in a swimsuit, you would potentially be seeing him in his. Your heart began to race with the anxiety building and Hyunwoo noticed, rubbing your shoulders gently. “Hey, have I ever done anything to make our sessions unsafe? I promise you it’ll be fine. Okay?”

“Oh-kay.”

“That’s my girl!” he enthused and nodded happily. “Let’s go book in the appointment now, shall we?”

And despite trying to slow down the clock, Thursday arrived and you were seated in the lobby of the therapy clinic, waiting for Hyunwoo to call you in. Fiddling with the strap to your beach bag you had brought along to carry the extra things you needed for today’s session, you gulped when you heard your name called.

Hyunwoo normally wore a polo shirt and sports track pants so when you noticed his uniform was that of black swimming jammers and an equally form-hugging black sports shirt, you actually needed a moment to find the strength to return to your legs.

Today wasn’t a good idea.

“Shall we go? The pool is all ready,” he called and you nodded faintly, hauling yourself up onto shaky legs. Hyunwoo came to your aid, assuming it was sheer nerves.

Which it was, just not about the actual pool.

Once helped into the room, Hyunwoo walked down the ramp with ease into the water. He looked so natural within the pool and you assumed that some of those toned muscles must come from being a swimmer. He then gestured to you to join him. “There’s a changing room off to the side there but it looks like you have your suit on underneath?”

You blushed at his observation, nodding numbly. “Yeah, I could just take it off here.”

“Allow me to give you the privacy to do so then,” he replied, turning around so you could take off your outer layers.

You had opted for your favourite one-piece suit, deciding anything else would be not very appropriate for today’s session. You were here to exercise, nothing more! And that’s what you told yourself repeatedly as you approached the ramp. Hyunwoo turned then, coming up to meet you half way and took your hand. “Ready?”

“I guess.”

“We’ll start easy with just walking up and down the pool, okay?” Hyunwoo instructed and you nodded, soon feeling comfortable to walk without his guiding hand. He was still at your side just in case you needed him.

You didn’t dare look in his direction.

“Alright, let’s try some stretches,” he announced, coming over to the side of the pool and demonstrating a leg lift. You executed them with relative ease, and the next four exercises also. Hyunwoo then went to get a weird looking hollow dumbbell and returned, laughing at your confusion. “It doesn’t look like much but this bad boy can actually be really hard to push through the water. Have a go.”

You gasped when you pushed it under the water, your gaze snapping back up to his in surprise. “Wow, it’s really heavy now!”

“Clever isn’t it. Try walking up and down whilst pushing it through the water as you walk. It’s going to take a bit more out of you so remember, slow and steady. Ready?”

“Sure!” you replied, heading off down the pool. It was definitely work and when you reached the end you were puffing. Hyunwoo left your side, walking backwards so there was some distance between you. He then encouraged you to return to his side, watching you intently.

You don’t know what came over you then. Walking back to him felt as if you were making your way towards someone you craved. You walked with purpose, pushing the weight through the water with more ease this time. You were determined to get back to his side, your gaze never faltering from his. You gasped softly when he held out his arms as you near him, seemingly as permission for this moment to exist between you both.

And just as you almost reached your goal, you lost your footing somehow, your leg slipping out from beneath you, the weight you were holding tipping you further forward. Before you could save yourself, Hyunwoo was there, fully wrapped around you, holding you flush to his body.

For a moment, all you could hear was each of your heavy breathing from the incident. And then he swallowed, his mouth near your ear. “Are you okay, Y/N?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Sure?”

“Mm.”

“Are you scared?”

“Only of you,” you admitted slowly, despite clinging onto him firmly. Hyunwoo tentatively pulled back so he could look you in the eyes.

“The feeling’s mutual.”

“It is?”

He nodded honestly. “I could get fired for the thoughts I have in my head right now.”

“There’s no security cameras in here, right?”

“No, but why wo-”

Your lips on his cut the sentence short, the tension snapping between you passionately. You hadn’t realised just how long it had been building, how long you had craved a moment like this with Hyunwoo. You had blurred the lines between therapist and patient long before this moment though.

And it wasn’t just you.

Hyunwoo was kissing you back with just as much need, his hunger overwhelming you. Backing you up slowly into the side of the pool, he finally pulled away, reaching to grip onto the bar gently pressing into your back to steady himself.

“That shouldn’t have happened.”

“I know,” you replied dazedly, watching Hyunwoo attempt to rein in his evident desire. You smiled weakly. “We’re coming to the end of my sessions soon, right? So I guess it’s not as if you have to feel-”

It was him cutting you off now with a kiss, groaning into as he caressed your lips. Sliding your hands up his chest, you joined them behind his neck, leaning away from the bar and into him completely.

You knew this was breaking several medical practices, for sure. Yet you couldn’t pull back, wanting to taste more of Hyunwoo the longer his lips were on yours.

Reality called you both back from the heady embrace when his stopwatch beeped to let him know the new hour had arrived. Jerking away from you, Hyunwoo instantly ran a hand through his hair. “Wow uh, we need to wrap up here.”

“You must have other clients to work on,” you mentioned and caught his startled look. Shaking your head and hands you laughed awkwardly. “Not like this, I mean, I hope not but-”

“No, only you. I’ve never done anything like this before.”

You disliked how easily that made your heart leap about with delight to hear. Still, Hyunwoo looked panicked and you could tell he was overthinking the moment the longer he stood in the pool.

Heading towards the ramp, he stopped and then backtracked to your side. “Here, let me help you out.”

“I can hold the bar.”

“Right, you should hold the bar.” You both made it out of the pool and Hyunwoo made a beeline for his towel. “I’ll get you to make an appointment for next week. We’ll give the pool a skip, okay?”

“Of course.”

“See you then,” he said as he walked through the door quickly.

You sat down slowly, looking back at the pool before you. It wasn’t the heated water that had caused your mind to run away with you.

You didn’t quite know how you would face him next time.

Deciding not to cancel your appointment as you had convinced yourself all weekend long to do, you turned up on Monday to the hospital clinic, waiting for Hyunwoo to call you in for your session. Instead, a young woman called out your name and you felt your hopes crash immediately. Had he really avoided you like this?

After asking about Hyunwoo, the woman who introduced herself as Beth shook her head. “Hyunwoo’s off sick. He never gets unwell, so it’s a first. He sounded awful on the phone earlier.”

“Really?” you replied, worry etched within your eyes. “I hope he’s going to be okay.”

“He should be, he’s a healthy guy usually! Anyway, shall we start our session?”

You worried about Hyunwoo for the next two days in between your sessions, hoping that today you would see him back in the clinic.

He was there, though he still looked pale. As soon as he ushered you into a cubicle, you went to reach out to feel his forehead, stopping midway. What were you thinking?! You had told yourself you wouldn’t make him any further awkward in your presence than you had a week ago.

He chuckled weakly. “I’m okay, honest.”

“You look awful.”

“I didn’t want you to worry about me any further than you no doubt were,” he admitted quietly and you merely stared back at him. Hyunwoo sighed and looked at your chart. “This is your last week of physiotherapy here. I still think you need some extra sessions so I’ll give you a leaflet at the end of today’s session with approved private clinics who will take you on as a patient with a surcharge. It’s not too much and you’d only need weekly sessions. But let’s talk about that later.”

“You came in to say goodbye,” you concluded, dropping your head. What did you expect? The other day was a slip up between a professional and his patient. Even you knew the logistics behind it.

“Shall we start on our training today?” Hyunwoo asked, clapping his hands together to try and energise you both. It didn’t work, and by the end of the time together you were equally distracted and quiet.

You didn’t know how to thank him for his time and generosity. Even if you had kissed him and given into your feelings for him, you could still recognise he was great at his profession.

And now, your time with him had come to an end.

“Thank you, Hyunwoo,” you managed to say, looking down at his sneakers, knowing you’d cry if you looked up. “I’m grateful for your help with my injury. I’ll ensure to continue with therapy until it’s back to normal.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“Is our session up?”

“We have five minutes left,” he replied and you nodded, reaching down for your bag.

“I think we can end it here. Thank you again.”

“Y/N, wait!”

You couldn’t stop there; you knew the tears were going to spill down your cheeks any second now. You chided yourself for falling trap to them, watching as they ran down your cheeks through the mirror in the bathroom you darted into after leaving the department. Allowing yourself a few minutes to acknowledge the ache in your chest, you then gathered yourself back up, dabbing away your tear stains and stepped out of the bathroom.

Promptly into a waiting Hyunwoo. He relaxed visibly, scratching at his head as he smiled weakly. “I was right to wait here then.”

“Did you forget something?”

“Technically I could have looked in your file for it but I figured I’ve already broken enough rules that I should ask you instead.”

“Ask me about what?”

“Your number. Please.”

You merely stared at him, processing what he said. Jarringly, you reached for the phone he held out and punched in your number. Were you dreaming just now? Hyunwoo chewed on his bottom lip, trying to curb some of his satisfaction in gaining your personal information. And then he gave your shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Well, you were definitely not dreaming. Snapping your stunned gaze to his face, you watched him grin shyly. “Can I ring you tonight?”

“Really?”

“If you’re busy, then I can wait but-”

“I’ll be free after five.”

“I’ll ring you at six,” he confirmed with a giddy smile, feeling yourself mirror the expression. He waved you off with a laugh.

When six arrived, you jumped as the phone you held went off right on time. You waited a moment as not to seem as if you hadn’t just spent the last thirty minutes staring at the screen or anything.

“Hello?”

“Y/N? It’s Hyunwoo here.”

“Hyunwoo,” you called, trying not to giggle happily. “Are you sure this is appropriate? You won’t get in any trouble?”

“I closed your file today so you’re officially no longer my patient.”

“What am I then?”

“Yeah, that’s the culprit.”

“Well, I have a confession to make,” he said with a quick breath and you frowned. “I might have looked at something I shouldn’t have before I closed your file. Is this the same welcome mat that tripped you up on that fateful morning?”

Getting up with a start from your couch, you dashed to the front door and opened it, finding Hyunwoo kicking gently at the mat under his feet. He looked up at you and grinned, still holding the phone up to his ear. “Is it?”

“I hope it’s alright, but I brought a replacement one,” he mentioned as he ended the call, lifting the bag he held up and shaking it. You laughed and he grinned. “The salesperson said this one is so heavy duty that it won’t even move in a storm.”

“What about you? Will you move in a storm?”

“Only into your arms to comfort you, I hope.”

“Want to come in?”

“Are you sure you want to let your therapist in? I might find all the flaws within your home that could injure you and want to fix them all,” he admitted and you stepped aside to welcome him inside.

But before you shut the door, you leaned down and grabbed the welcome mat, throwing it down into the garden bed where you had fallen last. Smiling brightly, you then turned to Hyunwoo. “Have you eaten? I could make us some dinner.”

“I’ve been dying to try your food ever since you told me about that party you threw for your family two weeks ago.”

“You might think I’m a horrible cook, I had help then,” you pointed out and Hyunwoo followed you down the hallway, leaving the new mat by the door and expressing that you have help in him right now.

You hoped that he would keep showing up on your doorstep like this.

_________________

Next: Wonho

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gryffindorcls · 5 years ago

Text

A New Light

This is a birthday fic for my wonderful friend, @hermionemonica! HAPPY (BELATED) BIRTHDAY, MY AMAZING FRIEND!!! I hope you enjoy this little bit of Adrienette!

---

AO3

Fanfiction

Word Count: 11,203

“What are you smiling at?” Kagami took a long sip from her drink.

Adrien shook his head. “What are you talking about?”

“You have been staring at the wall and smiling for the past five minutes. You are either in great pain or are thinking about something that makes you happy.”

“Great pain?”

“Yes, whenever you get hurt, you smile and brush it off.”

“When have I ever done something like that?”

“Last week when you got distracted and tripped at fencing practice. As I recall, you bruised your arm.”

“I was waving to a friend, and I didn’t want her to worry.”

“It was a pretty bad bruise. Is that what is hurting you now?”

“What?” Adrien pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, Kagami, I’m not in pain.”

She took another sip. “Then why are you smiling?”

“I was just thinking back on my day at school.”

“I take it you had a good day then?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, “I did.”

“So, what happened today that made you smile like that?” Kagami set down her drink. “I would love to hear about it.”

“Well, Marinette came into school on crutches today. She sprained her ankle, and the doctor told her that she had to stay off of it for a few days.”

“And her being hurt is what’s making you happy? I do not understand.”

“No! It’s nothing like that. Seeing her in pain is the worst. But Alya was on a field trip to the tv studio with the school newspaper, and Marinette needed someone to help carry her belongings. I offered, and she and I got to talk a lot today.”

“I see. Anything else?”

“At the end of the school day, I walked her home, and her mom gave me a whole bag of pastries!” Adrien reached into his backpack and pulled out a brown paper bag. “Would you like one?”

Kagami shook her head. “No.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, taking a large bite out of a chocolate croissant. “They are delicious.”

“I’m sure they are.” She took a deep breath. “I think we should see other people.”

Adrien choked on the pastry. “Excuse me, what?”

“I’m breaking up with you.”

“But...why? What did I do?”

“Tell me, who were you waving to when you fell down at fencing practice?”

“Marinette, but I don’t see how…”

She held her hand up in the air, effectively silencing him. “That’s why.”

“I don’t understand.” Adrien’s chest began to tighten. “What does Marinette have to do with any of this?”

“You’re in love with her. Everyone can see it.”

“I’m not in love with Marinette. She’s just a friend.”

“And apparently, everyone can see it but you.”

“Kagami, I don’t understand what’s happening right now. Nothing is going on between me and Marinette.”

She sighed and shrugged. “I know. It’s because I’m in the way.”

He did his best to control his breathing. “You don’t love me anymore?”

“Adrien, I will always love you. You have been an amazing boyfriend, but the longer that we are together, the more I come to realize that we are not meant to be. Honestly, I’ve been waiting to have this conversation with you for a while. It’s okay for you to be in love with Marinette. I see that now.”

“Kagami…”

“I am not mad.” She paused and scrunched her face. “Well, I’m not mad at you. I am upset with myself for not thinking about things logically before we started going out. I was blinded by the idea of dating you, and I did not take the time to see how much better your life would be if you were with Marinette instead. She makes you happy.”

Adrien groaned with frustration. “Yes, because she’s my friend, and even if I did have a crush on her, she’s not in love with me.”

“There was a time when I thought you were perfect, but it turns out I was wrong. You’re a wonderful person, Adrien, but you are very oblivious.”

“I’m not oblivious.”

“Then that means you are refusing to admit your feelings for her because you’re scared.” Kagami shook her head, reached across the table, and took his hand. “There’s no need to be afraid. You two are perfect for each other.”

He took back his hand and hung his head. “But she’s only ever been my friend.”

“And we were friends before we started dating, and I hope to continue being your friend after today. Things change, and I have learned that it is okay when they do.”

“How did you even come to the conclusion that I’m in love with Marinette?”

“Well, your face gets brighter whenever you see her or talk about her, you’re always leaning in her direction, and you’ve told me at least three dozen times how amazing and incredible she is. The list goes on, Adrien.”

“I can’t love her.”

“But you do.”

“Even if I did, I can’t. We’re just friends. She's not interested in being my girlfriend.”

“Excuse me for sounding like Chloe when I say this, but that is ridiculous.”

He closed his eyes and sighed. Deep down, he knew that Kagami was right. Adrien had always harbored feelings for the girl who sat behind him in class. While he enjoyed hanging out with Kagami, spending time with Marinette was different.

Marinette was magnetic. Adrien was naturally drawn to her energy, and he was enamored by her kindness. He’d always felt like she could be more than just a friend, but his love for his partner had prevented him from exploring those feelings.

Had he thought about asking her out when he moved on from his crush on Ladybug? Yes, but he’d assumed that she wasn’t interested after she disappeared halfway through their escape from the Bourgious’ mind-numbing anniversary party. Besides, she had Luka.

Asking out Kagami had been his way of letting go of the unattainable love interests in his life. Kagami was cool, and he was definitely attracted to her. He desperately wanted to love her the same way he loved Ladybug and Marinette, so he did his best to make their relationship thrive.

For months, he took her on dates, bought her flowers, and celebrated their milestones, but his heart refused to cooperate. He never felt the same dizzying adoration for Kagami, and this was something that racked his mind with guilt. Nonetheless, Adrien had worked hard to move on from his former crushes, and he didn’t know if he was ready to once again embrace his feelings for Marinette.

“I don’t know what else to say.”

“Say that you will think about it. I want us both to be happy, and neither of us will be truly happy if we stay in this relationship.”

“I guess,” he whispered. She stood up and walked around the table. “Good, now I must get going.”

“Already?”

“We have nothing else to talk about.”

“And what am I supposed to do now?”

“Go home and think. Find your happiness.”

“How can I be happy when you’re the second girl who’s rejected me? I really wanted us to work out.”

“I know.” Kagami knelt down and cupped his cheek. “And I’m not rejecting you. I’m setting you free.”

“As long as I am Adrien Agreste, I will never be free,” he mumbled.

It was a truth that had been woven into every fiber of his being. Chat Noir was his only escape, and his civilian life was bound not only by his father’s rules and expectations but by his life in the public eye. He longed for freedom outside the mask, but it was a dream that seemed woefully out of reach.

“You have the power to change that. It is all about how you look at the world, and perhaps it is time for you to start looking at things in a new light.” Adrien’s broken spirit began to mend under Kagami’s unwavering stare.

He sat up straight. “I don’t know if I can, but I’ll try.”

“You need to be honest about your feelings.” She smiled. “Once you do that, everything will fall into place.”

Ladybug’s final rejection played in his mind. “I already tried doing that with...someone else, and it didn’t work.”

Kagami removed her hand from his cheek and rose to her feet. “Think about it this way, if Marinette had been the one to tell you that she loved you the day Miracle Queen showed up, would you have kissed her, or would you have pulled away at the last second like you did with me?”

“I...I don’t know.”

Why are you lying, his mind screamed, Of course, you know.

“Yes, you do. Goodbye, Adrien. I’ll see you at our next fencing practice.” She turned on her heel and walked out of the cafe.

Even though he was surrounded by people, when Kagami disappeared from sight, Adrien became painfully aware that he was sitting by himself. It was a sensation that he knew all too well.

He pulled out his phone and texted his bodyguard. His phone chimed with a response a few seconds later.

Gorilla: 5 minutes

Adrien groaned. He had five whole minutes to sit by himself and think. At least when he was alone in his room, he had the luxury of talking to Plagg. There were too many people in the cafe for his Kwami to safely come out of hiding, so he sighed, rested his head on the table, and waited for the Gorilla to arrive.

He felt empty, but he was surprised to find that he wasn’t sad. Being rejected by Ladybug had hurt infinitely worse than hearing his now ex-girlfriend say that she wanted to break up with him. By the time his phone chimed a second time, he had concluded that it was the absence of Kagami's presence that upset him more than the actual break-up.

After hastily grabbing his belongings, he walked out of the cafe and hopped into the backseat of his family’s car. On the way home, he stared at the passing scenery. When they drove past the Dupain-Cheng’s bakery, a dull ache thudded against his chest.

It doesn’t matter what Kagami says, I can’t ask out Marinette. She doesn’t love me like that, and it would ruin our friendship.

He turned his head away from the window.

And I can’t lose her as a friend.

The car pulled up to his house.

I almost lost Ladybug’s friendship by being too forward.

Adrien hopped out of the car, walked into his house, and made his way to his room.

Marinette can never know how I feel.

Upon reaching his room, he closed the door behind him, sat down at his desk, and turned on his computer. His Kwami flew out of his backpack and landed in his lap.

“You okay, kid? Plagg asked, sympathy lacing his tone.

“Yup.” Adrien nodded. “I was just about to do my homework before I have to get ready for bed.”

“And you don’t want to talk about what happened at all?”

“Nope.”

“Then something must be really wrong. Talking about your love life is your cheese.”

“My cheese?”

“Yes.” Plagg flew into his cheese cabinet and emerged with a large wedge of camembert. “You love telling me about your crushes almost as much as I love eating cheese.”

Adrien rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I guess I’m just not in the mood for it tonight.”

“I don’t want you bottling this up and getting Akumatized. That would be apocalypse-level bad.”

“I promise that I’m fine.”

“Your girlfriend broke up with you. You moped for weeks after Ladybug rejected you.”

“This is different. I was in love with Ladybug, and as much as I love spending time with Kagami, I never actually fell in love with her.”

“You were pretty upset in that cafe.” Plagg crossed his arms. “You can’t tell me that you weren’t.”

Adrien shrugged. “I think I was just shocked, but then I realized that Kagami was right. Yeah, I’ll miss her company, but we really are better off as friends.”

“Look, kid, I didn't say anything when you started dating sword girl because I wanted you to be happy, but I knew it wouldn't last forever. I’ve been preparing for this moment for a while. A break-up is a big deal, and it's okay to be a little upset.”

“What do you mean that you ‘knew it wouldn't last forever’?”

“I always thought you’d wind up with pigtails. Kagami was right about that, too. Your whole face lights up when you talk about Marinette...and you talk about her all the time.”

“No, Marinette is just a friend, and I intend to keep it that way.”

“Are you serious? Adrien, I…”

He cut off his Kwami. “Do you remember when Kagami asked me if I would have kissed Marinette if she’d been the one to confess her love first?”

“I hear everything...all the time.” Plagg shuddered dramatically, prompting Adrien to roll his eyes.

“Then you heard me tell her that I didn’t know, but that was a lie.” He paused and released a heavy sigh before continuing. “My answer to that question will always be ‘yes’. I remember wishing that Marinette had been the one to stay that day. I would have kissed her in a heartbeat.”

“A-ha! So, you do love Marinette!” A smug grin settled on Plagg’s face. “I knew it.”

He threw his hands into the air. “Of course I do! I would be an idiot not to, and honestly, I was an idiot for not realizing it sooner. Remember the time she tried to kiss me when I pretended to be a statue?”

“Yeah, I do. That was one of the most painful things I’ve ever had to watch, and I’ve been alive since the beginning of time.”

“Once I started to move on from Ladybug, I realized that I’ve had a crush on Marinette for months. Since then, not a day has gone by that I don’t regret that moment in the wax museum.”

“Then just tell that to Marinette so everyone can be happy and move on!”

“I can't! No one can know how I feel about her. It would ruin everything.”

Plagg shook his head. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the fact that Marinette walked away!” A lump started to form in his throat. “Yes, I would have kissed her if she’d stayed and told me that she loved me, but she didn’t. Kagami did. Then two days later I saw her eating ice cream with Luka. Do you know how hard it was to be okay with that?”

“Maybe it’s not what you think.”

“She walked away, Plagg. Marinette isn't in love with me. Was there a time that asking her out was a possibility? Sure, but I missed my chance...and she’s in love with Luka now. If she knew that I liked her, she wouldn't want to be my friend anymore.”

“I see where you’re coming from, but I really think you may have misread the situation.”

“I learned my lesson after Ladybug. I will not pursue another girl who is interested in someone else. I refuse to set myself up for heartbreak again. Getting rejected by Marinette would earn me a visit from a purple butterfly.”

“But what if she is interested in you?”

“Whenever I’ve asked her if she sees me as more than a friend, she’s always said ‘no’. I would ask her out on the spot if she told me that she loved me, but it’s not going to happen.” Tears started to pool in the corners of his eyes.

Plagg poked Adrien’s cheek. “No, don’t do that. I didn’t mean to push. Please don’t get upset.”

“I’m fine. I’m not going to get Akumatized. Not this time.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Adrien picked up his textbook and waved it through the air. “I have my homework to distract me, remember?”

“Fine, but I’m still going to watch out for purple butterflies.” Plagg punched the air. “Nothing will get past me.”

He scratched his Kwami behind the ears. “Thank you for caring.”

“For you, kid, always.” Plagg nuzzled his cheek before flying off to the other side of the room.

For the rest of the evening, Adrien did his best to focus on his schoolwork. Every time his mind conjured up an image of a raven-haired girl with pigtails, he pushed the thought away.

After doing a sub-par job on his physics homework, he took a shower and climbed into bed. He tossed and turned for two hours before falling into a restless sleep. When he awoke the next morning, his mind was filled with fog.

Still doing his best to not think about his love life, he got ready, ate breakfast, and hopped into the car. When he arrived at school, he noticed Marinette struggling to simultaneously carry a box and juggle her crutches, and without a second thought, he sprang into action.

Seeing that the light was green, he sprinted across the street, grabbed the box from her hands, and placed a steadying hand on her back.

“Thank you, Adrien.” She smiled, and the emptiness he’d felt the previous night melted away.

Maybe asking her out wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

“You’re welcome.” Adrien’s heart pounded in his chest. “Next time, text me if you need help carrying something to school.”

“I appreciate the offer, but hopefully there won’t be a next time. If the doctor gives me the all-clear today, I won’t have to use the brace anymore.” Balancing herself on one crutch, Marinette gave him a thumbs up.

No, she’s your friend, Adrien. Don’t mess this up.

“T-that’s good!” He swallowed against a dry throat. “So, your ankle is feeling better?”

She shrugged. “Yeah, it’s a little weak, but I can walk on it as long as I sit down and take breaks.”

Why does she have to be so cute?

“I’m really happy to hear that.” Adrien reached out and touched her arm.

“I...oh...um...we should probably use our feet now.” She shook her head and groaned. “No, wait, that sounded weird. Sorry, We should go to school...um...using our feet. WALKING! THAT’S WHAT YOU CALL IT.”

“So cute.”

“What?”

Oh, God, I said that out loud!

“I...uh…”

“Did you just call me cute?” Her voice sounded strained. “Unless that’s not what you said! Of course, that’s not what you said! What did you just say?”

Change the subject, Agreste!

“I said, um...oh, shoot! Yup! That’s it. Oh, shoot! We’ll be late if we don’t leave right now!” He chuckled nervously as he shot a finger gun in her direction.

She pinched her lips together and looked away. “Uh, yeah, okay. I guess you’re right.”

Adrien could feel the tension in the air as they slowly made their way across the street, up the stairs, and into the school’s courtyard. With each passing step, the desire to move past their previous conversation grew, but every time he opened his mouth to speak, he choked on his words.

“So,” Marinette said, cutting through the silence, “how was your date with Kagami last night? I remember you telling me that you were taking her to that cafe she and I love going to.”

Knowing that his answer would usher in more awkwardness between them, he stifled a groan. He opened and closed his mouth several times before slumping his shoulders and hanging his head.

She leaned in. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” He took a deep breath through his nose and nodded. “It’s just a little uncomfortable to talk about my relationship with Kagami at the moment.”

Marinette’s cheeks grew bright red. “Oh, my gosh! I’m so sorry! You’re right. It was very rude of me to pry. It won’t happen again.”

“No! No! It’s nothing like that!” He paused and shifted the box onto his hip. “She kind of...broke up with me.”

She gasped. “Oh, Adrien! I’m so sorry! Are you doing alright?”

“Surprisingly, yes. I’m actually not that upset.

“You’re not?”

“Really, I’m fine. Kagami and I weren’t right for each other. It’s better this way.”

“You really think that?”

“Yes, I do.”

An unreadable expression passed over her face before she turned her head away and looked at the ground. “That’s too bad. You both seemed like a good match for each other. You both have so much in common.”

Adrien swallowed. “Sometimes it’s the opposites that work best together. Almost like two halves of a whole.”

Someone like you.

“Y-yeah, um, maybe.” She cleared her throat. “We should go in. I need to drop off that box of supplies in the artroom before we head to Miss Bustier’s class.”

He forced a smile. “Lead the way.”

As they made their way into the school, his mind chanted the same phrase on repeat. She’s just a friend. She’s just a friend. She’s just a friend.

When they finally arrived at their first class, he tried to not think about the fact that she was sitting right behind him.

She’s just a friend.

Or that she smelled like vanilla and cinnamon.

She’s just a friend.

Or that all he wanted to do was sweep her off her feet and kiss her until they both ran out of air.

She’s just a friend.

By the end of class, he was ready to scream. When Miss Bustier dismissed everyone, he ran into the hallway and sprinted down to the locker room.

She’s just a friend. She’s not in love with you.

Adrien groaned. “Why me?”

“Bro, are you okay?” Nino rested a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve been kind of out of it all morning.”

“I told myself that I would stop chasing after things I can never have, yet here I am. Alone and miserable.” He thumped his head against his locker.

Nino took off his hat and scratched the top of his head. “I gotta be honest, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Did your dad do something?”

He shook his head. “No, this time it was all me. I have no one to blame but myself.”

“You sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

“Maybe another time. Let’s just get ready for whatever Mr. D’Argencourt has in store for us today.”

“Whatever you say, dude. I’m here if you need me.”

“Thanks, Nino.”

Not wanting to be late for class, Adrien changed into his gym clothes and did his best to compose himself before walking with the rest of the boys to the courtyard. When they arrived, Mr. D'Argencourt instructed them to stretch while he retrieved a bag of rubber playground balls from a storage closet.

Adrien never understood why Mr. D'Argencourt insisted on having his gym class play kickball in the school courtyard. They played plenty of other games in the stadium, but never kickball. Even after three incidents in which windows had been broken or cracked, he still refused to move the game to a larger venue. He knew it was only a matter of time before someone got seriously hurt. Nonetheless, despite the safety concerns, he was grateful for the distraction that the game would provide. He was looking forward to spending the next hour away from the all-consuming thoughts that made his heart ache.

Today, Mr. D'Argencourt decided to have the boys play against the girls. Adrien stifled a groan. Gym classes were always infinitely more competitive when Alix and Kim were on opposing teams.

After a coin toss, the girls chose to kick first. Adrien took his place on the field and watched as each girl took their turn. He did his best to keep his eyes glued on the kicker, but the familiar clink of crutches behind him pried his focus away from the game.

The ache in his heart came creeping back when Marinette took her seat on a bench, shot him a smile, and waved in his direction. For a moment, he forgot where he was, and he returned her gesture with a timid wave.

She’s so beautiful. Does she even know how beautiful she is? Someone should tell her. I should...no, she’s just a friend. She’s just a...

A rush of moving air breezed past his arm, pulling him away from his thoughts, and a cacophony of groans sounded across the field. Adrien spun his head towards home base just in time to see Alix score a point for the girls’ team.

“Stop flirting, Agreste!” Kim called out from the pitcher’s mound, “You can talk to your girlfriend later.”

“My Adrikins is not dating Dupain-Cheng,” Chloe said as she sauntered towards home base, “He’s dating that rude fencing girl. Not that she’s any better, but still, he has standards.”

Don’t you dare talk about my girl that way,” Alya yelled from the sidelines, “And by the way, it’s kind of hypocritical to call someone rude when you’re also saying mean things about other people.”

“Ugh, whatever.”

A flash of anger surged through his body, and Adrien did his best to remain calm and collected. He and Marinette were just friends, and as much as he wanted to change that, he could not.

Thoughts of his conversation with Kagami and Plagg the night before sent an unpleasant pang through his chest. “Can we just get on with the game? Marinette and I are great friends, nothing more.”

Chloe turned towards Kim. “You heard him. Are you going to pitch the ball or what?”

Kim rolled his eyes and looked at Adrien. “Just keep your mind on the game, Mr. Model. Some of us are trying to take this seriously.”

Adrien took a deep breath, looked at Marinette, and shrugged. She shot him a sympathetic look and mouthed a quick “sorry” before looking down at the sketchbook sitting on her lap.

He nodded, smiled, and turned towards home base.

She’s just a friend.

He watched as Lila walked up to the plate.

She’s just a friend.

His eyes tracked the ball as it shot across the courtyard.

She’s just a friend.

Everything stopped when the ball hit Marinette on the side of the head, causing her to fall off the bench.

Adrien bolted. Within seconds, he was kneeling next to Marinette, cradling her in his arms.

“Oops!” Lila said with a sickening sweetness in her voice, “I guess I’m not very good at this game. Is Marinette going to be okay?”

Ignorning the urge to scream at Lila, Adrien brushed Marinette’s bangs away from her face, revealing a large bump. “You’re hurt.”

She turned her head. “No, I’m fine. Really, I am.”

“No, you’re not. You need to go to the nurse so she can call your parents.”

“I don’t need to go home. I have a group project in art, and…”

He cut her off. “And they will understand that you getting medical attention comes first.”

“But I already missed a day because of my stupid ankle. I can’t let them down again!”

“Marinette, go with Adrien to the nurse.” Nathaniel stepped out of the crowd that had begun to surround them. “It’s okay. You’re not letting us down.”

“Are you sure?” She bit her lip. “It doesn’t really hurt that bad.”

Adrien pulled her even closer. “But it’s going to hurt a lot later.”

“I guess you’re right. Let me just get my things.” She pulled away from his grip, attempted to stand up, and stumbled.

Without hesitation, Adrien snaked one arm around her back and the other under the bend of her knees. She squeaked when he stood and lifted her into a bridal carry. Disregarding his classmate’s gasps, he met Marinette’s startled gaze.

“Don’t worry about your stuff,” he whispered, “I don’t want you to get hurt again. Hold on tight, okay?”

She looped her arms around his neck and rested her head against his chest. “Okay.”

Not wanting to jostle the girl in his arms, he slowly made his way to the nurse’s office. “Sorry about the smell. These gym clothes have to get washed. I know they probably stink right now.”

She giggled. “Don’t worry. I love you.”

He stopped in his tracks.

It was only three words, but coming from her lips, they were the most beautiful three words in the universe. They were a patch of sunlight on a dreary day, wrapping him in the warmth his soul longed to feel. They were a million shooting stars, granting the wishes of all who gazed upon their wonder. They were so simple, yet they were everything. She was everything.

All too soon, the crippling fear set in. They were the words he’d wanted to hear Marinette say more than anything. What if his exhaustion induced haze made him hallucinate the last 30 seconds of his life? What if he was actually in the middle of an elaborate dream? What if it was all a cruel trick that his mind had decided to play on him?

“I’m sorry. Could you repeat that?” He held his breath as he awaited her response.

She giggled. “Repeat what?”

“What you just said.”

“I said that I love the way that you smell. You don’t stink.”

Adrien shook his head. “Marinette, that’s not what you said.”

A befuddled expression overtook her features. “Then, what did I say?”

“I love you.” The words tasted sweet on his lips. “You said ‘I love you’.”

“Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Did you mean it?”

She waved her hand dismissively. “No! Of course not!”

His heart sank. “You don’t love me?”

“Well, it’s not that I don’t not love you. People are allowed to love their friends as friends. Right?”

“So, you don’t see me as more than just a friend?”

“Adrien, I...I…I can’t do this anymore!”

She didn’t say no.

“What?” A flutter of hope washed away the disappointment.

“Some things are better left unsaid.” She mumbled, turning her head away from his.

SHE DIDN’T SAY NO.

He swallowed. “It’s okay. You can tell me. I promise it’ll be okay.”

“No!” She hopped out of his arms and covered her face with her hands. “I don’t want to hurt even more! I’m so confused!”

“Your ankle!” He reached out his hand, and she backed away from him.

“I’m fine. I have to go.” She rushed into the nurse’s office and slammed the door behind her, leaving Adrien alone in the hallway.

“She didn’t say no.” He said to himself, unable to believe what had just happened. “She may actually love me!”

Adrien grabbed his hair and laughed. He spun in place as he resisted the urge to run down the hallway screaming the wonderful news.

I may actually have a chance! She didn’t say no! She...she ran away.

His joy evaporated like water falling onto a hot stove. Disappointment washed over him, forcing him to face the reality of his situation.

Sitting down on the cold, hard floor, Adrien put his head in his hands. For the first time, Marinette did not deny that she had feelings for him. But if she had a crush on him, why would she run away? More than anything, he wanted to be overjoyed. But maybe his assumption was wrong. Perhaps she didn’t like him romantically.

Or worse.

Maybe she did have a crush on him, but she resented having those feelings. After all, she had Luka.

Even though he knew it was going to happen, when Marinette didn’t return to school after lunch, he once again wanted to scream. His need to talk to her consumed his every thought.

Adrien spent the rest of the school day in an energetic haze. His body wanted to run a mile while his mind wandered in and out of daydreams.

He did his best to pay attention in class, but it was no use. The more he attempted to listen, the more his teachers’ words sounded like incoherent babble. His leg bounced under the table throughout every lecture, and he wrung his hands in his lap whenever Marinette’s slip of the tongue ran through his mind.

“I have to talk to her again. Maybe if she knew that I loved her, too, she wouldn’t feel so bad.”

Ten minutes before his last class of the day was scheduled to end, Adrien finally snapped. Waiting to see Marinette was proving to be a torturous task. He groaned and slammed his head onto the desk.

“Dude, what’s going on?” Nino whispered, tapping him on the shoulder, “You’ve been acting weird all day.”

Adrien lifted his head off the desk. “She told me that she loves me.”

“Who?”

“Marinette.”

“She did what?” Nino asked loudly, prompting the teacher to shush him.

Not wanting to get in any more trouble, Adrien began to scribble his response in a notebook.

Adrien: When I carried Marinette to the nurse, she accidentally said that she loves me. At first, she tried to tell me that she meant something else, but when I asked her again, she ran away.

Nino’s expression changed several times while he read Adrien’s note. He then took a deep breath and began to compose a response. When he was finished, he surreptitiously slid the notebook back.

Nino: She’s probably super embarrassed. You should give her the night to calm down before you talk to her again.

Adrien: I can’t do that. I have to talk to her tonight. There’s a chance that she may actually be in love with me. I have to know how she feels.

Class came to an end before Nino had the chance to write back. As everyone began filing out of the classroom, Adrien leaned over, grabbed his backpack, and began to pack up his belongings.

Nino grabbed his arm. “Don’t do it, bro. You’ll only make her more upset.”

Adrien cocked his head to the side. “Why would telling her that I love her back make her upset?”

“I’m sorry, what? You love her?”

“I know she ran away, but if she knew...I don’t know. Maybe we could be more than friends. I think I’ve loved her since the day we met, and I have to tell her. It’s killing me, Nino.”

“You already have a girlfriend, dude.” Nino crossed his arms. “And she’ll be the one doing the killing if she finds out about this.”

He shook his head. “No, she won’t. Kagami broke up with me.”

“She what? When?”

“Last night.”

“Bro…”

He did not want to dwell on his break-up when there were more important matters to attend to. “It’s fine. Kagami actually told me to go ask out Marinette, but I didn’t want to.”

Nino took off his hat and scratched his head. “Okay, now I’m lost. You love Marinette, but you don’t want to ask her out?”

Adrien waved his hands in front of him. “No, that’s not it at all! You see, I realized a while ago that I had a crush on Marinette, but she’s in love with Luka. When Kagami told me she loved me, I tried to move on. But Marinette just told me that she loves me, and she didn’t completely deny it. I think I might have a chance, Nino!”

“My dude, you have more than just a chance, and I can tell you for a fact that she’s not in love with Luka.”

“You think?”

“No, I know.” Nino’s eyes darted around the room before he leaned in and continued. “I’m not supposed to tell you this, but Marinette has been crushing on you for months.”

His friend’s words were like music to his ears. “Really?”

“Yeah, and when you started dating Kagami, she told us that she moved on. She even went on a few dates with Luka, but Alya told me that Marinette turned down the chance to be his girlfriend like two weeks ago. She still insists that she doesn’t have a crush on you anymore, but between you and me, I can tell that she still likes you. I think she was just saying that to make herself feel better.”

“She loves me?”

“Yeah, bro. Like, a lot.”

“But when she ran away from me today, she told me that she didn’t want to hurt anymore. Does she hate being in love with me?”

“Not exactly. The dudette was massively bummed when you started dating Kagami, but she wanted to respect your choice. Alya was over at her house every day for a while because of it.”

A prickling sensation formed behind his eyes as a pit formed in his stomach. “I broke her heart.”

“Yeah.” Nino lowered his head. “But you never knew about her feelings, so it’s really no one’s fault.”

The emotional whiplash of the last five minutes began to wear on Adrien’s mind. With a heavy heart, he closed his eyes and sat down.

She loved him, but he’d hurt her. His fists clenched when he recalled the pain that had consumed him after Ladybug’s final rejection. While he harbored no ill will against his partner for making him experience this heartbreak, he kicked himself for knowing that he’d made someone else feel that way. Not only had he broken someone’s heart, but he’d broken Marinette’s heart. Sweet, beautiful, and kind Marinette.

She deserved better.

She deserved to know the truth.

“I have to fix this.” He turned to his friend, his heart full of determination. “I have to go talk to her right now.”

“Finally!” Nino cheered, holding out his fist, “I wish you all the luck in the world, my dude!”

Adrien laughed and tapped his fist against Nino’s. “Thanks! I’ll tell you how it goes!”

“Trust me, I’ll hear all about it from Alya first.”

“Yeah, probably. Okay, I’ll see you la…”

A distant crash cut him off.

“Oh no,” he groaned as an Akuma Alert popped up on his phone.

“That’s the second one this week.” Nino shook his head. “Maybe you could ride out the attack at Marinette’s place.”

“No, my dad wants me home during attacks.”

“Same.”

Another crash shook the ground and almost knocked both boys to the floor.

“Jeez. That sounds close.” Nino looked out the window. “Looks like the Akuma is in the park. I better go check to make sure that Alya isn’t making any stupid decisions before I head home.”

Seeing the worry in his best friend’s eyes sent a paralyzing thought crashing into his brain. Marinette doesn’t have a Miraculous. She’s unprotected.

He gripped the strap on his backpack. “I hope Marinette stays safe during the attack.”

Nino placed a hand on his shoulder. “Bro, don’t sweat. Marinette’s strong. I’ve seen her go face to face with a few Akumas before. Didn’t you call her our everyday Ladybug once? She’ll be fine.”

“But what if she’s not?”

“Then text her.”

With a nod, he dismissed the alert on his phone and hastily typed out a message.

Adrien: There’s an Akuma super close to your house. Are you okay?

He waited for a response with bated breath. “She’s not typing anything back.”

“Maybe she’s taking a nap?” Nino grabbed his backpack off the floor.

“The ground literally just shook. How would someone stay asleep through something like that?”

“I don’t know. Alya told me that Marinette sleeps like a rock. Apparently, she can sleep through anything.”

“I’m still worried.”

“I feel you, but Marinette’s gonna be okay.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because we have Ladybug and Chat Noir! They always get the job done! And my hero obsessed girlfriend is probably chasing after them as we speak. I gotta go! Stay safe, dude!”

As Nino rushed out the door, Adrien looked at his empty notification screen and gritted his teeth.

“I hate Hawkmoth,” he grumbled, opening his shirt collar for his Kwami to fly out, “Let’s get this over with. I have things to do.”

“Do we have to? I’m hungry,” Plagg whined.

“You’re always hungry. Besides, I need to transform now so I can make sure that Marinette is okay before I meet up with Ladybug.”

“Wait, no. That’s not such a great…”

Not wanting to deal with his Kwami’s pre-transformation protests, Adrien cut him off. “Plagg, CLAWS OUT!”

He closed his eyes and waited for the light from his transformation to fade. Usually, he loved the sensation of the Miraculous magic washing over him. For the first time in a long time, he was excited to get back to being Adrien.

Kagami had been right. Marinette was the key to finding the freedom that he longed for in his civilian life. With her, he could find the same kind of happiness outside of the mask that he had when he was running across the rooftops with his partner. He knew that now, all he had to do was tell her that he felt the same way.

But first, he needed to make sure that she was safe.

He opened the classroom window, unsheathed his baton, and vaulted onto the rooftop. He quickly leaped across the street and landed on Marinette’s balcony. The hatch leading to her bedroom had been propped open.

“Princess,” he began, kneeling down next to the windowed hatch and peering into the bedroom, “it’s not really safe to have your window wide open during an Akuma…”

The rest of his words got stuck in the back of his throat when his eyes landed on an empty bed with rumpled blankets. Hopping onto her bed, he peeked over the ledge and scanned the darkened room below.

“Marinette? Are you here?” His heart rate quickened when he didn’t receive a response.

He returned to a sitting position and did his best to control the panic that was starting to overtake his senses. A persistent ring grew louder in his ears as his hands began to shake. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the side of the hatch, hoisted himself onto the balcony, stood up, and ran his fingers through his hair.

What if something happened?

The Akuma roared in the distance.

What if it took her?

He closed his eyes and gripped his baton.

I have to find her.

“Chat Noir!” A familiar voice sounded behind him, breaking his train of thought. “What are you doing?”

Thank God, she’s safe!

He whipped around. “I was looking for you, Princess!”

When he opened his eyes, he was met with an angry-looking Ladybug. “Chat, stop messing around. We have an Akuma tearing up the park and putting people in weird sticky nests.”

“You’re not her.” He choked back tears. “I could have sworn you were her.”

“Who?”

“Marinette! She’s not here.”

Ladybug slowly made her way towards him. “And...uh...how do you know that she’s not here?”

He turned back around and looked at the open hatch. “When I saw that she wasn’t in bed, I went inside. Her room is dark, and she didn’t answer me.”

“You went inside?”

“I had to! She got hurt today and got sent home from school. When the Akuma showed up, I texted her, and she didn’t answer. I thought she might be asleep, but she’s not! She’s not here!” Tears started to flow freely down his face.

“That’s a lot of personal information.” Ladybug rested her hand on his forearm. “Maybe you should stop.”

“But I have to find her! I have to make sure she’s safe!”

“She’s fine. Come on. We have to go.”

“No, you don’t understand! What if she’s trapped in one of those sticky nests the Akuma is making?”

“Then, when I use the Miraculous Cure, everything will go back to normal.”

“But...I can’t just...I have to...I love her, and I know she loves me, too! She loves me, Ladybug! I was going to talk to her about it after school.”

Ladybug dropped her hand and took a step back. “You...love her?”

“And she loves me! I was an idiot for not figuring it out sooner. My feelings for her were always there, I just didn’t want to admit that I had them.” He wiped his face with the back of his hand. “I didn’t get to tell her.”

She shook her head, grabbed his hand, and dragged him to the edge of the balcony. “We don’t have time for this right now. If you really care about Marinette, you’ll help me defeat this Akuma and make the city safe again...just like we always do.”

The logic behind his partner’s words began to seep into his brain and level his senses. “You’re right.”

She nodded. “Yes, I am, and if we don’t take care of the Akuma now, the whole city will be covered in nests.”

“I guess you could say that we’d be in a sticky situation.” He shot her his best grin.

“Not now, Chat!” she yelled before tossing her yo-yo and swinging into the chaos.

Unsheathing his baton, he vaulted into the park; however, before he could land, a long translucent strip flew past him, causing him to lose control and land in the fountain. He groaned and stood up. His long hair clung to his face after he attempted to shake the wetness off of his head.

The Akuma pointed its weapon and released another strip in his direction. Before he could react, the strip hit him, slid off of his suit, and fell unceremoniously into the water where it lay like freshly shed skin from a snake.

“Pay attention!” Ladybug called from the other side of the park. “Don’t get stuck in its webs, kitty!”

“They’re not webs!” screamed the Akuma. “Sticky Fingers doesn’t make webs.”

“Great, an Akuma that talks about itself in the third person.” Ladybug sighed. “First, a distracted partner, and now this.”

“I will steal your Miraculous just like I stole those office supplies, and no one will be able to stop me this time! No one can escape Sticky Finger’s tape!” The Akuma howled with laughter.

“Wait, you’re trapping people in tape nests because you stole office supplies? Wow, Hawkmoth is really getting desperate.”

Chat climbed out of the fountain. “Bold of you to assume that Hawkmoth wasn’t desperate all along.”

“While true, you still need to work on your timing.” Ladybug shook her head. “I thought you wanted to end this fight quickly.”

“I do.” He pointed to her yo-yo. “I’m just waiting for your grand plan.”

“Right.” She threw her yo-yo into the air. “LUCKY CHARM!”

A spotted bucket landed in her hands. She held it up and scratched her head.

“That Lucky Charm’s got you looking a little pail, LB.” He crossed his arms. “I’m guessing that means that you don’t have any ideas.”

“Just give me a second.” Her eyes darted around the park. “That’s it!”

“You have a plan?”

“Oh, I have a plan.”

“Awesome! Lay it on me.”

She shoved the bucket into his hands. “Go fill this up with water, and dump it onto the Akuma’s head.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Isn’t that just going to make him even madder than he already is?”

“Yes, but it will also take the stickiness away from his tape. Why do you think the tape didn’t stick to you after you fell into the fountain? Whenever I try to put tape on something that isn’t completely dry, it falls right off!”

“Oh! I’m on it!” He gave her a little salute before filling up the bucket, jumping onto the Akuma’s head, and dousing Sticky Fingers with water.

The Akuma roared when all of its once sticky strands fell into useless piles around the park. Without skipping a beat, Ladybug tossed her yo-yo around Sticky Fingers, wrapping the indestructible wire around its form. The Akuma fell to the ground with a crash.

Keeping the wire taut, Ladybug called out her next command. “Use your Cataclysm on the thing all the tape came out of! I think that’s where the Akuma is!”

After calling for his power, he slammed his hand down on the weapon and watched as it crumbled to pieces, releasing a cursed butterfly into the air. Ladybug then cleansed the Akuma and called for the Miraculous Cure.

Chat turned to the dazed man sitting in the middle of the park. “Maybe try asking for the office supplies next time.”

The man slumped. “It wasn’t just office supplies. Yes, I was stealing those, and I got caught, but that was only after my partner found out that I embezzled one-hundred thousand dollars of the company’s money.”

“Uhhh, yeah, maybe don’t do that either. That definitely doesn’t sound like the right thing to do.”

“I got fired. I ruined my life, and I lost my best friend.”

Before he could respond, Officer Raincomprix placed a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll take it from here. Thanks for helping out.”

“What’s going to happen to him?” he asked quietly.

“He’s going to prison for a very long time.” The officer turned towards the man. “Mr. Morel, you’re under arrest.”

The man stood up and clenched his fists. “Is it really so bad to want to be rich and happy?”

“Being rich doesn’t make you happy,” Chat snapped back, “It’s having people you love that brings true happiness.”

“And how would you know something like that?”

“Trust me, I just do.”

A loud groan behind him forced his attention away from the man. He whipped his head around to find his partner holding her head with a pained expression plastered across her features.

He rushed to her side. “Ladybug, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Her voice was strained. “I just bumped my head earlier. It’s no big deal.”

“Let me take a look.” He reached up and brushed her bangs out of the way, revealing a fresh bruise. “That looks...just like Marinette’s bump. She really got hurt today. Did you get hit during the Akuma battle? Why didn’t your Miraculous Cure work on it?”

She shooed his hand and turned her head away. “It’s nothing, Chat. Let it go. I’ll go home and rest. I promise.”

“Good. I care about you. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know. Thank you for watching out for me.”

“Always, LB. And I’m going to hold you to that purr-omise. If you show up to patrol tonight, I’ll be purr-etty mad.”

Ladybug laughed. “Two cat puns using ‘purr’? You’re slipping, kitty.”

Seeing her reaction warmed his heart. They had come so far over the past few months, and he cherished his friendship with Ladybug. While he couldn’t be with her romantically, he would always love her.

There was a time when he resented her rejection, but he now knew that the experience helped him grow as a person and accept that there were different kinds of love that someone could feel. Without it, he never would have been able to move on from his crush on her.

Oh, no...Marinette.

As his worry for his partner began to fade, thoughts of Marinette flooded his mind, restarting the nervous flurry in his gut. “Ladybug, I have to go! I hope you feel better, but I need to go see Marinette!”

“Wait!” Ladybug chased after him. “Maybe give her a few minutes before you go bursting into her room.”

He didn’t stop. “No, she didn’t answer my text. I have to go see her right now!”

After running out of the park, he used his baton to vault back to Françoise Dupont. He jumped through the window he’d opened at the school and called off his transformation. He grabbed his backpack, pulled his phone out of his bag, and cringed upon seeing the thirteen voicemail notifications from his bodyguard.

He’d forgotten about the Gorilla, and while he knew that the man cared about him, he had the tendency to be a little overprotective. Nonetheless, Adrien was on a mission.

He had to go see Marinette.

He had to make sure she was safe.

He just hoped that his bodyguard could still be swayed to let him go to the Dupain-Cheng’s before whisking him back to the mansion.

With a quickened pace, Adrien made his way out of the school, but seeing the Gorilla frantically pacing in front of the car stopped him in his tracks. Gathering all his courage and summoning his best kitten eyes, he descended the stairs and walked onto the sidewalk.

He cleared his throat, causing his bodyguard to whip around and visibly relax. “Uh, sorry to keep you waiting. When the attack started, a few of us got kind of scared and hid in a closet, and I left my phone in the classroom. I would have gone back for it, but the ground was shaking.”

His only response was a sympathetic grunt.

“So, I know my dad probably wants me to get home now, but I need a few minutes to...um...drop off notes for Marinette! Yeah, she...uhhh...got sent home early because she got hurt during gym class.” Adrien scratched the back of his head and did his best to smile.

The Gorilla sighed and nodded.

“Thank you!” Taking advantage of the green light, Adrien began to cross the street. “I’ll only be a few minutes!”

When he reached the bakery door, he paused. Thinking back to the empty bed he saw through her windowed hatch, his mouth went dry and his heart pounded against his chest.

Ladybug used the Miraculous Cure. She’s okay. She has to be okay.

He shook his head and attempted to brush away the feeling of dread that weighed on his thoughts. Logically, Adrien knew that Marinette was fine, but worry consumed him nonetheless.

I must see her.

With a determined nod, he grasped the handle, swung open the door, and crossed over the threshold. Adrien immediately lost himself in the aroma of freshly baked bread and vanilla. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The air smelled like his sweet, beautiful Marinette, and he relished the way the air clung to him like a cozy blanket on a cold winter’s night.

“Adrien! What a pleasant surprise!” Sabine said cheerfully from behind the counter, breaking him out of his reverie, “Is there something I can do for you, sweetheart?”

“Oh, uh, is Marinette here?” He gripped the strap on his bag. “I wanted to check and make sure that she was okay after the whole ball incident in gym class.”

She clapped her hands together and smiled. “That’s very thoughtful of you. She’s upstairs. Feel free to head on up! I’m sure Marinette will be thrilled to see you.”

“Thanks!” He rushed through the bakery and bounded up the stairs.

His body buzzed with anticipation as he made his way up to the apartment. Before finally making it to the hatch that led to Marinette’s room, he was greeted by an enthusiastic Tom who ruffled Adrien’s hair before sending him on his way.

With as much confidence as he could muster, he knocked on the trapdoor. When he didn’t get a response, the panic from before started to settle in his stomach. Determined to see Marinette, he lifted the trapdoor a few inches and peeked inside the room.

“Marinette! It’s me, Adrien! I’m coming in. I hope that’s okay. I was really worried, and I wanted to…” The sound of soft sobs stopped him in his tracks.

Adrien thrust open the hatch and ran across the room. He found Marinette kneeling on the ground, clutching her phone against her chest while tears streamed down her rosy cheeks. He dropped to the floor and tentatively reached out his hand.

“What’s wrong?” He wiped the tears from her face using his thumb. “Is it your ankle?”

Marinette shook her head. “No, the doctor took off the brace when he checked the bump on my head.”

“Are you feeling sick?”

“No.”

“Did someone hurt you?”

“No.”

“I’m out of guesses. Please tell me what’s wrong.”

Choking back a sob, she turned her phone around, revealing the screen with the message he’d sent. “Chat Noir told Ladybug that he texted Marinette because he worried about her.”

Adrien drew back his hand. Her words were like a needle, piercing through the bubble of secrecy that surrounded his double-life.

“How did you…” He swallowed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Marinette, you can’t tell anyone. I trust you, but you have to promise…”

Before he could finish, she placed a gentle hand on his cheek and shot him a watery smile. “My partner told me that he sent me a text, and apparently he’s in love with me.”

“Y-your...partner?”

“Yes, Chaton. My wonderful, goofy, yet lovable partner who puns way too much at all the wrong times.”

Adrien searched Marinette’s face for the solution to a puzzle that he’d been trying to solve since he’d received his Miraculous, and he found every answer behind her shining bluebell eyes. They were the same eyes that had looked to him for reassurance in the heat of battle. They were the same eyes that sparkled every time he saw them under a moonlit sky. They were the same eyes that glowed with fiery passion whenever their owner found the solution to a seemingly unsolvable problem.

They were his lady’s eyes.

“You’re…” The rest of his words never came.

As if able to read his mind, Marinette nodded and laughed. “Yes, I am.”

“All this time you were right behind me?”

“Yes, and apparently we’ve been dancing around each other for a while.”

“Of course I fell in love with you twice! It only makes sense for our everyday Ladybug to be the actual Ladybug.”

“I’m so happy that it’s you.” She pulled him into a tight embrace. “Everything makes so much more sense now.”

He snaked his arms around Marinette and felt all the tension from before leave his body as she rested her cheek against his shirt. All felt right with the world until a second revelation slammed into the forefront of his mind.

Ladybug told Chat she loves another boy.

Marinette loves Adrien.

And Marinette and Ladybug are the same person.

Adrien pulled away. “I was the other boy.”

She laughed. “You caught that?”

“You turned me down because you were in love with me. Like, me me.”

“Yes.”

“All this time I thought you were in love with Luka. Nino told me you weren’t, but hearing it from you...wow. Just, wow.”

She grabbed his hand and held it against her chest. “Do you feel that? Every beat sings your name. It has since the day you gave me that umbrella, and it always will. It broke when I thought I had to let you go, but it never stopped wanting you. My mind tried to move on, but my heart never did.”

He closed his eyes and became lost in the steady thrum under his palm. He tried to speak, but no words came. Adrien was lost in the sea that was Marinette. The waves of her love pulled him in, and he never wanted to return to shore; however, a sobering thought extinguished his elation.

“Adrien, say something.” Desperation clung to her words.

“You don’t love Chat the same way you love Adrien,” he whispered, pulling his hand away and clutching it against his body, “He’s just a friend to you.”

“Yeah, he is my friend.” She brushed her fingers against his cheek. “He’s my best friend...and I fell in love with him, too.”

He looked up. “What?”

“Every time I turned down my partner, a piece of me broke. My heart was conflicted, but my wonderful Chaton grew on me more and more with each passing day.”

“But…”

“Adrien I love every single part of you. I love your smile. I love the way your eyes light up when you laugh. I love the way you stand up for others in and out of the mask. I love how brave and loyal you are. I love you and only you. Today. Tomorrow. Forever. Finding out that you’re Chat Noir is…” Her tears fell onto the floor. “It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

He lunged forward and pulled her into a tight embrace. His heart pounded against his chest while he became dizzy from the sweet smell of her hair and her breath against his neck. Holding Marinette was better than a dream come true, and he never wanted to let go.

“I love you, too.” He nuzzled the top of her head with his cheek. “There are not enough words to express how much I love you.”

“Then maybe we don’t have to say it.” His eyes fluttered shut as her words tickled against his skin. “Kiss me, Adrien.”

Removing a hand from her back, he pulled away, placed his fingers on her chin, and lifted her head. “Are you sure?”

Marinette’s eyes and nose crinkled as she released a subtle laugh. “Yes, I’m asking you to kiss me.”

He tentatively closed the gap between them until their lips brushed. Wanting more, he tilted his head and leaned into the kiss. He immediately found himself addicted to the sensation. Her breath became his oxygen, leaving him wanting more with each passing second.

Not wanting to stop, he shifted her closer to him, and she responded with vigor. However, all too soon, their need for air forced them apart, and Adrien lamented the loss.

“Can we do that again?” he asked between heavy breaths.

She rested her forehead against his. “We can do that whenever you want.”

“My lady, if we were to kiss whenever I wanted, we would never do anything else. What kind of heroes would that make us?”

“Silly kitty.”

Her fingers laced through his hair as he continued to hold her. Adrien melted under her touch and became putty in her hands.

“I could stay like this forever,” he said, sighing contentedly.

“Oh?” Adrien could hear the teasing lilt in her voice. “Does that mean that you don’t want to eat leftover pastries and cuddle on my chaise while we watch a movie?”

He pulled away. “Wait, that’s an option?”

“And maybe half-way through the movie, we could try kissing again?” She bit her lip and looked up at him through her eyelashes.

“Oh, God, yes.” He swept her into his arms. “Shall we go, my lady?”

She squeaked when he rose to his feet. “Is this whole ‘carrying me around’ thing going to become a habit.”

Adrien leaned in and nuzzled her nose. “I hope so. Well, as long as you’re okay with it.”

“Always, kitty.” She put her arms around her neck and rested against his chest. “Okay, I’m ready.”

He carried her over to the chaise and gently rested her against the pillows. He sat down next to her and brushed her bangs away from her eyes. The purple edges of her bruise peeked out from behind the loose tendrils.

Adrien cupped her face in his hand and ran his thumb over her cheek. “Does your head still hurt? It seemed like you were in a lot of pain at the end of the Akuma battle.”

She placed a feathery kiss on his palm, sending a warm shiver through his body. “I’m fine, kitty. It hurts, but I’ll live.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Actually, yes! Could you get the painkillers for me? There’s a bottle on my desk.”

He hopped up and gave her a playful salute. “On it, my lady. While I’m up, did you want ice?”

“No, that’s okay. I’m kind of cold right now, and I had ice on it earlier today.” She smiled. “Just the painkillers and some water. Oh, and if you wanted to grab the pastries from downstairs, that’d be awesome.”

“You got it.” Adrien threw open the trapdoor and hurried down the stairs.

Before he made it to the kitchen, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled out the device and looked at the screen.

Gorilla: ETA

Without responding to his bodyguard, Adrien called Nathalie and begged for permission to stay at Marinette’s house. He silently cheered when he received a positive response a few minutes later.

His phone buzzed again.

Gorilla: Pick you up at 9

Adrien smiled.

Gorilla: Have fun

Triumphantly, Adrien walked into the kitchen. Even though he knew that Tom was a much warmer father than his own, he still found himself surprised by the older man’s desire to help. Within minutes, he had a tray full of snacks and two glasses of water ready to take upstairs.

“Thank you.” Adrien picked up the tray. “I really appreciate it.”

Tom chuckled and ruffled his hair. “Anytime, son. I’m just happy to see that Marinette has someone like you in her life.”

Son. He mulled over the word in his mind. He called me son.

“Sir.” Adrien looked down. “Would it be okay if I took Marinette on a date this weekend?”

Tom clapped his hands together and beamed. “Finally! Of course, you can! Just as long as you never call me ‘sir’ again. Tom will do just fine.”

“Okay, si...I mean, Tom!” He could barely contain his joy. “I’m going to take these up to Marinette.”

“Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you!”

As Adrien walked out of the kitchen, a surge of warmth blossomed in his chest. When his mother left, his house stopped feeling like a home but seeing Tom’s reaction made him realize that a home didn’t have to be where you lived. It was a place that was filled with love, and every inch of the Dupain-Cheng’s apartment was dripping with love.

For too long, he’d been trapped in his gilded cage, forced to accept his solitude without complaint, but with Marinette in his life, he didn’t have to anymore. He finally had a place where he belonged. He finally had a place that felt like home.

With a skip in his step, Adrien brought the food and drinks up to Marinette’s room. Before taking a seat on the chaise he grabbed the medicine bottle and set it on the tray.

He then settled himself next to Marinette who rested her head against his chest and draped her arm around his torso. Adrien looped his arm around her back and pulled her closer. He nearly combusted upon feeling her body wiggle as she snuggled against his side. At a loss for words, he kissed the crown of her head and became lost in her essence.

“You’re so warm,” she said with her face buried in his cotton t-shirt, “I could stay like this forever.”

“Me, too, princess.” He kissed her again. “Me, too.”

For the rest of the evening, they watched movies, ate food, and held each other. Eventually, Marinette’s breathing became slow and steady. Even though his arm had fallen asleep, Adrien didn’t dare wake the sleeping girl in his arms.

She trusts me, his mind sang, Maybe I’m her home, too.

A tear escaped and trickled down his cheek. He wasn’t alone anymore, and he never had to be alone again. He had Marinette, and she had him.

He was complete.

He was home.

He was loved.

He was free.

#miraculous ladybug #ml fanfiction #adrienette #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #two dorks in love #ao3 #fanfiction #a new light #one shot #fluff #tooth rotting fluff #SO MUCH FLUFF #fluffy hurt/comfort #cuddles #kisses #identity reveal

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deafclintb · 4 years ago

Photo

Alright, everyone. A note before this:

You may have seen this before. That’s okay! It was likely on my old blog, the one that got deleted when I decided to redo everything. So this is 100% a repost on this new blog!

Put the Gun Down and Step Away

Summary: Jack wasn't supposed to make it home from the war. He didn't deserve to, not more than Crutchie.

TW: TW: Suicidal thoughts/almost an attempt, PTSD, gun use, war violence, MIA/missing person

Characters: Jack Kelly, Davey Jacobs, Crutchie Morris

Ships: Jackcrutchie

A/N: This takes place mid and post-WWII

AO3

Jack wasn’t supposed to make it home alone.

His best friend he’d made was from New York, too. They were going to get back and share an apartment.

It had been five months since he’d made it back from the war and his best friend didn’t. Five months exactly.

Fighting was hell. Crutchie was the only thing that made it genuinely bearable.

The first time they’d met, Jack made a joke about the 18-year-old needing crutches permanently after the war, since the kid refused to recognize any injury he got unless it was major. Jack and the few buddies he’d gotten slightly close with remember being like that when they first enlisted (literally one year earlier), eager to die doing their duty or something like that. They wouldn’t let a stupid sprained ankle take them out or having them rest for a few hours.

The group just laughed it off with the kid, watching him limp along and constantly re-injuring himself.

Jack cared about everyone he was around, obviously. Some didn’t get along with him, but that didn’t mean he didn’t care. They could bump heads all day, he’d still push them out of the way of a bullet in a heartbeat.

C was different, though. He was nicknamed before Jack even knew the guy’s real name (which was Charlie, by the way. Jack found that out a few weeks later). He couldn’t explain why or how… he just was.

The first few weeks of Crutchie being there was relaxed. He was obviously willing to do whatever, whenever, as long as it benefited everyone. He always seemed to be injured, Jack even wrapped up a pair of crutches in some newspapers as a gift for the younger’s nineteenth birthday. Crutchie pretended to be annoyed, but those crutches laid near his bed until he was gone.

It was then that there was an unspoken rule that, no matter what, they’d stay best friends. Even if they ended up living their own lives on separate sides of the city after the war, they’d keep in touch. They had to.

The two had gone through however many change of locations, battles, arguments, covering up the other’s dumb mistakes…

Among other things they’d managed to sneak in the few moments of privacy they got.

Comforting touches, talking through nightmares, shedding a few tears, small kisses, and...other things they’d managed to do in their precious alone time.

Jack informed Crutchie early on that they didn’t have the worst spot. Sure, there were better, calmer places to be, but there sure as hell were a lot worse, too.

Well, until they get sent in as reinforcements somewhere else in the Pacific. That also guaranteed that they were likely going to be plopped down in the middle of some shit.

Everyone who had been through this before was uneasy. People like Crutchie who still had a somewhat romanticised view of war were almost excited. They had this idea that they’d become a hero after their first big battle rather than a statistical probability that they’d die or get seriously injured.

C didn’t even make it to the end of whatever battle they were dropped into. It ended up lasting ten days or so before they could ease up.

Everyone had been split into different groups so they could try to corner everyone and it would be an easy victory. Obviously, like usual, their plans fell apart.

The constantly humid June heat was exhausting, everyone was beyond exhausted, and those who were supposed to be the reinforcements were being spread thin. This meant they fell into traps far more than at the start, no one had any extra water on them, and sleep was usually out of the question.

Crutchie and Jack were in different groups, which stressed them out, but there wasn’t time to try and switch things up (plus, the consequences for that weren’t quite worth it). Jack wouldn’t have been as worried if the stupid boy he’d developed feelings for wasn’t going into this with some injured muscle in his arm that no one but Jack knew about.

God knows what else he’d hurt in this.

Regrouping and figuring out casualties after battles was always hard. Confirming deaths, having to declare someone missing even though you knew they were gone, and not knowing whether someone was actually missing or if they were dead was hard.

When someone confirmed that Charlie Morris was definitely missing, likely alive…

Jack spent the rest of that night as alone as he could possibly be.

Maybe he’d be able to get back within the next week.

When a week went by, Jack changed that goal post to be a month.

By the time Jack got home, he knew that there was almost no chance he would ever see C again. All he wanted changed from knowing Crutchie was coming home to just hoping he wasn’t fucked up too bad before…

God, he hoped C wasn’t waiting, thinking they’d forgotten about him. He’d rather have Crutchie dead and not hurting over thinking he got abandoned.

Upon arriving home, he met up with an old friend that had joined the Navy anda had just gotten home. Davey understood Jack and Jack understood Davey. They got an apartment together in the city and things were… okay. Sure, neither of them slept through the night and it was difficult to adjust to being home, but they made it work. Jack sure as hell was glad he wasn’t alone.

One of the things he and Davey agreed on was that they’d both feel better with a gun in the apartment. Nothing huge, just a pistol. It was like a safety blanket that they kept hidden in case of an emergency.

Jack guessed this wasn’t an emergency, but then he found himself sitting at the kitchen counter with the pistol in front of him.

It was loaded, he knew that. He’d been the one to load it once he got it out tonight. That was about an hour ago, he thought.

The clock that said it was 2:30 AM implied he’d been there much longer than that.

He just wanted to have let C come back and not himself. If he could’ve gone missing and never been found…

Crutchie had deserved to come back more, in Jack’s opinion. Crutchie hadn’t even gotten to really experience what he enlisted to do before he was just gone. Not even dead, but probably captured and--Jack didn’t even want to think about what his last memories would have been. How long was he even being held by whoever had him? Days? Weeks? Months?

The idea of it being a year or more made Jack want to vomit.

The idea of going to a place where Jack would be with Crutchie and not be here at all was uncomfortably tempting.

“Jack?”

Jack hadn’t realized he’d picked up the gun and that Davey had heard a sob come out of his mouth.

That wasn’t how this was supposed to be. He wasn’t supposed to worry his friend like that.

If he was going to do it, he’d at least have the decency to not do it with his roommate home.

“Go back to bed. I’m fine,” Jack whispered and dragged the back of one of his hands across his eyes.

“Doesn’t sound like it,” Davey sighed and took a few steps closer. He put his hands up in surrender when he noticed Jack’s knuckles turn white around the gun. “I’m not coming any closer, I promise.”

“I just…” Jack trailed off and refused to raise his voice any higher than the whisper. “It shouldn’t’ve been me. I don’t deserve…”

Davey understood, and he listened. But he also tracked every movement that his friend made with the gun.

“I know it feels that way,” he agreed gently, taking a step closer while Jack looked away to wipe his eyes again. “I understand, I do. But from what you’ve told me, it sounds like he’d be saying the exact same thing if he was here and you weren’t. So can you just… put the gun down and step away? Talk to me?”

It was a long few moments before Jack shakily set it down so the barrel wasn’t facing either of them. It was only another moment before Davey was behind him, wrapping him in a hug with one arm and pushing the firearm out of Jack’s reach with the other.

Jack didn’t care. The second he’d made physical contact with Davey, he broke down. He let everything out into his friend’s tight embrace.

#bad things happen bingo #newsies #newsies fanfic #jackcrutchie #fanfic #jack kelly #David jacobs #Davey jacobs #Crutchie morris #jack x crutchie #writing

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wildflowergrant · 5 years ago

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A/n: oh my god I’m so dumb I deleted the request for this one too. But this one is to the anon who requested for doctor!ethan seeing the reader in the ER.

It was such a stupid injury. You were walking down the stairs of your apartment since the elevator wasn’t working, and you miscalculated the steps while going down. You landed on your ankle and at this point, you don’t know if it was twisted, broken, or sprained.

While painfully limping into the ER, your beloved boyfriend was walking in the waiting room. When he saw you limping in and holding onto anything to keep you up, his eyes immediately widened and he went onto full momma bear mode.

Ethan didn’t care that there were other patients that were waiting for a long time. He called a bunch of nurses and yelled at them to get you onto a bed while carrying you. He was so busy he couldn’t hear your protests saying that you were fine. But after five minutes of Ethan yelling, you were in a room laying on a bed with Ethan holding your hand.

After you had an x-ray, you went back to the room and Ethan looked so worried he became so pale.

“Babe, I’m fine. It’s not that bad.” You held his hand to reassure him.

“I know, Y/n. I don’t know why I’m so worried.” The nurse came in with her papers and you both looked at her.

“Well, good thing you just sprained your ankle. You’ll be needing crutches for a few weeks and after you think you’ve healed, you can stop using them.” You nodded and Ethan’s nerves calmed down.

“And if there’s something off, you’re free to make an appointment. Your insurance will cover it.”

Ethan’s assistant came in the room. “Doctor Dolan, I’m sorry to interrupt, but there’s a patient that’s been waiting for fifteen minutes now, and he’s started to get mad.”

“Ok, I’ll be there.” Ethan stood up and pecked your lips, trying to stay professional in front of his coworkers. “Do you need help going to your car?”

“No, I’ll be fine. Go do your work before you get fired.” He laughed and said “ok, I’ll try to get off earlier.”

“Ok, love you.”

“Love your too.”

When he left, the nurse had a smile while going into the computer. “That’s cute. He never really acts like that around here.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, he’s always so quiet and he just keeps to himself. It’s good to see he’s not always like that.”

Once you got out, you still couldn’t get what she said off of your mind. That’s when you realized that you were deeply in love with Ethan.

A/n: ahhhhh idk how I feel about the ending, but I hope you liked it!

Blurbs are still OPEN

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averil-of-fairlea · 6 years ago

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More than words

For my friend @oakenshieldgisborneandbuchanan. Bucky x Wife!reader

Inspired by the following imagines from @thefandomimagine:

Imagine Bucky taking care of you after you twist your ankle

Bucky. Just imagine Bucky;

Imagine having a training session with Bucky that turns into a make out session

Imagine being pregnant with Bucky’s baby

Category: super fluff with elements of angst, spice

NOTE: this fic was written BEFORE the release of ‘Endgame’ and contains no spoilers (unless I’m suddenly clairvoyant).

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

You’re tempted to ask “which ‘that’ are you talking about?” but as Bucky stands by the exam table you’re resting on, he is dead serious. There are literally hundreds of things you should not have done in the name of loving him. Most of them have involved getting him out of harm’s way and putting yourself in his place. That’s how you ended up in a tiny, hole-in-the-wall clinic with a sprained ankle. A hateful zealot pretending to seek an autograph got a little too grabby, culminating in weapons drawn and shots fired. He called Bucky a traitor, a murderer, and a half a dozen other things before you took him down with a poorly executed - but effective - body slam, twisting your ankle during the struggle.

It could have been worse, and it has been. And you’d do it all over again.

“I couldn’t just let that guy take you out,” you reply, grateful that the near-assassin is in custody.

“It’s not your job to save me.”

Easier said than done. And you definitely don’t say it. The sappiest things you’ve ever said to each other were uttered at your ceremony - a quiet affair done in secret, save for Steve’s mandatory presence, at your apartment that became your passionate wedding suite later that night. There was no fanfare to the event, just heartfelt words, sweet kisses, close friends and good food. But your vows have stayed locked in your memory. So much has happened since then. Among other things, you lost him for a time to that snap-happy giant purple maniac. From that moment on, the saying ‘actions speak louder than words’ hit you square in the gut.

It was nothing short of a miracle that he returned to you. So you’ve vowed to make your actions big, your words few. You show him your love; words are meaningless. If Bucky doesn’t know by now just how far you’ll go to keep him on this side of the earth, he’ll never know.

Bucky strokes two fingers over your bandaged foot, which you loosened and sloppily re-applied while he stepped away to talk with the physician’s assistant who first examined you. For a good five seconds, he looks from your hurried, bandage job to you and back again, with an expression that says, “really?”

“Nice try.” He unwinds the fabric, then begins re-wrapping it. He makes the last few revolutions with his eyes on you.

“That’s more like it,” he says. To your delight, the tighter wrapping isn’t uncomfortable. He’s better than a doctor. But you’ve known that forever.

He finishes and secures the bandage, then surprises you with a quick kiss on the top of your covered foot. He gives you just the slightest smile, enough to set a flock of butterflies free in the pit of your stomach.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have done that,” you say, mimicking him.

His smile widens, melting you.

The doctor comes in. Thank goodness. Bucky’s “bedside manner” was about to get steamy.

Good news. No Xrays needed. You can go home.

“It’s not a terribly bad injury, but you need to take it easy so it can properly heal,” the doctor says. “No more of whatever it is you did to sprain your ankle in the first place.” The doctor has questions in her eyes. She glances at Bucky’s arm, concealed by a jacket. Her gaze moves to his face, the bill of an army green baseball cap pulled low to partially hide his features.

The doctor turns back to you. “What exactly were you doing, anyway?”

“Jogging,” you answer. “We both were. I fell into a ditch.”

The doctor cocks an eyebrow. “Did the ditch shoot you, too? There’s a bullet hole through your jacket.”

You shrug. “It’s a fashion thing. Bought it that way.”

“Mm-hm.” The doctor’s not buying it. She rocks on the heels of her shoes and cuts another look back to Bucky. You can tell she has definitely seen him before, but not you. That’s a good thing. You are, in many ways, his cover. He neither wants nor needs to be recognized. But maybe your fierce protection has brought down his guard a little.

That’s a bad thing.

Great. Yet another worry to upset your mind. Since his return, the two of you have yet to know what complete peace and normalcy feel like. Life seems so strange - fragile as the thinnest glass, strong as steel; deeper than unseen galaxies, shallow as a puddle. Lasts too long for those who don’t appreciate it, too short for those who cherish every moment.

Everything seems so confusing sometimes, and you don’t have the words to express it. You and Bucky once talked about starting a family. Now, you’re not so sure you can keep him from the madness of this world and bring another human into it.

After a lecture about proper jogging form, safe running surfaces, and bad fashion fads, the doctor says, “I’ve written you a prescription for pain, and I think we can drum up some crutches that are appropriate for your height. But you really just need to rest. Get waited on hand and foot. Pun intended.”

***

At your apartment, Bucky places an arm around your waist while you drape yours across the back of his broad shoulders, hobbling toward your door. You’ve never been so glad to live on the first floor.

“You sure you don’t want me to bring in the crutches?” he asks, opening the door.

“Ugh. Overkill.” Forget those things. It’s more trouble learning how to walk with them than just hobbling. Besides, you never realized how good it feels to lean on Bucky.

All at once, he turns and scoops you into his arms before you know what’s happening. You could protest, but honestly, it feels nice, and you’re tired.

“We didn’t even do this on our honeymoon,” you say. “Oh, wait. We didn’t have one.”

“This isn’t one, either,” he replies, shutting the door with a swift backward kick, “but as soon as you’re well - ”

“Hold on.” You twist your body a bit to press your thumbprint to the security system’s bio-ID pad, turning off the security system. You reset the alarm, then slide the old-fashioned metal locks into place - all ten of them. Your idea, of course.

“Overkill,” he says in a low voice, but of course you hear him. You growl and lightly bite the tip of his ear until he laughs.

After repositioning yourself in his arms, he walks you to the faded denim couch. He props your head and feet up with pillows. After briefly disappearing into the bedroom, he returns with a magnificent, jewel-toned quilt, a gift from King T’Challa. Coming from Wakanda, there is more to it than meets the eye.

Princess Shuri calls it a kimoyo sheath. Once on, the colors fade and the entire piece turns black, highlighted with symbols, just like the beads, but the sheath’s symbols correspond to the body’s various systems. It conforms to your body, providing cocoon-like comfort. But it does so much more. The sheath’s keen sensors regulate core temperature; run full-body checks; make diagnoses; suggest treatment for illnesses, and in some cases, provide it.

A thin blue light illuminates on top of your twisted ankle, following by words: Grade 1 Ankle Sprain. After the diagnosis is translated into different languages, the bottom section of sheath clings to the affected area and gives it an infusion of enveloping, soothing cold.

“Wow.” You’re in absolute awe. In the past, the sheath has picked up on cramps, shoulder dislocation, bruised hips, gas, and impending diarrhea. You tested it a lot after you first received it, just messing around, but then life got in the way of goofing off. This thing is brilliant. You should use it more often.

“Check this out!” you call, suddenly realizing Bucky has been quietly puttering in the open kitchen. “We could have just come home and used this fancy blankie instead of going to that understaffed clinic.”

“Couldn’t risk it. I thought you’d broken your ankle.”

You hear him moving things around in the open kitchen, but you’re too zonked to sit up and check. “Hey, what are you doing in there?” you ask.

“You’ll see.” He enters the room holding a tray with a sandwich, a glass of water with a twist of lemon, and your prescription bottle sitting next to it.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” you say with a grateful smile. But he doesn’t respond. He’s frozen.

“Bucky? What’s wrong?”

He drops the tray.

“Are you OK?” The words screech from your throat as you sit up and swing your legs to the floor. Did that maniac from earlier today get to Bucky - slip him something without either of you noticing? That’s impossible! You were on that clown like white on rice before he could fire off another shot.

“No, no. Lay back down,” Bucky says, stepping over the mess and kneeling beside the couch.

“Why?” You put your feet back on the pillow but sit with your elbows propped up. You can’t fully relax until you know what’s going on.

“The blanket,” he says. He sighs through a warm smile, his eyes soft.

“Yeah. It’s cooling my sprained foot. Pretty amazing, huh?”

“Not as much as this.” He places his hand below your belly button, under the blue words.

You sit up higher and look down at the scrolling translations.

Ukuthomba - amaviki amane.

Zwangerschap - vier weken.

Schwangerschaft - vier wochen.

Gestation - four weeks.

“What the!” Your eyes double in size. “Gestation, as in p-pregnant? When and how?”

He shrugs, his smile lighting up the room. “Like it said, four weeks ago. The rest, I think you know.”

You rewind your memories. Four weeks, four weeks... Debriefings. Training, lots of training, in preparation for possible new threats. Installing the metal locks while practicing some back kicks. Testing the integrity of the door by having him press against you, your back to the thick steel. A quick, stolen kiss. A shared laugh over a dumb joke. A serious lesson in defensive moves, winter soldier-style. Another quick, distracting kiss. A knee to the groin that was only supposed to make him flinch, not make contact. Him, pretending to double over in pain. You, swatting his shoulder when you realized he played you. Kiss number three, deeper and more urgent. Breathlessness. Peeling clothes away...

And ZERO protection.

“Wow,” you breathe, closing the delicious memory and finishing up a few quick mental calculations. The timing makes sense. “So that’s how that works.”

“Mystery solved.” Bucky chuckles through his brilliant smile, then kisses your cheek, the tip of your nose, your mouth. Tenderly, lovingly.

“Talk to me,” he says.

Of all the things you thought he’d say, that isn’t one of them. You’re not ready for words. You shake your head. “I don’t know what to say. Nothing seems sufficient.”

“Talk. to. me.”

It takes you another second or so to gather the words, but surprisingly, they come. You tell him the truth: that you’re happy - shocked, but happy. That even if you weren’t pregnant, you’d be happy, because he’s with you, and together you make a damn fine team. That you’re a little scared - not just about the baby and how life will change, but about him. That you’re afraid you’ll miss something and he’ll be taken from you again. That you can’t be everywhere and you won’t always be by his side. That you never want to leave him vulnerable.

Saying the things on your heart is healing. There is so much more to loving this man than protecting him.

“Make no mistake,” you add, “carrying a child isn’t going to stop me from kicking ass.”

“I know.” He strokes your hair. “But promise me this: you’ll remember that we’re in this together. You don’t have to shoulder everything. I’ll be more vigilant, more careful. And we’re going to have a real honeymoon, and your only job is to relax and be happy with me.” He rubs your belly and smiles broadly. “With us.”

Joyous tears streaming down your face as you nod enthusiastically and kiss his lips. You wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him close, telling him how much you love him. With his warm cheek against yours, he trembles in your embrace. That’s when you realize he’s at the most vulnerable point you’ve ever seen him, and he’s going to be just fine.

#bucky barnes #james buchanan barnes #marvel #captain america #the winter soldier #civil war #infinity war #endgame

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needdl · 5 years ago

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NejitenMonth Day 6: Broken

Also on FFN and AO3

-----

Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Tenten choked down another groan as her latest attempt to move her ankle sent pain shooting up her leg. It was definitely sprained at the very least, though hopefully not broken.

Her glasses had fallen off, and she spotted them a few feet away. With much effort, she managed to reach them without moving her leg too much- although every time she did she sucked in a sharp breath as the pain throbbed. She shoved her glasses on and squinted at her ankle.

It was her own fault, in a way- she hadn't wanted to do the activity that she and her classmates had been directed to do and instead climbed a tree to escape the watchful eye of their instructors. But then she'd gotten distracted gazing up at the clouds and the way the leaves trembled in the breeze and lost track of time, and in her scramble to get down again she'd fallen.

She knew that her instructors would be a little annoyed rather than worried that she wasn't back at school with the other girls. She did tend to pull this sort of stunt a lot, and they'd learned to let her come back in her own time instead of tracking her down.

They would be concerned when it got dark, though- that would mean she had been missing for over five hours, when she never let herself miss more than three and was always back for the early evening lessons.

Tenten cast an appraising gaze over the sky and worried at her lip. She'd be missing supper soon, so hopefully the school would send some people out.

She couldn't come to them, after all, not with her ankle like this.

It was starting to get colder, an early autumn chill settling in. Tenten shivered and chafed at her arms as the wind bit right through her school uniform.

Well, damn it. Looked like she would have to start calling for help from the passerby in the park.

"Can anyone hear me?" She called into the wind. There was no reply.

The street lamp above her flickered on, and she flinched. With one hand, she reached to prod at her sprain and immediately yanked back her fingers as white spots crowded her vision.

“Ouch,” she whispered. She was alone.

She called on and off for the next five minutes, pausing every once in a while to listen intently for anyone approaching. Eventually she became so cold that she decided to just stand on one foot and hobble her way back to the street, where someone would be sure to help.

She was using the tree to haul herself up when someone asked, “Are you all right?”

She startled and almost fell over, but a hand on her shoulder steadied her. She spun towards the person, one arm half-raised to hit them if needed.

The man who stared back at her was dressed very sharply, in dark gray businessman’s attire and a long coat. He had a hat tucked under his arm and a cigarette resting idly between his fingers, but what caught Tenten’s attention most was his pale eyes. They were almost a gleaming silver, the color was so light.

The man retracted his hand from her shoulder once she had steadied herself again and made no other attempt to touch her. “Are you all right?” he repeated.

Tenten hesitated a few moments before acquiescing, “No. I’ve sprained my ankle.”

He frowned. “I see. What are you doing out so late?”

“I wasn’t out late. I just lost track of time, and then I hurt myself and couldn’t walk.”

His brow pinched at her rudeness, but he only asked, “Where do you need to go? I can escort you there.”

She eyed him carefully. “Konoha Girls Preparatory Academy.”

“That’s quite a distance.”

“If it’s such a bother then just leave me here,” she snipped. “I’m sure plenty of people with good intentions are out at this time of night to escort young women home.”

His gaze turned reproachful. “Mind your tone. I am doing you a favor.”

“Are you? Or are you just going to complain about the hassle of helping someone out?”

He reached up and pinched his brow for half a moment before jerking his hand away and muttering, “All right-” and then shoved his hat on his head and put out the cigarette before putting the stub in his pocket.

Tenten scowled at him, about to ask what he was doing, when her vision suddenly blurred as he picked her up and started walking.

She was so shocked by his gall for a few moments that she was actually quiet, but her rage at his actions bubbled through soon enough. “How dare you-”

“It’s not as though you could walk,” he snapped back. His tone eased slightly as he said, “And somehow I don’t think you’d have allowed this if I asked.”

“Hmph.” He was right, of course.

They walked in silence down a few roads. The man seemed unburdened by her weight.

Eventually Tenten couldn’t stand the quiet and blurted, “What’s your name?”

He actually frowned at her, as if she had done something wrong for wanting to know the name of the person helping her. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It doesn’t- I asked, didn’t I? I’d like to know.”

“I’ll not say,” he said gruffly. Tenten scowled at his refusal, then turned her head away from him with a huff. Nose in the air, she said pointedly, “Well, my name is Tenten.”

“A pleasure,” he said, charm and insincerity oozing from every syllable. Tenten glared at the buildings they were passing.

They reached Konoha Girls Prep after fifteen minutes of walking and were accepted into the main office with much fluttering and fussing from the instructors within. Tenten was immediately handed off to the head nurse and they limped their way off to the medical wing in a hurry.

Tenten barely had enough time to look over her shoulder at the man, much less thank him. He was surrounded by a horde of people, all thanking him profusely and reaching to shake his hand.

He looked very uncomfortable. Tenten smirked.

He glanced up and his eyes met hers just before she rounded the corner, and Tenten sent him one last dagger-like grin before she was whisked out of sight.

Later, jerk.

-----

Tenten was shocked the next day when she was called to the headmistress’s office- she’d gotten rebuked from her instructors for ditching, but they understood that the fact she’d stayed out so late was due to her ankle and only had detention for the rest of the week. She didn’t think that her actions would warrant a talk from Headmistress Senju- but apparently she’d sneaked out one too many times.

Her stomach was churning as she approached the office door on her crutches and knocked. Her grandmother couldn’t afford to enroll her in another school if she was expelled.

“Come in.” Tsunade’s voice was as curt as ever.

Tenten opened the door cautiously. “Headmistress, you wanted to-” She stopped short. The pale-eyed man was sitting in the chair across from Tsunade’s desk as though it was a throne. He gave Tenten a slow, lazy smirk.

Tenten looked to Tsunade for an explanation, but she only nodded towards the man again. Clearly, she meant that Tenten would have to do things herself.

She sat down in the other open chair- because her ankle hurt, because it turned out it was actually broken- and said shortly, “Hello again, I suppose.”

Tsunade scowled.

The man was not put off by her tone. “Good afternoon. I wanted to follow up with you after Tuesday night.”

“Why.” Tenten asked bluntly. Tsunade cringed.

“Because it’s very rare to escort a young woman home with a sprained- no, broken, ankle, at nearly ten o’clock in the evening. Especially when that young woman apparently got the broken ankle falling out of the tree she climbed in order to avoid doing her studies with her classmates.”

“And it’s weird and creepy of you to go and find that out,” Tenten told him. Infuriatingly, she couldn’t seem to piss him off like before, and he only gave her that smirk again.

“Tenten,” Tsunade interrupted, “This is Neji Hyuga. You may remember his cousin, Hinata, who attended last year.”

Oh. That was why Tsunade looked so tense. Hyuga was a big name, after all. And as to the question of Hinata- “Yes. She was a doll.”

She gave Hyuga a look out of the corner of her eye as she said it, so he would understand the nonverbal “Unlike you.”

Tsunade scowled at her, then looked to Hyuga and said, “If you’d like to speak with her more, Mr. Hyuga, I’ll have to ask that you go to the courtyard, as I have a few meetings.”

“Of course.” He stood and buttoned his suit jacket. “Miss? Shall we?”

Tenten stared disbelievingly at both of them. “What?”

He smirked- god, she hated that smirk!- and said, “A walk around the courtyard, miss. Slowly, on account of your ankle.”

“I- I have classes-”

“You’re excused,” Tsunade said shortly. Clearly she didn’t want Tenten risking the Hyuga family insult, so Tenten had no choice but to grimace and accept Hyuga’s arm.

She could not put any pressure on her leg and thus was highly dependent on him to escort her to the courtyard, which only increased her ire. He settled her down on the first bench they encountered and then took a seat next to her after carefully undoing his suit button again.

Tenten stared at him dully, and he smiled. “How is your ankle feeling, Miss Tenten?”

“It hurts,” she muttered. His smile broadened. “That’s quite unfortunate, though Headmistress Senju assured me that all the doctors said it would heal easily. If you don’t mind me asking, miss- although I am nearly certain that you do- why were you avoiding your lessons?”

“I do mind,” she told him. “I hardly know why you asked.”

“Because I find you interesting and wish to understand you more,” he said simply. She glared back and retorted, “That’s too bad, because I shan’t be telling you anything.” She grabbed her crutches and stood, pivoting back to the path and staring a moment before ordering over her shoulder, “Help me back to my classes.”

“Certainly.” He stood up- redid his button- and smoothly crossed to her side, taking her hand and tucking it into his arm. She hated him.

-----

And her ire only grew, because Neji Hyuga continued to visit her under the pretense of checking up on her for the next two months.

It got to the point that Tsunade politely ordered him to only visit in the evenings after the lessons were over for the day, because his visits disrupted Tenten’s classes so frequently.

Tenten tromped down the stairs one rainy afternoon- it hadn’t snowed yet, but it would any day now- to meet Hyuga where he was waiting for her at the front entrance, umbrella in hand as he spoke politely with the doorman, Tenzo.

Tenten was annoyed to see they were getting along- she considered Tenzo a pretty good judge of character, but Hyuga’s big family name must have dazzled him a little.

Just the name, was all, and not Hyuga himself, because he wasn’t kind or witty and he’d never made her laugh despite herself.

He looked up at her and smiled, seemingly genuine but Tenten knew better and said, satisfaction in his voice, “Your ankle seems much better.”

“It is,” she told him. She cast a wary eye at the rain outside- he normally escorted her to the courtyard, where they’d sit and he’d try to pry conversation out of her. But today-

“I am not going out in that,” she told him.

“No, no. I wouldn’t want you to,” he said. “I hardly want to walk two paces in it myself.”

She descended the steps cautiously as he continued, “I took a cab to work today and even that was miserable. No, thank you- I’ve asked your housekeeper to set up tea for us in the visiting room. Would you join me?” He smiled at her and offered his arm.

She grabbed it and marched to the sitting room- the company was lacking, but she loved the cook’s delicate pastries and would always seize the opportunity to have some.

Tenten gritted her teeth through the process of pouring him the tea and offering the pastries, then gleefully settled into consuming her own portion- though her etiquette lessons rang clearly in her ears as she took small, ladylike bites.

They ate in silence for several minutes before Tenten set her teacup down with a barely-there clatter and demanded, “Why do you keep visiting me?”

He looked up from where he’d been gazing contemplatively out the window, surprised at her outburst. “I’ve told you before, Miss Tenten, I find you quite interesting.”

“And I find it quite hard to believe that you have so little going on in your life, and know such few interesting people, that it warrants this constant visitation. Is your job so dull?”

“No,” he admitted.

“Do you not have other hobbies? Do you not have other company?”

“I have both.”

“Then why have you been here every weekday afternoon for the past two months? I have studies, you know!”

He smiled, slow and sure, and said with a slight tease to his voice, “Would you rather I come on the weekend? Perhaps take you on a picnic, or to a drive-in?”

She gaped at him, incredulous. “Why on earth would you do that?”

He suddenly set aside his tea and sat up straight, then- and Tenten could hardly believe it- reached out and took her hands in his. “Miss Tenten,” he began, “After all this time I cannot conclude that you are foolish or stupid, because you have proven to me over and over that you are analytical, bright, and sharp-witted.”

Tenten was utterly baffled. She was so confused that she forgot to yank her hands out of his.

He continued, “As such, I have decided that you are only oblivious.”

She scowled and was about to yell at him for his insult when he squeezed her hands in his, gave her an earnest look, and concluded, “I am here now, as I have been for the last two months, because I would like to court you.”

-----

“No.”

He blinked, surprised at her finality. “You are so sure?”

“Men only court women to marry them, and I’ve no intentions to marry.”

“Never?”

“Never. Marriage ruins women.”

“In what way?”

“Husbands only care about their wives so long as they can have children and mind the home. Brilliant, passionate young women are smothered and die through marriage. Marie Curie was the most intelligent, driven woman in science- in the world- but marriage and children only caused her suffering.”

“By all accounts, she and her husband were very happy together. He even insisted her name went with all their shared work and convinced the world of her merit of a Nobel Prize.”

“And then he was killed and her work was never the same.”

He was silent for several long moments, then said quietly, “Is that what it is? You think someone will mean too much to you, and be taken away- or leave- and then you won’t be able to recover.”

She hated him, she absolutely hated him, and she hated that he knew her so well that he didn’t even ask the last part as a question. When had he learned so much about her?

She turned her head to the side and clenched her eyes shut. “Damn you.”

She started as she felt cool fingers press against her jaw. He turned her head to face him again and said quietly, “Well, we wouldn’t have to get married.”

Tenten stared at him, uncomprehending. He brushed his thumb over her knuckles and said, “I know you intend on going to college and getting a degree, and I’m perfectly content to wait for you to do that- and even develop your career first, if you’re interested. Or- or never marry at all, because women are let go the second they get engaged.”

Her mouth parted in shock. “Why- why would you ever even want to be with me, then?”

“It’s hardly as though getting married is the penultimate part of a relationship,” he told her. “It’s just a formalization.”

“But- I- I’m so cross to you, all the time!”

“Yes. It’s quite charming, especially when you like me despite yourself.”

“And I hardly know you! I call you Mr. Hyuga, for heaven’s sake-”

“Then call me Neji.” His hand was still on her jaw, and he smiled as he stroked her cheek. Tenten felt a blush rising as he did.

“Well- then- you must call me Tenten, then.”

He grinned, and the sight of it only intensified her blush. “So I may court you?”

She couldn’t look at him, and flicked her eyes to the side to glare at the tea pot. “I- yes.”

She’d never seen him smile so brightly, or- as it turned out- felt what it was like to be kissed so tenderly.

#ntmonth2019 #nejiten #neji #tenten #fanfic #my writing #yoooo this went so differently than i was originally planning #neji was gonna be a Bad Boy and tenten was gonna like. sneak out to meet him at night so they could talk about #how sad and lonely and broken they were #it was gonna be Edgy #but i am incapable of doing that i think #anyways #laterz

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crime-fighter99 · 5 years ago

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The Intern: Celebration

The next afternoon the doctor comes in to discuss (Y/N)’s injuries, “How are you feeling today?” “I’m great, but I’m kinda ready to go home” he smiles while looking at her file, “Well, everything looks good on your report, I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to leave today. There are a few things that I have to inform you about first,” a worried expression crosses her face, “don’t worry it’s nothing bad, as a doctor I have to inform you of the injuries and the healing process” She lets a breath as he continues, “thankfully nothing was broken, the impact just wasn’t hard enough, but you did have a sprain and a torn muscle. The surgery helped with fixing the tear, but for the next few weeks you will have to be careful, for the first three weeks you will have a metal brace and have to use crutches, the last three you will be able to walk with just the brace afterwards I want you to meet with a doctor to check up with the healing process and they will either decide to keep you on the brace or if you are ready to go to a knee stabilizer. Now why don’t I go get the paperwork so you can head home.” Thanks doctor” he smiles handing her his card before heading out the door. Fifteen minutes later two nurses come in one carrying paperwork and a set of scrubs while the other carries crutches and a metal brace. “I’ll call the team to let them know what’s going on” Garcia gets off the couch, heading to make the call in the hall. The second nurse walks over, leaning the crutches against the wall before carefully showing (Y/N) how to put on the brace. “Just as the doctor said, you will be wearing this for six weeks half that time you will need to avoid putting pressure on your knee after the first three you are able to start gradually putting pressure” (Y/N) nods paying close attention to how the brace works. Once the brace is in place the nurse helps (Y/N) swing her legs off the side of the bed, while the other hands her the papers to sign, after going through the paperwork a few times to make sure everything was correct (Y/N) hands it back to the nurse, “Thank you, now why don’t you get changed and start practicing with these, while you wait for your ride” after the nurses leave and the door is closed, (Y/N) slides the bottoms over her braced knee first and then her other, before taking on crutch to stand without putting pressure on her knee, to pull up the pants up to her waist, she then makes her way to the chair at the side of the bed in order to sit, in order to replace the night gown with the shirt given to her. Once completely dressed there is a knock on the door, “Come in” Garcia walks in smiling, “Look at you, ready to go?” (Y/N) nods her head with a smile using the crutches to make her way out the door following Garcia to the waiting area, her smile widens when she sees the rest o the team. “Like the new look baby girl” “Really, cause I don’t think it’s my style” she jokes back with Morgan, as she walks to the group, “Ready to go home” she turns to face JJ. “Definitely” this earns a laugh from everyone, “Then let’s not keep you waiting, Hotch and Rossi are outside waiting.” They all head to exit with Garcia and (Y/N) leading, follows by JJ and Prentiss carrying the balloons and the clothes (Y/N) had on when she came in, while Morgan and Reid carried the flowers and stuff animal.

***

After checking out of their hotel and grabbing lunch, the team finds themselves on the jet heading home. (Y/N) sat on the couch with her knee propped up on a pillow, she smiled looking at the team, that she had come to know and love, she watched as JJ and Hotch showed Garcia pictures of their sons and the plans they had made for their next off day, while Rossi, Morgan, and Prentiss sat at the able on the opposite side of the jet playing cards. she was starting to wonder how she was going to be able to leave them once all the paperwork was complete, she gave a sigh as a tear slid down her cheek, “Hey, are you okay?” she was so lost in her thoughts that she did not hear Reid come up, “Yeah, I’m fine” she quickly rubs the tear away, before turning her attention up to him with a small smile, he awkwardly places his hands in his pockets before continuing, “Um do you mind if I sit” “Of course not” she goes to mover her leg but is stopped by a gentle had on her calf. She gives another smile as he carefully lifts her leg taking the now empty seat before placing her leg back down, allowing her to use his lap to prop her knee, “You sure you’re okay?” she leans her side against the back of the couch as he strokes the skin just above her ankle. “I’ve just been thinking” “About what?” There is a pause of silence before she answers, “the team” her attention goes back to the others with a sad smile, he follows her gaze, “I guess you’ll be heading back to school soon” “Yeah” she looks at him, before scooting closer to him shifting her leg where her knee is now hovering over his lap, lying her head on his shoulder and grasping his hand, “I’m going to miss you guys” he leans his head against hers, enjoying the warmth of her hand.

***

Once back at headquarters the team makes their way to the roundtable to debrief and finish the completed paperwork needed to close the case. “What do you say about going out to celebrate the end of another case?” “I’m on board I need to drink my troubles away” Morgan’s comment receives a laugh from the team, “I agree” Prentiss reaches across the table and gives him a high five. “Sorry guy’s I can’t make it, tonight is Will’s only day off so we are doing family time with Henry” Garcia pulls JJ into a side hug, “That’s okay sweetie, go home and enjoy your boys” she returns the hug before waving to the rest of the team on her way out. “I promised Jack I would take him to the zoo tomorrow, so I better go get some rest” “Night boss man, see you Monday.” Garcia pat’s him on the shoulder as he passes, “How about you Rossi?” “I’m always down for a party, why don’t we have it at my house” “That just leaves Pretty boy and baby girl, what do you say?” Reid and (Y/N) look at each other before turning back to the team, “Sure” they both say at the same time, causing another fit of laughter from the others. “Alright, we’ll meet at Rossi’s around six?” everyone nods in agreement before taking their separate vehicles.

***

At six o’clock the team were all standing in Rossi’s kitchen with glasses of wine except for (Y/N) who was not able to because of the medicine for her knee, and Reid who did not want her to feel left out. “Can I get everyone’s attention please,” everyone turned towards Rossi, “if you don’t mind, I would like to make a toast, to another solved case and to the safety of another community.” They all raised their gasses, before taking a drink, “Come on let’s get this party started,” Morgan sets down his glass, before taking Garcia and Prentiss’ free hand giving them each a spin. (Y/N) turned on her stool with a smile watching the three agents dancing in the middle of the floor, Rossi soon joins them, taking Prentiss from Morgan before dipping her. From the corner of her eye, she see’s Reid is standing to the side, watching the others interactions, she smiles before using the counter to get down and then using her crutches to make her way over to him, “Hey, why are you over here by yourself?” he turns so that his full attention is on her, “No reason really, are you having fun?” she sighs adjusting her grip on the crutches focusing back onto the two couples. “I guess” there are a few minutes of silence before an idea comes to her mind, “dance with me?” he smiles with a nod, she returns it while learning her crutches against the wall and wrapping her arms around his neck as his wrap around her waist to help her balance without putting too much pressure on her leg.

The day we met frozen I help my breath right from the start I knew that I found a home for my heart beasts fast colors and promises

They slowly start swaying to the music, being cautious of her knee. “You look beautiful tonight” she looks down smiling at the solid dark purple knee high dress, with the sleeves going down to her wrist, along with the black converse, “Thanks, you don’t look so bad yourself” she laughs noticing that he is wearing a similar color shirt with black dress pants and vest.

How to be brave how can I love when I’m afraid to fall but watching you stand alone all of my doubts suddenly goes away somehow

She turns to watch the others, “Do you think they planned this?” she gestures with her finger between the two of them, “Oh definitely” he laughs as they continue to dance.

I have died everyday waiting for you darling don’t be afraid I have loved you for a thousand years I’ll love you for a thousand more

“Hey, um there was something I’ve been meaning to tell you, I was planning to say it at the hospital but we were interrupted and didn’t want to say it in front of the others, so would now be an okay time to talk?”

Time stands still beauty in all she is I will be brave I will not let anything take away

She smiles up at his nervousness, “Of course, you can tell me anything” he closes his eyes, trying to work up the courage to tell her how he feels, he opens his eyes when he feels a hand slide from his neck up into his hair, and comes face to face with her smile.

What’s standing in front of me. Every breath. Every hour has come to this.

“While working the case, I realized something,” he smiles, he moves one hand from her waist to hold one of her hands in his while pulling her a little closer, “I realized that I am more comfortable with you than I have been with anyone else, besides my mom,” this caused her to smile, knowing he felt comfortable with her, nothing in the world would have prepared her for what would come next, “most importantly I realized, I love you” the biggest smile she had ever seen spreads across his face.

And all along I believed I would find you. time has brought your heart to me. I have loved you I’ll love you for a thousand more

She removes her hand from his, she can see that doubt starts to replace the smile, without a second thought, she places her hands on either side of his face pulling him to her connecting their lips in a slow and sweet kiss, she smiles into the kiss when she feels his arms wrap tighter around her. When they pull away for air, he presses his forehead against hers, unable to contain his smile, “I love you too” their sweet moment is interrupted by Garcia, “Aw” who is the first to pull them into a tight group hug, soon Morgan, Prentiss and Rossi join in.

Good-Bye

#reader insert #aaron hotcher #emily prentiss #jennifer jareau #penelope garcia #derek morgan #david rossi #spencer reid #kate callahan #criminal minds

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thegreenhorseman · 5 years ago

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The last week or so has been rough on the family. We’ve had a few events that really took the wind out of our sails.

Though with all the misfortune I am doing my best to keep my chin up and eyes focused on forward progress.

The beginning of our misfortune began when a loved one broke their ankle quite severely requiring multiple surgeries.

As I was going into work the following week I stopped at the grocery store to pick up something for lunch. When I came out, however, my car decided not to work. When I put the key into the ignition the dashboard lit up and said “Anti-Theft System.” My car wouldn’t recognize my key-fob. I spent thirty minutes looking up ways to override the system so I could get to work. As it turns out my fob must be damaged in some way. Changing the battery doesn’t help but I at least have my spare. I am not looking forward to the cost of replacing the key!

Then last Monday I was sweeping the lawn of the lawn clippings. I got off the ATV and heard a snap. I was on the ground for several minutes crying (I DON’T like to cry) in agony. I, too, injured my ankle. Since I was home alone I got up and finished my duties.

This isn’t my first ankle sprain. Anyone who has done it will tell you chances of re-injury increase once you’ve already done damage to it. Despite the world telling me to I have not yet seen the doctor as my “health” insurance ensures that visits cost me hundreds (I had to fork over $200 just to meet my new doctor for the first time). My plan is to visit the doctor only if the ankle ceases to heal properly since I don’t see them doing anything different than I’m already doing. Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation.

I couldn’t put weight on the foot all day on Tuesday. Zac even drove me to work for my day-shift training sessions Tuesday through Thursday. I was alarmed by how difficult it was to get around my job on crutches. The building itself is massive and there are a number of closed doors that require a badge to open. These doors don’t have any automation and are very heavy when you’re already carrying a purse and 2 crutches. Nobody offered to help and I even had the heavy doors closed on me as people went about their own day.

If you see someone on crutches hold the door for them. Take a minute or two from what you’re doing and offer your help or support. I am so glad I ate a big breakfast that morning because I could never have carried a meal from the cafe. I simply tried to get 2 bottled beverages and the person behind me in line got impatient since I wasn’t moving out of his way fast enough. Meanwhile, other people simply gave me looks and walked around me. It was eye-opening and I vow not to let anybody else feel like I felt those days.

Throughout the week I slowly made improvement. Now, a full 10 days later I can hop around without crutches. If I keep it compressed with an Ace bandage I can almost walk like normal for about an hour. The most difficult thing for me is missing my riding lessons. The most painful movement with this injury is stretching my weight down into my heels and standing in the stirrups.

This past Sunday we let the chickens out of their run to free-range. We often let them wander if we are staying outside and nearby. They love their time outside the coop. They frolic and chase each other, hunt for bugs, and chill out in the stream. Jack, our rooster, has been taking into his duties as overseer.

We brought the chickens home in March. I have really become fond of these creatures over the last few months and I’m amazed at how big they’ve gotten. In only 16 weeks a few of my girls began giving me eggs.

Sunday was supposed to be any other normal day. We were getting used to the chickens wandering and keeping to themselves. We decided to go inside for a few minutes to get a bite to eat and a drink. When we came back out I was alarmed and my heart sank.

Five hens greeted me when I approached the coop. But no Jack. I tasked Bardi to look to Jack in the bushes but found nothing. Across the yard I found a pile of brown feathers. No blood, no bird. Just feathers.

Zac and I searched the property with Bardi’s help. I knew it was doubtful we’d find him alive but I had to make sure he wasn’t suffering somewhere.

After about 30 minutes of searching Bardi led us to a tree deep in the woods where we found Jack’s decapitated body. A fox ran from the area during our search. My theory is that Jack stepped up to defend his girls but in the end, the fox won.

Zac and I are known to try saving the meekest of animals and it has really delivered a punch in the gut to see one of our hand raised-babies end the way Jack did. Jack was becoming a very good defender of his girls. He was getting a little too aggressive in breeding but I wasn’t ready to give up on him. Many people told us to get rid of him but we weren’t ready to do that. He died defending his girls, doing his job…he just died too soon.

Zac has been amazing through all of the problems we’ve faced recently. He’s helped nurse now TWO ankle injuries and he woke up extra early to help take care of the horses with me before driving me into work (we work at the same company). Sunday night he was working hard on the lawn and removing some of the brush that has overgrown and surrounded our trees. We learned the next day that the brush was a very large poison ivy plant. Now Zac has also become the patient!

Despite the bad circumstances I am trying to stay positive. My day shift training went well. I’m healthy besides a gimpy ankle. We both have jobs and a beautiful home with incredible animals.

Speaking of incredible animals. I refuse to let my ankle hold me back from riding. Though I can’t ride english and jump I can still sit in a saddle. Last weekend I got on Blade and we had another amazing ride together.

Together Blade and I rode all around our property. We went through the woods and bushwhacked some trails where we haven’t yet been able to brush hog. We were having a great time and weren’t yet ready to be finished. That’s when Blade and I took off down the road. We were riding at least an hour and he was so happy the entire time.

I also spent some quality time with the boys.

Finally, what else do you do when the world gets you down?

Buy things.

Full disclaimer I rarely ever spend money on things for myself. I haven’t had my hair done in over a year, I can’t remember the last time I bought clothes.

Pessoa saddles were first introduced to me when I was a kid and the name lingered in my head into adulthood. My trainer also loves Pessoa saddles so that further drove the name into my brain. While on a horse website I found a fantastic deal on a saddle that I’ve been wanting for years.

After many years of looking into these saddles, I found a Pessoa GenX saddle, brand new. I couldn’t help it and made the purchase using some money I had saved up for such an impulsive occasion. Once my ankle heals I will be eagerly riding in this saddle and making it a home in the tack room. Until then, however, it is stored safely inside.

So I’ve had some bad days but I’m doing what I can to get through it and come out stronger, smarter, and kinder.

After all…we need bad days to appreciate the good ones, don’t we?

What do you do when the world get’s you down?

When the World Gets You Down The last week or so has been rough on the family. We've had a few events that really took the wind out of our sails.

#Animals #BadDay #Chickens #equine #EquineTherapy #Family #Health #Horse #Horses #RetailTHerapy #RIPJack #TheGreenHorseman

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prettywordsyouleft · 6 years ago

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Accidents Happen

Summary: You had always been clumsy and now you had really done it, and broken your leg. Losing your independence was crushing you, but what you didn’t realise was how much your pain was causing Mark as well.

Characters: Mark Tuan x reader

Genre: a bit of depressive behaviour, angst, and then fluff lol

Warnings: if you’re a little squeamish over basic medical terms, or the idea of breaking a bone, don’t read this.

A/N: So this is a collaboration with my dearest friend Tiger over @thewritingtrashcan … we decided to use the same prompt but not tell each other who we’d write about or the context. This is what I came up with. It’s actually based on a lot of factual stuff from my life, I am actually this clumsy and I did shattered my leg back in university in a freak accident with my horse. I’m 90% okay now though! All the same, sometimes I feel I need to revisit this moment of darkness in my life through fiction, as an act of healing. I chose to do it with Mark because he was the first person I thought of when reading the prompt. And it worked really well with him. Funny how I’ve biased him this long and I’ve never written him before. This piece has been a little interesting to write, but I’m so glad I chose to base it off past experience.

Prompt: "You make me so mad right now, you know that?"

Word count: 3295

To read what Tiger wrote for the same prompt, click HERE.

You groaned inwardly when you looked up at the large letters on the building in front of you, barely capturing them all before you were transferred inside. The bright lights, beeping noises and multiple voices around you were hard to register with any clarity, but that could very well be due to the heavy set of drugs the paramedic had given you on the ride in.

You sure had done a good job this time.

Your whole life you were known as the clumsy one, able to sprain your own ankle by tripping over yourself. You knew the Orthopaedics department of the local hospital inside out; you had visited it so many times over the years. The treatment R.I.C.E* was embedded in your brain, and yet despite your efforts to prevent yourself from another injury, you’d always be back. It was tiresome to be this ridiculously clumsy.

And despite regular attempts, you had always heard the words; “it’s just a nasty sprain” whenever you were done with being prodded, x-rayed and bandaged up.

But this was different.

You knew your leg was broken as soon as you landed, falling off the back of your horse in a freak accident. You had been surprisingly calm, but your friend with you was a lost cause, more stressed than you were in that moment. You were still worried about her as they wheeled your bed towards a slot in the emergency department, a doctor soon joining the team around you.

You were scared.

With all those years of experience and always being able to leave after a couple of hours, today you knew that wouldn’t be the case. You waited for your family to turn up, knowing your friend had managed to ring your Mum in the midst of sorting an ambulance and catching the horses. Even though you were an adult, you craved her maternal smothering, to tell you it was going to be alright.

She didn’t arrive first, though the person who came rushing to your side was enough to make you burst into tears of relief. He leaned down to cradle your head in his hand and kiss your forehead gently, as if you’d break further if he wasn’t so light with his touch. His dark eyes were then scanning you all over, trying to decipher how bad this was.

“What happened?!” Mark asked finally, blinking away the tears he’d so far held back ever since he’d gotten a call from your mother telling him you’d been taken to the hospital. He’d never left work so fast in his life, uncaring of the consequences he may face later on. You were more important.

“Honey got frightened and bolted on me. I knew as soon as I fell my leg was broken, they reckon it’s a clean break too.”

“Clean how?” he wondered, swallowing back the lump in his throat. “What does that even mean?”

You didn’t get to answer, a radiologist coming for you then and taking you off to be x-rayed. Your eyes were glued to Mark’s, much like his hand was firmly in yours until he was asked to wait outside. You knew the procedure would be different this time round, unable to do anything but shake due to the shock now making it’s way through your tired body.

And finally you were taken back to your little section of the emergency department, your Mum and younger brother both standing there waiting for you.

Tears continued to fall seeing everyone that was there, and you gripped onto Mark’s hand as much as you could then, the pain picking up again.

It was going to be a much longer visit to the hospital indeed.

You had snapped both bones in your right leg which required surgery, and a mere five days later you were discharged with the expectation that you would find it easier to be at home. You lived with Mark as you were engaged, and he had managed to get time off to assist you in the transition. It was anything but easy; the cast on your leg wasn’t what you had expected to receive. Over the years people had joked about being able to write on your coloured cast one day when you actually succeeded in breaking something. Now that you had, you got a half cast instead that weighed a tonne to protect and cope with all the swelling. You couldn’t lift your leg due to the weight of it and the complete lack of strength, which meant you couldn’t move at all.

You felt entirely useless, Mark’s comfort only reaching your ears so far before you blocked it out.

And after eight weeks of this, you were depressed, especially when Mark had gone back to work after the first three. Your mother had come to look after you most days, or Mark’s parents, and whilst you were thankful, they had enabled you to feel like you couldn’t do a thing.

You had lived a very active lifestyle of studying, working and owning your horse Honey, that it was mentally far more crippling being unable to do any of those things now. The doctors had delayed your healing further, conflicting information given to you about your rehabilitation. You were stopped from even walking at one point in the journey, relying completely on your wheelchair to get about. Whenever you had imagined this scenario, you thought you’d be cute on a pair of crutches, still able to get around, and look after yourself.

You should’ve known that you do a good job at everything, even when breaking a bone.

Once given the all clear to attempt walking again a month later, you were determined to get your life back. You did everything asked of you at your rehab sessions, and soon you were able to walk with your crutches or walking frame. To you this was rewarding, no longer did you have to burden everyone around you.

To Mark however, this was far worse.

“Go sit down, I can make your toast,” he told you with a sigh, watching you struggle to balance on one leg and open the jam jar. You merely glared at the taller boy before focussing back on your task. “Y/N!”

“I want to do it, I can do it!”

“You’re shaking so much,” he complained softly, coming over to your side. You refused to give up, but inwardly you were thankful when his arms wrapped around your waist to support you. Now utilising his grip on you, you were able to relax against your fiancé and place the jam onto your toasted bread. A smile crossed your lips at your success, and you hobbled around to bury into the brunette for a moment.

“Thank you for your help.”

“You’re welcome I guess. I wish you wouldn’t be so stubborn right now whilst you’re healing though, Y/N.”

It wasn’t long until you were trying to get back some normalcy, despite everyone around you wanting you to rest. It annoyed you, knowing that you felt strength returning to your damaged leg, even though most days it still hurt a lot. You were done with sitting around wasting your life on Korean dramas and writing though. You had started studying again from home thanks to the kindness of your lecturers supplying you with all you needed, and this only fuelled your desire to improve.

You started pushing through and doing more in your day whenever Mark or your Mum wasn’t there to imprison you to your bed, and even though you were exhausted easily, it was exhilarating to feel your success when you managed to do something you had easily taken for granted in the past.

The one thing everyone refused to let you do was shower when no one was there, afraid that you would slip and hurt yourself further. You were frustrated by this notion, aware that your shower cubicle was still decked out with the chair you needed to rest on, and you had never felt that unstable in there. For weeks you slowly planned it, your stubborn nature ignoring the negatives. And finally you timed it one afternoon, knowing Mark would be back soon, wanting to prove to yourself, and him, that you could tick another thing off your list of tasks you could do again without being supervised. You craved independence. Showering alone somehow screamed that to you.

At first it was going alright, singing one of Mark’s songs to yourself as you washed your body well. You looked at your now ill-formed leg with distaste, the unsightly scar from where the metal rod that stabilised your leg had been inserted being the one thing you hated the most. You were thankful it hadn’t been any worse than it was, but seeing your leg like that was a reminder of all the months of being incapacitated.

You sighed heavily with your deep thoughts, only realising you had let go of your soap then. Looking at it on the ground of the shower, you groaned loudly for a moment, before determination kicked in. Sitting slowly on your shower seat you reached down for the soap bar, stretching your arm as far as you could whilst gripping onto the seat.

And then it all happened too fast, your leaning throwing the chair off balance and suddenly you were on the ground, screaming in pain at your leg hitting the floor heavily, and the chair toppling on top of you. To top it off, the shower continued to rain down on you, pelting you with the severe water bullets of regret. As you laid there strewn on the floor of the bathroom, you were reminded greatly of just how incapable you truly were right now. You couldn’t even get yourself up from this position.

Tears pooled from your eyes, never feeling so miserable in your life.

Mark found you as soon as he arrived home, the sound of water running being a telltale sign that you had broken your promise to him. He had rushed through the apartment, telling himself to support you even though he had feared this day happening when he wasn’t home. But what he found when he opened the door was anything but encouraging.

You were shivering on the floor of the shower, and as he reached to turn the water off, he realised it was cold. His eyes flashed with concern then, wondering how long you had been like this for. He yanked the chair off of you, his anger surging and being misplaced into the item obstructing you. And then he hoisted you up from the crumbled mess on the floor, your sobs filling his ears as he quietly wrapped your towels around you and then lifted you up into his arms.

He didn’t dare utter a word, knowing if he did; it would only crush you further. But it was hard to hold back, you had already scared him enough earlier in the year when the accident had happened. You were Mark’s world, and if he lost you, it would destroy him.

And whilst a broken leg wasn’t exactly life threatening, it had been enough to unhinge your relationship into troubled waters, Mark worrying that soon you’d leave him because of how low you were feeling. He craved for the happier times to return, but perhaps they wouldn’t, not until you were fully healed.

As he placed you down on the edge of your bed and looked you over, he sadly realised you might not want them to either.

“Don’t give me a lecture,” you managed to stutter, still shaking away. He didn’t answer, gently rubbing the towel over your body. Your hand came up and gripped his, and he stopped, your eyes hard, with a tinge of embarrassment within them. It made him close his own, unable to understand how after all these years together that you could still feel embarrassed in front of him.

And so he recomposed himself and tried to help dry off your body again, your hand preventing him again. “Stop!”

“Why!” he cried exasperatedly, staring back at you. “You’re cold; I’m trying to warm you up.”

“I’m not incapable!”

“No one said you were!”

You heaved with the exertion of your emotions, your jaw quivering. “I can dry myself; I still have hands, Mark Tuan.”

He stepped back but stared at you as you fumbled to dry yourself off. He tried to steady out his emotions. Shaking his head when he knew he couldn’t, he then turned on his heel and stepped out of the room, closing the door with a bang and then sinking to the floor on the other side as the tears fell.

He didn’t know how to help you anymore.

After drying and dressing yourself slowly, you hobbled slowly across the room, wincing with each step on your now re-injured leg. You were worried, realising in that moment that your depression had gotten so bad that you had stopped focussing on the one person who mattered the most to you.

Mark.

You had both grown up together, your families always joking that you’d end up married one day ever since you were six. It was ironic how it had played out so far, you had always loved him. As a child you wanted nothing more than to play with him, as soon as you were teenagers with a grasp on your emotions, you both explored deepening your friendship, and here you were now as adults, living together, and engaged. You had been through a lot together, both happy and hard times, and you had always thought the loss of your Father would have been the hardest thing you’d ever face at his side.

You had never realised it was the fact that you were shutting away from everyone that could hurt him the most.

Opening the door, you found the brooding brunette sitting on the floor across from your bedroom, his eyes barely lifting up to look at you long enough to make sure you were okay before dropping back down. It made you tear up, even when hurting from your actions; he always was making sure you were safe.

You hobbled over to his side and then looked around you for something to help you sit down beside him, biting your lip in frustration when nothing jumped forward to assist you.

And then his hand lifted up, more tears falling from your eyes as he wordlessly offered his help to achieve what you wanted to. Like he had been doing all this time. Once next to Mark, you instantly buried yourself into him, crying on his shoulder until you couldn’t anymore. He made no real effort to hold you, and you knew he couldn’t, not right now. All the same just knowing he let you cry on him, and cling to him was enough.

Eventually you looked up at him, realising just how exhausted he was.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so selfish and not listening to you.”

He started with a soft sigh. "You make me so mad right now, you know that?”

“Mm.”

“What am I going to do with you?” he then asked hesitantly, his hand finding yours, and his thumb was soon rubbing gentle circles over your skin. You smiled; you always liked it when he did that mindlessly.

“Well, I guess we need to find a way to compromise? I need to stop being so selfish and wanting to do it all. I just miss being me. I don’t feel like myself at all.”

Mark nodded slowly. “You are you, just a broken version. I’ll try harder to support you stretching forward to your freedom. Just, try to do more of that goal reaching when I’m around okay? I think I’m going to have a mental breakdown about leaving you alone for sometime now.”

“I’ll ask my Mum to come back so you don’t stress,” you assured, Mark looking over at you and searching your eyes to see if you meant it. You pulled a face, even though you knew he had every right to doubt you currently.

“We’re both a mess, huh? You want to do everything, and I’m tired from holding you captive in fear of losing you completely.”

You sat up, your eyes widening a little. “Where would I go?! I thought you’d leave me because I’m being so unreasonable.”

“Well, if I didn’t know how stubborn you were all this time, I would have been a blind fool.”

“I’m not that stubborn,” you retorted, shrinking back at the look Mark shot you immediately. “Okay so maybe I am. But you can be pretty controlling when you want to be too.”

“Let’s not find our faults, but look towards helping each other like we used to, okay?” You nodded slowly, wincing a little as the pain was becoming unbearable. Mark noticed. “What?”

“Do you think maybe we should go to the doctor?” you enquired quietly, diverting your eyes away from him.

Mark sighed. “Hurts, huh?”

“Accidents happen.”

“With you always,” he teased, getting to his feet and then helping you up. You instantly wrapped your arms around him then, resting your head over his chest. Mark soon enveloped you as well, and for a moment your leg was forgotten as you both made sure to let each other know just how needed you were.

And then you hissed in pain. Mark chuckled and picked you up. “Always carrying you around these days.”

“Practice for our wedding night?” you attempted, and the look he gave you then was one that you instantly imprinted into your mind, giggling a little at how the glint of life returned to his eyes. You didn’t realise it had been gone for so long, and how much you had missed it. You kissed him then, and Mark stopped moving, trying to balance you and his emotions at your sudden attack. You smiled happily when you pulled away. “Missed you.”

“Missed you more.”

“If that’s even possible, I missed you far more,” you continued and Mark rolled his eyes.

“Always a battle for who can end an argument huh? Weren’t we just angry with each other?”

“No, were we?” you feigned innocence and Mark smirked, grabbing his wallet and keys from the bench and then stepping out to lock the door.

“Maybe you’re not so broken after all.”

“Who even said I was?” you said with a laugh as he glanced down at you in his arms and then placed you in the car he had just opened.

“Life sure is interesting with you, Y/N. Can you promise me one thing?”

“Depends.”

Mark got into the car and then looked over at you, and then down at you leg. “No more breaking bones, okay?”

“I can’t make a promise to that, given how clumsy I am,” you admitted, but smiled anyway. “I hope to never do it again though, this is horrible.”

“But not the end of the earth, right?”

You shook your head, reaching over to pat his thigh lightly. “No, but it could be, if you don’t start driving soon.”

“Yes ma’am,” he said with a chuckle and soon a dramatic yelp left your mouth from the pain.

You were a funny type of person you thought in that moment. Lately you had faced so much pain and sorrow that you didn’t even know what laughter was, until you started again. Now you realised just how easy it had been to lift yourself out of your funk when you did. Accidents were always bound to happen in your life, but as long as you kept laughing and spending as much time as you could smiling at Mark, you were certain you could endure it all.

_________________

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*R.I.C.E is an at-home treatment used to recover from a sprain injury.

#Mark Tuan #got7 mark #got7 #got7 fiction #got7 scenario #got7 imagine #mark tuan fiction #mark tuan scenario #mark tuan imagine #prettywordsyouleft writes

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captainoftherollyjoger · 7 years ago

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Flight : Chapter 8

Chapter 8 and 9 out today! Arthur and Emma get their reunion, and we get some injured Killian, thanks to playing football (soccer).

Loving all the comic con stuffs!! Hope everyone is just as excited as me!

Enjoy!

Prologue : Chapter One : Chapter Two : Chapter Three : Chapter Four : Chapter Five : Chapter Six : Chapter Seven : Chapter Eight : Chapter Nine : Chapter Ten : Chapter Eleven : Epilogue

@thatwolfbookgirl, @followbatb, @kmomof4, @hollyethecurious

Killian unlocked the door, he spotted Emma on the couch working away, and walked to the counter. He threw his keys on the top and placed a bag of stuff on it. He spotted the advert and read it. Emma's doing. She wanted him to get into teaching. Even he had to admit he could do more. He loved Henry and caring for him but they were managing perfectly and he did want a bit more job satisfaction.

“Emma. What's this?” He came behind her on the couch and put his arms around her showing her the ad. “What have you been up to?”

“Come on, handsome. It's perfect. It will give you more of a purpose.” She leant back.

“I know, but-”

“It pays better.”

“I know-”

“And I know you get bored when he's asleep and I’m working.”

“Emma-”

“And I took the extra column.”

“Em-” He was shocked. “You did?! Swan that's great. Good for you.” He placed sloppy kisses to her cheek.

“Ew, stop it.” She giggled. “At least apply for the job. For me.”

“Fine. I will.”

A few days later, Killian arranged for Emma to meet Arthur.

“Hey, beautiful. I need you to come somewhere with me?” He smiled, taking her hand. She was just watching TV with Henry on her knee.

“Where?”

“It’s a surprise. Put Henry in his pram and we’ll go.” She was having a lazy morning and was still in pyjamas. He had been out already that morning for a jog with Roger. She had stayed in bed until he returned. “You in a lazy mood?” He snuggled her neck.

“Yeah, do we have to go out?”

“It’ll be worth it. I promise. Go and have a shower and change. I’ll look after Henry.”

They were walking through the park, Killian pushing the pram, holding Emma's hand. They chatted about his application, but he hadn't heard anything yet. Then the surprise was unveiled.

Arthur was sitting on a bench with his wife. Emma couldn't believe her eyes, neither could he.

“Emma!” He got up and ran over to hug her. “It's really you!”

“Oh my God! Arthur! What are you doing here?”

“I moved back here a few years ago. Killian talked about you at the lads night and we wanted to surprise you.” They were holding each other's arms.

“How are you?” She beamed. “I can't believe it.”

They walked off together, discussing the events of their lives since they last met. Killian and Gwen took Henry to the park knowing they would be gone a while.

“I have never seen Arthur so excited. They must have been close.” Smiled Gwen.

“Aye, I think they were. Emma didn't really have many friends in New York. Arthur and August were the rare exception.”

“She seems to have a type.” Laughed Gwen. “You all look similar.”

“I don't think her and Arthur ever-”

“I know. I didn't mean it like that. I meant she just seems to befriend that type.” She laughed.

“I’m glad she's making friends. It might give her more reason to stay. Especially now August and Arthur are here.”

It turned out August and Arthur had met previously and were also reunited, as August had gone for a walk himself.

That day Emma was carefree. She seemed more open with Killian and flirty, she seemed to appreciate England more and more. He hoped she would stay, but he knew it was a long shot.

The week went quite normally. Emma was now writing five columns, but she was still quite ahead of her work. Killian had applied for the teacher's job and was waiting for his interview day. Which he was nervous for. There was lots of talk about the local seven aside match which was a new local event. The team had to consist of at least two women, and a child under twelve. Robin had been selected to go in goal. Elsa and Emma were the women with Regina as a sub, James was the child, and Will, Arthur and Liam were the rest. Killian was a sub for them, but August claimed he was good at football. His injuries prevented him from getting Killian's spot. Jefferson and David were on a different team.

They were all at the local five a side club which had a number of pitches. Killian was looking after Henry at the sidelines. The first match went well. Emma was playing great as was James. Robin was saving loads of goals and the atmosphere was full of laughter. They won the first of five matches 3-1. Their second match was just as successful with Emma scoring 2 goals, and the result being 4-0. They were against a team of lesser quality than themselves, and of less competitiveness.

Their third match they played against Jefferson and David's team. They drew 2-2.

At lunch they all sat on the grass eating sandwiches.

“Dad, did you see Emma's goal? It was amazing!” Grinned James. “She’s better than all of you.”

Emma was flattered. “Not as good as yours. Scoring against Jefferson.”

Will was looking tired. He offered for Killian to take his place which he accepted. Regina was watching with Roland and Ellie and agreed to watch Henry.

It was time for their next match. The other team was tiring, which they used to their advantage, especially with Killian's fresh legs.

“Emma! Pass!” He shouted. She crossed it over to him and he scored.

“Yes!” Cheered James. “Good one, uncle!

“Not bad after all, am I?” He teased Liam.

The match went on, and they won 4-1. Liam had scored, as had Elsa. Killian had scored his second.

It was their last match and they were against a good team. They would have to work hard to win this one.

“Right. Robin, save the goals. That big guy kicks them hard and I've seen him play dirty. James stay out of his way. I don't want a flat son, or for you to get injured before your big game.” He nodded.

“Emma stay up front, Killian in the middle. Let's do this.” Said Liam. They ran onto the pitch. The whistle blew.

It started well for them. Liam got in an early goal. Robin nearly lost his head from a shot, but it missed. Emma got a goal in and they were 2-0 up. The big guy on the other team was getting annoyed. An over competitive dad for sure, with an even worse son. His son hit James. The ref blew his whistle.

“Hey! What do you think you're doing?” Shouted Liam to the boy. His dad squared up to Liam.

“Leave my kid alone.”

“Not when he punches my kid.” James was claiming he was fine and to get on with it. The ref sent the other boy off for poor sportsmanship.

The game continued on and James scored a goal. The other team got one in against Robin.

Killian was on the run for a goal, he slipped past the defenders until he felt an almighty force hit his calf and his ankle buckled under him. He went down in pain.

“Killian!” Shouted Emma.

The ref's whistle went again.

“Get off!” He shouted. Killian had been kicked in the leg by the dad. “You’re an awful example to the kids.”

Killian was screaming in pain. Emma ran over to him, he told her to stay away. He was holding his leg and shouting.

“Don't touch me!”

The medical crew came on. It wasn't a bone injury but a flesh wound. The dad's studs had taken a chunk of his flesh away.

“He's sprained his ankle too.” Said one of the medics.

“I’m fine. Stop touching me.” He cried.

Everyone was crowded around him. Emma was next to him supporting his head.

“Shhh. They're doing their job.” She told him. He was sweating in pain. “You’ll be fine. Stop being a baby.” she stroked his forehead.

They took him into an ambulance and took him to A&E. He went for an X-ray. Nothing was broken. They wrapped up his leg and sent him home.

The rest had stayed to carry on. Will was back playing. He'd told them to carry on, as they had a good chance of winning.

They had. They had all received a medal and Emma took Killian's on his behalf. They won the gold and had a picture taken as a group, without Killian.

Emma picked him up from the hospital, whilst Elsa and Liam babysat. He had to have crutches for a week though he insisted he was fine. His leg was bandaged up which was revealed by his shorts.

“Hey, you.” Smiled Emma, kissing him. “We won.” She gave him a hug. “Anything serious?”

“No, just these for a week. I can feel it now though.” He smiled weakly. He looked tired. “I have a pretty nasty wound which is probably going to scar they told me.”

“Not the end of the world. Come on, let's get you home. Henry misses you.” She helped him into the car and kissed his head.

Emma realised pretty quickly that injured Killian, was annoying Killian. He refused to let her do anything for him and kept limping about on his leg, without his crutches.

“You’re supposed to use them for a reason.” She put his arm around her and took him to the couch. She sat him down and lifted his leg up. “Just rest.”

She walked to the kitchen to make him a drink and he was back next to her. She sighed at him. He insisted on making his own drink and took the juice off her.

“I’m not an invalid.” He moaned. “I can make myself a drink.” He was also grumpy with the pain.

“Just let me look after you.” She took the juice back off him. “Go and sit down.”

“Emma. I'm not a child.” He moaned.

“I know. But you're injured.” She took hold of him again and walked him back to the couch. “Sit there.” She put his leg back up and sat him back. He pulled her onto his knee.

“Why don't I show you just how well I am?” He whispered against her hair. His mood was all over the place. “Come on, Emma. For being so brave.”

“No.” She tried to pull herself up but he had hold of her waist. “Let me go.”

“But I really want you. If you want to do something for me, do this.” He smirked.

“No, you need to rest.” She removed his hands and got up.

“Emmmmma.” He whined. He pouted at her.

“You’re worse than Henry. Sit down and shut up. What do you want for dinner?”

“It’s my turn to cook tonight.”

“This is an exception. What do you want?” She put her hands on her hips.

His voice went low. “You look good I must say. All authoritative with a commanding voice. Chills.” He was being pathetic.

“Killian. Stop being....”

“What?”

“Nothing.” She walked away from him and started dinner. Henry was asleep, exhausted with all the excitement.

She was halfway through dinner when she felt Killian press himself into her and his arms hugged tight.

“I’m sorry.” He kissed her collarbone. “I've been annoying. Forgive me.” She tried not to smile, but he was too adorable.

“How can I? You're still walking around on your leg.” She didn't react to him.

“I don't like being useless.”

“You're not. You're just hurt. You need to recover. Go and sit on the couch, I’ll bring dinner over and then we’ll watch a film. Okay? If you want to do something feed Henry.” She felt him nod. She watched him move to the couch over the counter, feeling sorry for himself. He looked like a kicked puppy. Henry was sitting in his play pen near window and Roger was watching him. Killian picked Henry up who screamed, he was in the middle of throwing some blocks and wasn't happy to be disturbed. He refused to drink the bottle and kept crying.

“Hey, come on. It's just milk.” Henry pushed it away. “What's up with you?” He bounced him up and down. He still kept crying.

“I think he was enjoying playing.” Laughed Emma, walking over with the plates. “Maybe he isn't hungry yet.” She took him and put him back in his play pen where he calmed down and grabbed his block.

“No one seems to want me.” He put his plate on a cushion and pushed around his peas.

“Killian. Stop feeling sorry for yourself.” She turned on the TV and they watched a film on BBC1. She had cleared away the plates and fed the dog and Henry. Killian was sulking on the couch, his leg causing him quite a lot of pain. Emma was bathing Henry and putting him to bed.

“Killian, the water's still warm! I've topped it up for you. Don't get your leg wet!” He heard Emma call. Killian sighed and got up. He used his crutches to get to the bathroom, the bath was full of toys Henry had played with. He took them out and added some extra bubbles and got in with his leg dangling out. He sighed and rested his head back.

“Room for one more?” He heard her ask. He opened an eye and nodded. She carefully climbed in avoiding to wet his leg. She leant back on him and smiled. “This is the life, hmm?” She tried to make little conversation. He was down in the dumps, Henry hadn't wanted him. Emma had been busy.

“Aye.”

“It’s not for long, babe.” She took his hand and squeezed it. He'd stayed quiet the rest of the time.

They went to bed early. He had been quite quiet, clearly in a lot of pain. Emma spooned him until he fell asleep then rolled over to her side. She hoped his mood would improve slightly by the morning, but understood his frustration.

When she woke he was fast asleep. It was 08:30, she heard Henry making noises down the monitor, he was awake and bored. Killian was facing away from her and tucked under the quilt, all she could see was his thick black hair just above the covers. She cuddled into him and kissed his shoulder. She was careful not to hit his leg, which she would also have to change the bandage on and clean. She dozed for ten minutes and heard Henry getting more impatient. She got him from the bedroom and fed him and the dog. She read Henry a book, and he was giggling. “Keeyee.”

“You want Killian? I know, he's better at this than me.” She laughed. She walked to the bedroom, he was still fast asleep. She placed Henry by his side and he pulled himself up using Killian's shoulder. “Keeyee.” He giggled. He tapped him on the head. Killian stirred and smiled when he saw the little boy holding into him.

“Hello, you.” He turned carefully and pulled the boy onto his chest. “Speaking to me today, are we?” He picked him up and blew a raspberry on his stomach. Henry's laughed filled the room. He did it again.

“How's your leg?” Asked Emma, lying on top of the covers.

“Achy.”

“I need to sort it for you. Clean it up a bit. What about your ankle?” She was leant above him and playing with his hair.

“Also achy.” Henry stood on his chest and supported himself on Killian's face. “He's liking standing now, isn't he?” He smiled. His eyes were full of love for him, and pride.

“Yeah, I guess he is. Won't be soon before he's running about and talking.” She smiled.

“I guess I’ll have to wait and see if I experience that.” It was a slight dig. She knew. But she wasn't getting into that.

They heard Roger sit by the door.

“Oggy!”

“He must want a walk, I’ll take him. You stay here with Henry.” She smiled, kissing them both. “I’ll take him for a short one and then maybe later we can give you some fresh air.”

On her walk she bumped into David and Mary Margaret. They had only met once or twice, but Mary Margaret was extremely welcoming.

“Hey, Emma. We have a girls night soon, would you like to come?”

“If Killian's well enough, it would be nice.” She smiled.

“Oh. I heard about his accident. Is he okay?”

“A bit grumpy last night, but yeah he's getting better.”

“Well, it's on Saturday. No kids allowed, apart from this one.” She smiled. She wasn't showing yet.

“Sounds delightful. I’ll make sure Killian will babysit.”

Emma returned, she let Roger outside who went and sat in his pool. The days were still quite warm but Autumn would soon arrive. She went to their room and found Henry and Killian asleep cuddled up together. She took a quick photo and smiled. It was a good time to do some work whilst neither of them were mithering.

She got a lot of work done as they fell asleep for another two hours. That made her feel better about the new workload. Graham told her everyone was still loving the columns, especially her combination of stories about the different people now in her life. The one about her being reunited with Arthur had been released.

“Emma!” He called. Her peaceful time was over. She went to the bedroom, he was sitting up with Henry. “Love, I’m afraid I can't carry him with my crutches.” She smiled and picked the baby up. She passed his crutches to him and they went to the kitchen table. It was eleven, he checked his phone for any emails about an interview. Nothing. It was a Sunday though. He started flicking through a newspaper.

“Coffee and toast?” Offered Emma. He nodded and smiled. He noticed a red circle on a job advertisement. A job advertisement for writers. “Swan? What's this?” He asked.

“I… I was just looking. You know, in case there was something I fancied. It's not a promise though. I still haven't decided if I want to permanently move here.” She sat opposite him with her own breakfast. “It just caught my eye.”

“A columnist for the newspaper?”

“It doesn't pay as well though and it's less hours. It's only two a week.”

“There will be other jobs.” He was trying to hide his smile. It wasn't a definite that she was staying, but it was certainly a step in the right direction.

“Don't look too happy. I’m just thinking about it.” She sipped her coffee, but she knew he was staring at her.

#cs ff #flight cs fanfic #captain swan #killian jones #emma swan #captain swan ff #cs fluff #captain cobra

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lpdwillwrite4coffee · 5 years ago

Text

BLOODY SUNRISE CHAPTER THREE

“Hand me that gauze, honey.” A man’s voice said, faint like he was at the end of a tunnel.

“Is she gonna be okay, Mama?”

“We’re gonna help her as best we can,” a woman answered the child. “Just stay over there, alright?”

Like rising from a thick patch of mud, Caitlin slowly came back to her body. Her breathing was tight, someone was holding her arm, something scratched her left temple… But she was alive.

Blinking took a lot of effort, lids heavy, and the opportunity to slip into unconsciousness all too appealing. But Caitlin forced her eyes open.

“Wh…at,” she rasped.

The silhouette of a man leaned closer, and she could just make out the brown curls over his forehead. “Hey,” he soothed. “Don’t worry, we’re getting you patched up.”

Caitlin closed her eyes and struggled to open them again. “Where… am I?”

“We brought you inside,” the same woman said, but Caitlin couldn’t see her. “You’re safe here.”

Shifting her head on what she realized was a throw pillow, Caitlin nearly started crying.

Safe. She was finally safe.

Sleep took her then—real, healing sleep.

When she came to again, she was covered with a throw blanket and a water bottle was next to her on the end table.

The house was anything but quiet though. Voices, adult and children alike, filled the home. Pockets of conversation bumped against others as they filtered through the air—some discussing food, some playing with dolls, some asking about supply rations.

Caitlin tried to sit up and yelped, ribs refusing to yield.

“Oh, hey, hold on,” a younger man called, standing up. “Jeremy, she’s awake!”

Glancing around, Caitlin tried to follow who he was talking to. “Who?”

Several people emerged from the kitchen, and she recognized the brown curly hair on Jeremy. The woman looked familiar as well, and Caitlin guessed she was the one on the porch.

“Hold on, don’t try to sit up yet,” Jeremy told her. “We had to tape your ribs up and you’re gonna be sore for a while.”

Caitlin swallowed dryly. “Can I…”

“Here honey,” the woman said, unscrewing the cap on the water bottle and kneeling at her head. “I’ll help you.”

The woman tilted Caitlin forward just enough to drink comfortably, and she guzzled the water.

When she finished, Caitlin asked, “What’s your name?”

“I’m Hannah,” she said with a smile. “And you are?”

“Caitlin.” She leaned back on the pillows, looking around. “Is this your house?”

Hannah nodded. “Can you tell us what happened, Caitlin?”

She inhaled as deeply as her injuries would allow. “I… I was flying out of Atlanta. And just after take-off… Something… Our engines exploded and…” She steadied herself. “We crashed. But nobody came. I must’ve been unconscious for a while, ‘cause when I woke up it was almost dark.”

The younger man—barely out of his teens, she could see now—glanced at Jeremy, expression grim. “We saw that plane go down. When dad and I were leaving school.”

“They said they were grounding planes, but we didn’t know they’d shoot them down.”

Caitlin shook her head, confused. “Wait, shoot them down? Who’s they?”

Hannah reached for her hand. “The National Guard. They put this area in a state of emergency after the outbreak.”

Outbreak. They must’ve been talking about…

“Those things,” Caitlin mumbled, voice hollow. “Those…”

“Geeks.”

The little boy behind Hannah piped up, craning his neck to look around his mother.

Hannah turned to shush him. “Josh—”

“But Mama…”

Caitlin smiled faintly at him. “Where’d you get ‘Geeks’ from?”

The little boy got up, running to a bookshelf and coming back with a comic in his hands. “It’s from this.”

“He’s always been into monsters,” Hannah said. “I still think he’s too young, but Jeremy tells me I’m being overprotective.”

It clicked for Caitlin finally. Jeremy and Hannah were married, and Josh was their little boy. The others were friends, neighbors, relatives.

Jeremy was pulling out a stethoscope to listen to Caitlin’s chest as he said, “I read stuff like that when I was his age. I turned out alright.”

Watching him, Caitlin furrowed her brow. “Are you a doctor?”

“ICU nurse,” Jeremy told her. “You picked the right neighborhood to stumble into.”

Caitlin nodded, breathing out a harsh laugh. “Tell me about it.”

After listening to her heart and lungs, and seeming satisfied with what he heard, Jeremy took the stethoscope off and smiled reassuringly. “Everything sounds okay. We checked your blood pressure while you were asleep, and from what I can tell you don’t have any internal injuries. Just these broken ribs and sprained ankle and that cut on your head.” He patted her arm gently. “You have no idea how lucky you are. Surviving a plane crash and walking away like that.”

“No, I really do,” she told him.

Others started to pass by, curious about the newcomer but trying not to intrude too much. Hannah gave another woman a nod and then looked to Caitlin.

“We should get you something to eat,” she said. “And I think I have some pain killers left over from my back surgery last year. I’ll go dig those out.” Standing, she called to her son. “Josh, leave her be, okay?”

“No, it’s okay,” Caitlin hurried to say. “I… I appreciate the company.”

With an agreeable sound, Hannah glanced at Josh and said, “Don’t be a pest, okay?”

“Okay Mama,” Josh called as she walked away.

Looking up at Caitlin, he offered her the comic in his hands— a popular series that had gained a following. She’d seen them in bookstores before but never thought to read them herself.

“Wanna take a look?” Josh opened it up for her. “See? It even shows you how to kill Geeks and what happens if you get bit.”

Flashes of the scene in the gas station flickered behind her eyes. She already knew what happened when someone was bitten…

“Thanks,” she told him weakly. “Wanna read it to me?”

Settling against the pillows, she pulled the blanket up higher as Josh curled up against the side of the couch, making sure she could see the panels as he read.

A little while later, Hannah brought her a peanut butter sandwich and more water. She also handed Caitlin the bottle of prescription painkillers with a nod. No one blinked twice at her taking two with her sandwich.

Caitlin drifted off to sleep again, lulled by the hum of the group and Josh’s reading.

***

The next morning, Jeremy helped her move around a bit, acting as her crutch as she hobbled the length of the living room and back. Once she seemed steady enough on her feet, Hannah and another woman—Jessica—helped her upstairs to use the shower. It was kind of an awkward shuffle, trying to keep herself covered while they assisted her, until Caitlin finally threw her hands up and said, ‘Screw it. The world is ending, who cares if you see my ass.’

They all had a laugh at that.

Caitlin was given fresh clothes to wear while hers were being washed and Hannah helped re-tape her ribs.

“Thank you,” Caitlin murmured as the other woman adjusted her bandaging. “Your whole group has been so generous. I’m sorry I don’t have anything to give you in return.”

Hannah waved her hand dismissively. “It’s not a trade. You were in need and we could provide. And we’re happy to do it.”

Over the course of the day, Caitlin learned more about what happened in Atlanta. The virus outbreak had been an accident—the escaped patients the papers were talking about were actually test subjects. But something had gone wrong according to Hal, the ex-radio host in the group. He’d heard the reports of a deadly virus and that they were going to quarantine the whole city and had bolted to get his son, the younger man Caitlin had seen before, from college. The whole neighborhood had come together, deciding to wait for news together.

All the television stations looped the same messages over and over.

Stay away from the city. Stay inside. Do not approach infected individuals. If you’re bitten, please seek medical care immediately.

Jeremy had scoffed at the last part.

“There’s no cure,” he said, turning the television off. “We had five people come into the hospital on Thursday, all of them infected. And you know what happened? They bit more people. Five turned into ten turned into twenty-five in less than two days.”

Caitlin adjusted her leg propped up on the coffee table. “When did those patients—test subjects, get out?”

“A week before they started reporting it. Apparently, the lab was in the government’s pocket. They were trying to keep it all quiet, but…” He crossed his arms. “See how well that worked out, huh?”

“By the time people were starting to notice things were bad, it was too late,” Hannah commented. “Now we just gotta wait and see what happens.”

“I still say we should pack up and bug out,” another man said from the corner.

“Carl, we talked about this,” Jeremy started. “We’ve gotta wait for the evacuation plans, otherwise we won’t know where to go.”

Carl, in his tattered ball cap and hunter green Carhartt, scowled and shook his head. “Gunna trust the same people that shot that poor girl’s plane down?”

Jeremy didn’t have an argument articulated, but he looked frustrated with Carl’s side.

“Atlanta’s too close,” Carl continued. “We saw five of those freaks on our last run to get propane for the generators.” He looked to Caitlin then, asking, “Miss? You saw them, didn’t you?”

Caitlin nodded, trying not to think about the grotesque monster that had chased her.

“Can I ask where you were?”

“I’m not sure how far…” She frowned, glancing out the window. “It was a gas station. A Citgo.”

Carl seemed to know the one she was talking about. “That’s less than three miles from here. It’s too close, Jeremy.”

“It’s dangerous on the road too,” Jessica interjected. “If we leave, we’re putting ourselves at risk. At least here we have water, food, electricity—”

“How long you think that’s gonna last?” Carl leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees. “I’m not saying we gotta head out this second. But we need to start thinking about a plan of our own. We can’t rely on anyone else tellin’ us what to do or where to go. And those things are spreading out, far and wide.”

Hannah stepped up. “I happen to agree with Carl,” she said.

Jeremy cast her a shocked stare, but she continued before he could interrupt her.

“I’m not saying we should leave today, or even tomorrow, but we need to start planning. We have enough food to last us a while, and our water and electricity haven’t been cut, but we can’t take those as givens. We need a Plan B. I think if we put our heads together, we can figure out something that keeps us all safe.”

After a moment of thought, Jeremy nodded. “Alright. I guess over dinner we’ll look at some maps. Try to get organized.”

Josh and two other children jogged through the living room, grabbing a few board games and taking them into the dining room. A flash of innocent optimism amid the horrors around them.

The rest of the afternoon, Caitlin floated on a painkiller high, drifting in and out of short naps. When she was lucid she played cards with Josh and the other kids, keeping them entertained as best as she could from the couch. Some of the other women whose names she hadn’t yet learned would stop by to chat or offer her extra pillows. Their kindness still overwhelmed her.

That night, Carl spotted the first Geek trudging down the street towards the house. It took several shots to put the creature down, but finally he landed a bullet in its skull and the thing fell with a sickening thud.

“Coming closer,” he muttered on his way back inside. “Told y’all.”

No one slept well that night. Not even Caitlin, despite still being doped up on borrowed meds.

The illusions of safety were starting to wane.

***

Two days came and went with little excitement. Caitlin did her best to help where she could, which usually meant watching after the kids while they played in the living room or occasionally on the porch. Jeremy wanted her to get some sunlight and fresh air, and she couldn’t argue.

She helped Jessica and another woman fold laundry, dried the dishes as long as she could sit while she did it, and answered as many questions as they had about her life in New York.

Even as a zombie virus was taking over, she was still a big city girl living a glamourous life in their eyes. It was endearing and helped her focus on the positive.

She’d make her way back somehow. She’d see her friends again. She’d find her loved ones.

Over dinner the group hatched a plan. They would start stockpiling supplies, consolidate their essentials, and in a couple days they’d begin scouting for a route out. Being just outside the city, they knew it was only a matter of time before things got worse.

Caitlin went to sleep listening to Carl and a couple of the other men discuss who should focus on what task. She barely remembered Josh coming by to tell her goodnight and leaving another comic with her in case she wanted to read it.

Someone jerked her awake, violently yanking her.

“Caitlin, Caitlin get up.”

Hannah, it was Hannah’s voice…

Bleary eyed, Caitlin tried to focus. “What… What’s happening?”

“We gotta go,” Hannah told her, pulling her up. “There’s… God, there’s so many of them, c’mon.”

“What?”

“A whole group of those zombies are coming this way,” Hannah explained, getting Caitlin to her feet. “There’s gotta be a hundred of them. Come on.”

The house had erupted into chaos. People were running, yelling for each other—orders and directions as to who should go where. She could only catch snippets.

“… Don’t have enough guns…”

“… The street is blocked, what do we…”

“…Keep calm, head upstairs…”

Caitlin whipped her head around, trying to tell them not to go upstairs, they’ll get themselves trapped, but Hannah was hauling her through the living room and into the kitchen.

“Hannah, I can help—”

Hannah shook her head. “Honey, you’re still too hurt,” she said. “Jeremy told me to get you somewhere safe while we figure this all out.”

“Where…” Caitlin was too dizzy from the painkillers, too rattled by the terror flooding her system, to understand where Hannah was taking her until the door swung open and she was being led down a small flight of stairs.

“It’s gonna be a little uncomfortable for a while,” Hannah told her, pulling a chain and turning on a light. “But it won’t be for long. At least you’ll be out of harm’s way.”

“But, Hannah…”

“It’s okay,” she told her, rubbing her arm comfortingly.

The fear in Hannah’s eyes told a different story.

Leading Caitlin to a crate, she helped her sit, and made sure she was steady before turning back towards the stairs.

“Hannah, what about Josh? The others?”

She was running up the staircase as she called, “They’re okay, they’re upstairs in the bedroom.”

“No, Hannah, that’s—”

The door slammed shut, cutting her off.

Minutes later the first gunshots rang out.

Glass shattered somewhere above her, and someone screamed.

More gun fire.

The heavy footsteps of a mob trampling through the living room.

The screaming didn’t stop.

In a panic, Caitlin searched the dimly lit basement for something to wedge under the doorknob, settling for a broken shelf painted with little toy cars.

Josh’s.

It was agony, but she carried the shelf up the few stairs and lodged it securely. All while sounds of carnage clawed at her ear drums.

Inhuman groans and snarls. People screaming as they were being attacked. Useless gunshots that could never bring down a herd that large.

Something hit the basement door and she covered her mouth to stifle her gasp. As silently as she could, she went back down the stairs and cowered in the corner, wrapping her arms around herself tightly.

All she could do was wait. Wait and listen, as people she’d begun to truly care for were torn apart.

Eventually, the screaming stopped.

But the other noises… lumbering gaits, scuffling along hardwood, wet smacking… It all painted a horrific picture Caitlin didn’t know how to accept.

They’d been okay. They were going to get to safety in just a few days. They’d made plans, started gathering up things they needed…

She covered her mouth and cried.

Josh had just told her he wanted to read her another comic he liked— a superhero one she’d never heard of. They were going to read it outside, on the porch, in the sunshine.

Her sobs wracked her broken ribcage, but she stayed silent.

Hannah… Jeremy… Jessica… Hal… Carl… Everyone…

Maybe some of them escaped, she thought, staring at the halo of light on the floor cast by the light bulb. Maybe they’d managed to get to one of the SUVs. Maybe…

Something dripped onto the concrete a few feet in front of her. Viscous and red…

Blood was seeping between the floorboards over her head.

Her tears stopped as she went ice cold. Pulling her knees to her chest, ignoring the burn in her sides, she watched in a catatonic daze as the small droplets became a small puddle, and then a pool of blood.

The monsters above continued to feast.

***

Time didn’t feel like a tangible thing anymore. She didn’t know if it was day or night. If she’d been there for hours or days. Weeks? Had she died without realizing it?

Did ghosts haunt a broken world?

The first clue that maybe she’d survived was the pain in her legs and ribcage.

She had to stretch out, rub the soreness from her joints.

Ghosts didn’t feel pain, did they?

When her bladder begged for relief, she took that as another sign of life.

Afterwards, she paced quietly, staring up at the barricaded door. The sounds of Geeks moving about in the house had long since faded, but she couldn’t bring herself to go up there.

She was in the basement of a death house now.

Something rattled in her pocket and Caitlin fished out the bottle she’d forgotten she’d tucked away.

A handful remained. Enough to keep her comfortable for a few more days.

Or enough to put her to sleep permanently.

With trembling hands, she placed the bottle on a nearby tool rack and backed away. She never dropped her gaze, even as she lowered herself to the ground again.

A decision to be made, she figured. But not right now. Not yet.

Leaning back, she pressed the back of her head to the cold cinderblock and closed her eyes.

***

The few cans of food she’d found with pop tops lasted her several days. She didn’t want to eat much to begin with, and the cold beans and Spam didn’t entice her appetite any.

The pool of blood had congealed and was starting to smell, putting her off even more.

Every time she took a bite, she stared at the pill bottle.

Life or death.

Survive or let go.

The plane crash. The gas station Geek. The broken ribs taped up by a nurse who was now rotting upstairs somewhere.

What was left for her? Where did she go from here?

It wasn’t the first time she’d thought those things, only her past hadn’t included things like a zombie virus and apocalyptic conditions. No, her past had been brutal and not at all unique.

Divorced parents. An abusive stepfather. Years of therapy. Jagged wounds barely hidden by her over-achieving tendencies and intimacy issues.

The world she’d learned to traverse before was nothing like the world she faced now.

She stared the pill bottle down like a challenge.

She’d decide what to do in the morning.

***

Caitlin woke up with a raw throat that burned like she’d been screaming in her sleep.

Maybe she had been.

But at least she’d made up her mind.

Snatching the pill bottle off the shelf, she tucked it into her pocket and dragged herself up the stairs. Pushing the barricade out of the way, she took several deep breaths before covering her nose and mouth and opening the door.

Flies buzzed all around, and the stench made her eyes water.

She couldn’t look away though. She wouldn’t hide from the horror they endured.

Some of the bodies she recognized. Jessica… Hal…

Some were too decomposed. Some were barely bodies at all, so gnawed on they were little more than bones and greasy sinew.

As she walked through the kitchen, she spotted Carl’s tattered ball cap dropped on the floor. None of the bodies near it looked like him though.

She kicked a few game board pieces as she entered the living room and her heart sank into her hollow gut. If the children had survived, she would have heard them.

The comic Josh had left out for her was now torn and scattered in a gelatinous pool of blood and fluid.

She was standing in a graveyard.

Forward, she thought. Keep going. Survive.

On numb legs, she wandered into the laundry room, finding the clothes Hannah had washed for her. She took a few extra pairs of socks and clean underwear in her size and stuffed them into a plastic grocery bag. It would be the only thing she took from the home that had sheltered her. From the family that had taken her in and perished.

Walking back into the living room, she forced herself to look at each remaining body. They’d been kind, generous with her when she had nothing, and she’d been unable to protect them. The least she could do was honor the tragedy of their deaths.

Checking that the street was empty, she opened the door that barely hung on its hinges and left.

***

One of the houses a street over was safe and out of the way and untouched by the numbers of Geeks that had trampled through.

There Caitlin found a large backpack, and enough supplies to last her for a while. Food, bottles of water, aspirin for the pain. She kept the prescription bottle but didn’t plan on using it unless absolutely necessary. She was heading out into unknown territory and needed to be sharp. She couldn’t afford to be doped up and loopy now.

Packing everything she could find, she tested the weight of her bag and decided it was just light enough not to hurt her too much. Caitlin didn’t know how long broken ribs took to heal, but her chest didn’t scream with agony every time she moved, so she guessed she was improving.

Going into the kitchen, she found a steak knife she could easily tuck into the side pocket of her backpack and drank a full bottle of water before heading for the door.

She only had one plan now—Get away from Atlanta, get out of Georgia, find her way back to New York.

Keep going.

Survive.

Survive for those who didn’t.

#Bloody Sunrise #free fiction #free novels for pandemic times #my writing #ZA romance #zombie apocalypse romance

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