#i’m gonna start carrying hand sanitizer with me Everywhere just to be safe

[mars-ipan]

it is crazy how much more fragile you feel when you become immunocompromised

[squishytenya]

Bakugou, Iida + Midoriya x Reader That Wears Glasses HCs

For the amazing @red-riot-rat​, I hope you like them because I posted them on entirely the wrong blog and wanted to cry. Have fun!

Request - ‘so what if about hc with Bakugou, Iida, and Midoriya with an s/o who wears glasses and always loses them? my eye sight is so bad that without being a foot away i cant see anything i swear... thank you!

Bakugou:

This dumb bitch keeps glasses wipes in his pocket for you that just conveniently end up in your hand whenever you complain about your glasses being dirty

He is more annoyed by the dirt than you are and will fully remove your glasses just to clean them

Or you’re gonna get a packet of wipes launched at your head either one

Katsuki is painfully aware of how much you lose your glasses so he tries to convince you to let him carry around your spare pair or at least some contacts

‘Why? Because your dumb-ass keeps losing them that’s why’

Solidly he’s one more loss away from sticking a tracker on those things

He’s is oddly good at locating them though so he’s the first to know if you ever lose them

Searches for them but lowkey pretends not to be so he’s just wondering around the room for no reason and coincidentally finds the glasses you had just lost

Bakugou is so freaking loud and spikey that, even without your glasses, you know it’s him

Lowey thinks they make you look cute so tries to get you to wear them more than alternatives like contacts

‘You’re gonna scratch your eye out idiot, just wear your glasses’

And then a mumbled ‘You look cute either way’

Will deny this if you question him 

If he’s not calling you babe or some shit he will definitely have a nickname based around your glasses

Teases you but is also very conscious of how you feel about them

If he sees anyone taking the piss you bet this boy is about to deck someone and then compliment you 

‘They have no taste anyway, you look great in your glasses, dumbasses don’t know what they’re talking about’

If you forget your glasses in class you bet he’s gonna take notes to give you later because he knew you couldn’t see the front of the room

Iida:

He is so soft, he loves the fact you guys match so much but he is super bashful if you ever bring this up to him

Like Bakugou, he just has a glasses cloth on him at all times because of his glasses and they’re probably embroidered with his initials because he’s Tenya

So when you first start dating he will fully buy you a glasses cloth and embroider your initials too so you match (ouch i’m hurting my own heart)

Lectures you about losing them all the time but in a sweet way

‘I don’t need you hurting yourself my love, it is imperative you keep them safe’

After the third time he saw you lose them after you began dating he simply asked you for your prescription and bought you 3 new pairs 

One of which he carries with him everywhere so he can give it to you while you look for the ones you just lost

Sweet boy likes to kiss above your eyebrows or your cheek just below your glasses as a reminder that you look cute in them

He also tries to get you to wear a glasses chain no matter how much you tell him people will tease you about it

Tenya just wants you to be able to see, he doesn’t care what other people think

If he sees you looking for your glasses and they’re on your head he will drop them down onto your face without even looking up from what he was doing

Has a sixth sense for where they are, he doesn’t even get up and look like Katsuki or Izuku, he just knows

‘Are they on your desk?’ and boom there they are wow

He always makes you remove them before cuddles and, if you convince him to sleep over, will always put them in a place you can see them when you wake up

Sanitizes them for you while you sleep/are doing things because

 ‘Dust is harmful to your eyes and you should be more careful Y/n, you could hurt them and then i wouldn’t get to look at-’

And then flushes bright red because he hadn’t told you the main reason he liked your glasses so much is because it makes your eyes clearer for him to look at 

Wow will there ever be a time I don’t simp for Iida Tenya

Midoriya:

He would be so sweet about you losing them! Fully offers to help look for them, but shyly because he doesn’t know if you can actually see him or not

Lowkey sucks at finding them because he’s too busy staring at the way your nose scrunches up so cutely when you’re squinting

It does not matter how long you have been dating cause he still does it even over a year into your relationship

While he doesn't keep wipes or a cloth on him, he always offers to clean your glasses on his sleeve for you whenever he notices the dirt annoying you

Makes sure to clean them thoroughly and even asks you to breath on them so he can get them even cleaner

Boops your nose to push your glasses up just saying

He is the type to accidentally kiss your glasses instead of your head or cheek but he always goes bright red and apologises after so it’s fine

If they fall off your face a lot he develops a reflex around you so he can catch them before they hit the ground

Oh my god he probably lists a bunch of heroes that have glasses if you ever think they stop your chances of being a hero and even asks if you can get special goggles made that function as lenses

Has came up behind you several times and back hugged you when you didn’t have them on which has earned him more than a few elbows to the stomach

‘No no its fine Y/n, I shouldn’t have surprised you without your glasses’

Says this while he’s wheezing on the floor

Uses his little notebook to list places you seem to lose your glasses the most and checks them when he’s not with you to see if you’ve lost them

He never keeps a spare pair on him but he will encourage you too keep it in the same place in case you ever lose them and nobody can help you find them

It is not an uncommon sight for your classmates to see you squinting while being led around by Izuku, who’s fretting over not letting you trip

He offers piggy backs when you can’t find them because he is too nervous to let you walk around alone

‘Y/n you could trip over something, let me!’

I know it’s july but this is adorable, Requests are open btw!

Hope you guys like it because i had to type it out twice and now have to do the tags asjkajakdj

[apex-academy]

Chapter 5: Caring Is a Hazard to Your Health (#18)

The second round begins. Or the second... whatever. I don’t pay attention to bracket terms, I just play when they tell me to play.

Not much point in switching horses mid-stream, so I stick with the blob knight vampire guy. Yuki takes the big-eyed pink thing again. And apparently the other half of us don’t care for that strategy, because Ichiriki goes for Pikachu—yes, I actually recognized that one, shut up—and Kanagi switches to some ripped martial arts guy. 

Aidan picks out another stage. I vaguely wonder if he let himself lose, since he’s the one who’s actually played this thing before. But I guess it’s harder to work the controller at a competitive speed one-handed. He doesn’t seem to be taking his loss particularly hard, so it’s not worth thinking about too much.

The countdown starts, and off we go. Yuki summarily launches herself off the edge of a cloud and into the void.

“Oh... Wrong way.”

“...”

The rest of us resume beating each other up while she’s busy regenerating or respawning or whatever it is. I don’t know what the heck move Ichiriki keeps spamming, but it’s sure doing a number on us.

“MY GUY STARTED DOING SOMETHING WEIRD what the crap.”

Kanagi keeps smashing buttons, but apparently she’s having more trouble controlling it than her last choice. I manage to knock her off the screen. And then Ichiriki takes me out immediately afterward.

“What even is this game.”

Chaos, but at least having half the players means I can freaking tell where I am without having to whip out the bat wings. Unfortunately, that does not save me from getting pummeled off the screen by some freaking background character that isn’t even one of our guys. 

There isn’t much more of a struggle before Ichiriki is the last animal-thing standing.

“And that makes Mister Tokino our first finalist! Only one spot left, and he can still take it all right now if he wins the next match!”

“This is fun!”

“Yeah, like, of course it’s fun, you’re winning.”

“But you won’t take me out next round, dude!”

“I guess we’ll have to see~! Hee hee!”

I’d ask why he’s laughing like that, but at this point I’m giving up on asking questions.

And for the last battle of this round, Kanagi switches again to some guy in a pink hoodie. Guess she had enough of karate guy.

Either way, it’s onto the next round. Everything’s going fine until the stage starts crumbling beneath us.

“Why do we have to keep changing stages?”

“You’ll have to stay on your toes if you want to win this tournament, Miss Kogamino!”

“Apparently so.”

If nothing else, we manage to gang up on Ichiriki and throw him out before he can zap us all to death. Kanagi then proceeds to knock out Yuki’s guy, which was apparently some kind of accident.

“Oh my gosh?”

“I LOVE THIS DUDE!”

“That’s nice.”

Down to the two of us now, and it stays pretty close—until Kanagi misses a punch and it somehow launches her off the stage completely. She just stares at the screen as her character goes up in flames, or whatever that’s supposed to be.

“What the...”

“THIS DUDE SUCKS!”

“........”

She throws her controller to the floor as Aidan announces me as finalist and declares another intermission.

“You!”

“Me?”

“Don’t think this is over!”

She whips around, nearly smacking me with her hair tie.

“And you too!”

“.......”

“I WILL DESTROY BOTH OF YOU!”

“At what, exactly?”

Kanagi looks around the room before swinging her arm around to point at one of the machines.

“THAT!”

I squint long enough to make out “Centipede” written across the top of it.

“Is that even a game you’ve played before?”

“I’LL STILL CRUSH YOU!!”

“Okay.”

“Hummmmm, Kanagi...”

“I can still make you some dorayaki tomorrow...”

“It’s not the same.”

“Chill out, brah.” Kaichi claps a hand on her shoulder. “Need t’ drown your sorrows in some grinds?”

“I don’t even know what that means!”

“Food?”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, sure, sounds legit.”

And off they go to the popcorn table. I’m out of disbelieving commentary for the day, so I’m just gonna get another drink. By the time I fetch that, conversations have broken out again. Pretty sure I’m gonna get recruited into one eventually, so I at least avoid the group with Tsunyasha and Kanagi.

“But you’re not having any trouble...?”

“Everything’s perfectly under control. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“.......”

“What are we worrying about?”

Aidan wheels back a bit to give me space.

“Oh, Miss Kurokame was just checking in on me.”

“Hummmmm...”

“It’s at least harder to wash your hair, isn’t it...?”

“What do you mean?”

“One-handed and all...”

“And, hummm...”

“You can kind of tell just by looking... Sorry.”

“Oh?”

Well, hard to say much of anything in this light, but I guess it’s on the greasier side, sure. Not smelling too great over here, either, but considering we have eight fairly active people and four weird flavors of popcorn crammed into this room, I’d be wary of pinning that on anyone in particular.

“I mean, you are still showering and everything, right?”

“I assure you that’s the last thing I have any interest in skipping out on.”

Can’t counter that.

“You could’ve just said yes.”

“He doesn’t tend to ‘just’ say anything...”

“Yes, yes, the point has been made.”

He opens his mouth to continue, but I interrupt.

“But there’s no bench in there, right? And the baths are pretty deep. Can you stand long enough to get in either?”

“Um. I can’t stand at the moment, no, but...”

“I don’t think the wheelchair would fit in there, either, right...?”

Aidan sucks in a sharp breath.

“Fine, okay, I’ve been mostly subsisting off hand sanitizer and deodorant for the time being and it’s not entirely effective, but!”

“I’ve already rigged up some systems to help, I’m just making sure they’re absolutely safe before I try them!”

“It’s slow going with few tools available and the situation as it is, but progress is progress, and it’s nothing to be that concerned about, all right?”

“...”

“...So you haven’t bathed at all since you came back.”

“No and I’m dying on the inside a little bit but it’s FINE.”

He takes a deep breath.

“As previously stated, the solution is forthcoming, and if all we’re going to do this break is fuss about it, I might as well start the tournament finals already.”

“There’s a public bath now, though, right...?”

“Would that work?”

He’s getting all fidgety now. Can’t stand or stand still, apparently.

He sighs. “The layout would be easier, yes, but a structure that size is going to be far more of a drowning hazard when I can’t really guarantee I would stay conscious.”

“And that’s the reason for changing the lock, right? Have you seriously been passing out that much?”

“No!!! I just like to be prepared!”

So you prioritized that over showering when you don’t even like to handle papers other people have touched. Right.

“Hummmm... It’s a public bath, though, right...? So you could have someone else help...”

“Who, exactly? I’m not sure Mister Attenborough is in condition to handle the heat of that room for long, I’m afraid I don’t tr... care for Mister Tokino’s company all that much, and the circumstances may not be terribly safe for Mister Riseiin, either.”

I guess a girl wouldn’t be a valid solution? Well, I’m not volunteering.

“Hey, ‘m I being trash-talked o’er here?”

Right, we’re not exactly alone. I shuffle to the side so Kaichi can fit in the little circle we’ve got going.

“Oh, no...! Just... talking?”

I peer at Kaichi for a second.

“He does literally carry a flotation device with him everywhere he goes. The bath’s not that big.”

“Yes, but...”

“Oh...! And he’s technically a medical professional...!”

“I would like to argue that being a professional involves more than knowledge and talent.”

“That’s fair.”

“ ’m trying t’ use my context clues, but you’re not making ‘t easy, brahs.”

“It’s noth—”

“We were wondering if you could... look after Aidan in the bathhouse so he won’t get hurt if he falls asleep in there...”

Aidan’s mouth twists like he was this close to yelling “MOM” just now.

“I mean, ‘s chill with me.”

He waves his notebook.

“And if ‘s anything embarrassing, I won’t remember it ‘n five minutes, anyway.”

“.......”

“Well there’s no time to head there tonight regardless, so there’s no need for us to discuss this right now!!”

“I’ll consider it, okay?”

“But we’re here tonight to have a good time, not to worry about every little thing, so if you would please! Let! The topic! Rest!!”

Before anyone can interrupt him again, he raises his voice, cupping his hand toward the rest of the room.

“Who’s ready for the final match of the tournament?!”

Apparently Kanagi’s feeling good enough to whoop along with Ichiriki.

“I’m half of the final match, do I get a say?”

Regardless, it looks like it’s go time. I’ve had enough of whatever that was, anyway. Seems like we got somewhere? Still, I can’t decide if I should be concerned or not, and it leaves me vaguely distracted for the match. Which is only compounded by the fact Ichiriki chose yet another character, who goes flying around on motorcycles and...

“Did I just get eaten?”

I don’t even know anymore. I end up losing, but I can’t say I’m disappointed. This whole night has been so surreal I’m not sure I’m capable of feeling that.

Fun? Maybe. Hard to say when the whole world feels muted, like everything is behind some thick pane of glass. But it’s still there, I guess. I’m still close enough to know what’s going on.

It could be worse.

[BACK] [NEXT]

[sinsiriuslyemo]

Our Dearest Readers,

Hey all! @missjennifercole​ has had quite the week and I figured I’d take something off her plate. Here is episode 49 of Cuba v DR. We’ve got one episode left and I am FREAKING OUT! I really hope we’ve done this series justice.

I’ve been reading through some of the previous season the last few days, gearing up for whenever we decide to start going through them to edit, and I think along the way I’m comfortable saying that we’ve had some stumbles, but hopefully the ending we have in mind leaves you guys satisfied. We love you all so much and especially those of you that have been with us since the beginning of this series, the amount of love and support for not only the story but for us as the writers has often times been overwhelming and I think I speak for both Jen and myself when I say that we have the most amazing readers on the planet.

Sinceriously,

Amanda

EPISODE 49

After work Roxie was happy to be home, she loved her job but lately she found that she had started missing Liam more. She’d had her first talk therapy session that morning and despite it only having been one session, she had already begun to feel better. At least the thought of seeing her baby was much less anxiety-inducing as it had been the day before. 

“It was so wonderful to watch you work, Roxanne. The camera loves you, darling,” Helena said, beaming with pride at her oldest daughter.

“Thank you, mum. I loved having you there as well. My co-host can be a bit much to deal with at times.” Roxie rolled her eyes at the thought, it had seemed that Aaron had been coming up with any excuse for them to have to reshoot this or that. “I was thinking we should take Liam to get some pictures done, professionally, baby portraits. It will be a chance to send it out to the family,” she said to her mother as she fumbled for her keys in her purse. “Plus Rafael and I have only been taking pictures on our phones and he’s doubling in size regularly. Soon he’ll be thirty at this rate.” She opened the door walking inside. 

“Oh, that would be lovely! Your father and I would have a photo of him to hang in our living room,” Helena answered.

“Precisely my thoughts,” Roxie answered as she pushed the door open. “We’re back,” she called out to her husband, moving into the living room where she usually found the two snuggling on the couch. When she found an empty room, Roxie turned to her mother. “That’s strange. Rafael left me a message telling me they were already home.”

“Well, perhaps they went out to pick up something to eat,” Helena replied with a bob of her shoulders.

“It’s close to Liam’s bedtime, I can’t imagine a reason why they’d leave.” She heard a cry from the bedroom, immediately sighing in relief as she moved into the room. “There you are-“ she paused, looking around and frowning. “Rafi?” 

She picked her son up, patting him on the back and gently rocking him as she moved into the guest bedroom where Helena was staying, and searched. There would be no reason for him to be in there but she was quickly running out of locations. 

“Love?” 

“Something wrong, darling?” Helena asked from the kitchen.

The lights were out, eerie silence of the room only deepening the pit in her stomach. She moved to the guest bathroom, then their bedroom, their adjoining bathroom as she felt real panic settle in. Rafael barely set Liam down at all, he’d never just leave. 

She turned to her mother, brows furrowed. “He’s nowhere.” 

“What do you mean, he’s nowhere?” Helena asked as she closed the fridge. “Perhaps in the bath?”

“I’ve checked everywhere, mum. He's not anywhere,” she said, moving to pick up her phone in her free hand. 

“Something’s happened,” Helena said, her previous task of warming food for her and Roxie completely forgotten. “He would never leave Liam alone.”

“I’m calling the police,” Roxie replied, thumb already moving over the flat screen of her cell phone.

“Isn’t his sister close by? You should call her after. Perhaps she knows something.” 

Roxie nodded, dialing 9-1-1 and listening to the longest three rings of her entire life. Even as she began to talk to the operator, she felt like this couldn’t be real. Rafael would never just leave their son alone in the apartment, she was offended just at the thought. But anything was more preferable than thinking something horrible happened. 

Her husband wasn’t shy of enemies from court cases or even by proxy of Nevada and that put him in a dangerous position. She couldn’t help but feel something had happened here, something truly bad. 

When she hung up the phone, she was trembling.

“I can call his sister, darling,” Helena offered, putting her hand over Roxie’s to take the phone. Roxie just shook her head, taking a breath to steady herself.

“No, no I need to do it. Will you stay with Liam for me while I’m in the other room?” she whispered. She could barely stand the thought of taking that baby out of her sight now, but she didn’t want his little ears hearing that his father had disappeared. Even if he couldn’t process it.

She dialed your number, feeling a rush of anxiety wash over her. 

“Hey you,” you answered with a smile. “What’s up?” 

“Y/N, something’s happened,” Roxie said, trying to keep the panic from rising further. “Rafael isn’t here.”

“What?” 

“Liam was by himself, he wouldn’t just leave the baby here. He would take Liam or call you. There would be no reason to--“ 

“--Roxie,” you said firmly. “Okay, I get it. Just calm down. Is there any sign of a struggle or anything?” 

“What? What the bloody hell are you talking about? I’m not a detective, Y/N! Where is my husband?!” 

You gave it a moment to let her panic, waiting until she calmed again. “The police are going to look for the same thing. Look, it doesn’t matter now, are you alone?” 

“No, I’m with my mum.” 

“Okay, stay there,” you said, standing up and pulling on a jacket. “I’m calling Nevada to see if he knows anything and I’m coming over. Lock your doors, close all the windows. If someone did come for Rafael, I don’t think they’re coming back but you can’t be too safe.” 

Roxie nodded as if you could see her, wiping a stray tear that had ran down her cheek. “Okay, I’ll lock everything now.”

“It’s gonna be okay,” you assured her as you moved out the door and downstairs to your car. Hollower words had never been spoken. You didn’t know that. You couldn’t assure that and more than anything else you weren’t even sure of it yourself. But she needed that assurance right now. “Rafael is going to be okay. I’m coming now. I’ll call you when I’m there. Don’t open the door for anyone but me or the police.” 

Roxie nodded again. “Okay, okay, please hurry, Y/N,” she begged.

“I’m coming, I promise I’ll be right there.” 

As you ended the call and got into the car, you looked at yourself in the mirror for a split second, you looked scared. You had to pull that look off of your face before you got to Roxie. There was no room for more than one person panicking and none of that would help Rafael.

You dialed your phone again, this time calling your husband. “Come on,” you mumbled, growing more frustrated with each ring. “Come on, Nevada, pick up.” 

---------

Rafael’s temples throbbed as a wet, sticky trickle ran down the side of his face. There was a slow drip coming from his right side and a low rumble beneath him vibrated against his bottom. A tight, sharp grip cut into his wrists and an attempt to move them elicited a hiss from him. His eyes opened to the darkness of a cold, damp room as the pain in his head doubled and he pressed his forehead against the wall next to him. Taking a deep breath, he carefully tilted his head up to find handcuffs around his wrists over a rusted metal pipe. 

He tried to pull his hands free by pulling down on the pipe with no success. His eyes were finally beginning to adjust to the dark and his legs moved in an attempt to stand but he couldn’t establish a firm footing. His muscles sore and screaming, he slumped back against the wall and continued to look around the room for a possible way out.

Where the hell was he?

He remembered Charles standing in his living room, holding his son. The image swarmed his mind and his pulse quickened.

“Liam,” he groaned, looking up at his wrists again and using a newfound strength to pull himself further up against the wall behind him. Straining his ears, he tried to listen for any familiar sounds and it was then that he realized he was gently rocking from side to side. The muted sound of crashing waves confirmed that he was on a boat of some kind. 

His eyes darted around the room, looking for something--anything--he could use to cut himself free. The room had obviously been prepared ahead of time, but he would’ve expected nothing less of Charles Heeley. The man had always been one to account for every detail. Looking along the floor around him, he scoured the filthy surface for something, anything to pick the lock of the cuffs. He hadn’t the slightest idea as to how to pick a lock, but he was determined to try anything.

He didn't care how long it took him, but he had to get free and find a way back to his family.

---------

“Holy shit.” 

The whisper sounded in the otherwise silent lab, where a technician was testing the partial fingerprint and DNA sample found at a crime scene they were convinced had been sanitized. Quickly moving to print out the matches he’d found, he wrenched the pages from the printer and shot up from his chair. File in hand, he raced out of the lab, deciding to take the stairs up to Captain William’s office. In retrospect it wouldn’t have made any difference to take the elevator, but he had been one of the many who doubted they would be able to find anything at the scene, let alone connect it to a suspect. His genuine shock had clouded his rational thought and he ran as quickly as his legs would carry him up the stairs from the basement to the third floor of the old precinct.

Shoving the door to William’s office open, the tech heaved and bent at the waist as he tried to catch his breath, one hand holding the file up.

“Don’t you knock?” Williams asked with furrowed brows at the sweaty technician.

“Sir...w-we found a m-match...for both the partial print...and the DNA.”

Williams’ face fell and he stood, snatching the file away to read the results. Eyes widening, he pointed at the report in his hand as his eyes met with the tech. “You’re sure about this.”

It was more of a statement than a question, this was what Leonard had been waiting for since he’d arrived in the Heights.

The tech nodded, breath still coming in heavy pants. He took a moment to right himself, swallowing as his breath finally began to slow. “Yes sir, there’s no question. The DNA sample belongs to Oscar Diaz Jr and the partial print has a seven point match with Nevada Ramirez.”

Williams dropped the report on his desk and grabbed his jacket before going into the pen and calling out to his lead detective. “Let’s go pick up Ramirez and Diaz.”

“We got them?” 

“Like a mouse in a trap,” Williams answered as he charged out the precinct.

---------

Nevada's phone rang loudly in the office building he'd just entered and he pulled it out to look down at the screen, seeing your name. Dropping the call, he stepped onto the elevator and hit the button for the top floor. He usually always answered when you called, but now all he could think of was getting out to where Natalia was. After what she'd done to Izzy, he couldn't wait to watch the light leave her eyes.

"Mr. Ramirez, it's so good to see you again!" Jasper's secretary said, flashing Nevada a bright smile as soon as he stepped off the elevator.

"Hola mi amor" he answered as he walked to her desk. "He in there?"

"Yes, go on in," she replied.

"Thank you. You look nice today, by the way," Nevada said with a smirk as he walked past her desk, up to Jasper's office.

"Always so sweet," she replied with a smile.

Without knocking, Nevada went into Jasper's office and nodded to the other man.

"Nevada," Jasper said with a smirk, looking up from his laptop. He stood and buttoned up his jacket, extending a hand towards the man in leather to shake.

Nevada shook his hand. "Oye, bro, I don't mean to bust in on you pero I need a huge favor."

"Name it," Jasper replied.

"Need to borrow your boat."

"Going on a trip?" Jasper asked with a smile.

"Not exactly," Nevada answered. "We found Natalia. She's off-shore--" His phone rang again, and he pulled it out to drop your call again before he looked back up at Jasper. "I wanna rearrange that bitch's face and hang her by her intestines."

"That seems like mercy compared to what I'd like to do to her," Jasper answered. "Your sister-in-law is a good girl. I was looking forward to seeing her succeed with her gallery. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's criminals who drag civilians into our business."

"You wanna come with?" Nevada asked as though they were planning a vacation.

Jasper grinned widely. "I thought you’d never ask."

---------

It took nearly two hours of pulling, his muscles screaming in agony as with his teeth clenched and a deep, loud grunt Rafael finally had been able to break the rusted pipe. Compressed air rushed out of the broken metal as Rafael collapsed to the floor. He took a moment to catch his breath, then despite the protest of his legs, he stood up and went to the heavy steel door on the opposite side of the room. Gripping the metal wheel at the center, he grunted as he turned it to the left, opened the door and peeked out into the corridor. This seemed too easy, but upon seeing no one in sight, he slowly stepped out of the room. The real task would be to find a way out and hoping that he was some place familiar. 

Were they docked at Chelsea Piers? Coney Island? 

Choosing to go left, towards a set of metal stairs, his eyes stayed alert for any movement other than his own. A whistle accompanied by footsteps sounded from the stairs and Rafael quickly went into the room to his immediate left, tucking himself behind the door. The whistle was closer, heavy thud of each step keeping a tempo as the man made his way down the corridor. He looked down at his still cuffed wrists and wondered whether the Whistler had a set of keys. Rafael turned his eyes back up, ducking and waiting for the man to walk past the door he was hiding behind before he came out and hooked the man’s neck with his cuffed wrists. Clenching his jaw, he used all his strength to pull the struggling body against his, pressing the chained metal against his neck. 

The man, surely much more rested than he was, rushed backwards and slammed Rafael against the corridor while his hands scratched blindly at his attacker. One hand reached for the gun at his waist, but was having trouble getting it out of it’s holster. Rafael pulled with renewed vigor, squeezing his eyes shut and turning his head to one side. Never in his life did he imagine himself ever killing anyone for any reason, but he was determined to get back to his family no matter what, even if he had to commit murder. The man stomped and slammed him over and over into the corridor, attempting to get free, but Rafael only pulled harder, growling with his efforts. 

The nails against his skin slowed their digs as the life drained out of the man pressed against him. With one last yank, he heard arms go slack and slap against his victim’s sides and Rafael opened his eyes to find the man’s eyes were closed. Rafael let the body fall to the floor and looked to either side of the corridor just as a heavy door groaned in the distance. He heard footsteps approaching and voices of more than one man. 

More were coming and he didn’t have the strength to fight them off. Moving as quickly as his body would allow, he gripped the back of his victim’s shirt and dragged him towards the door he’d been hiding behind. Sweat dripped off his nose as he pulled the dead weight into the dark, empty room and carefully pushed the door shut just as the men turned into the corridor where he’d committed his first felony, and Rafael held his breath as he waited for them to pass his hiding place. 

“It’s fucked up is all I’m saying, how he left the kid all by himself,” he heard one of the men say.

“What the hell would he do with a baby? Good riddance. The little brat’s mom probably got home eventually,” another replied.

Liam. Charles must have left Liam at the condo. Rafael felt a silent sigh pass through his mouth at the news that his son was safe with his mother. Now he just needed to get out of this alive and all would be well again. 

Turning towards the unconscious man, Rafael couldn’t help but check for a pulse. He sighed in relief at the faint flutter beneath his fingertips and began to look through the man’s pockets. Finding a set of keys, he looked for one that looked like the one Liv carried for handcuffs and used it to uncuff his wrists. Rubbing the raw, cut up skin, he looked back down at the man, then down at himself. He was barefoot and his cashmere pants were certainly not made for a situation such as this. Working quickly, he changed into the man’s clothes and shoes, tentatively placing the gun in it’s holster on his belt before he left the room, closing the door behind him. 

He wiped the blood off the side of his face as best he could and made his way down the corridor, looking for an exit.

And that was when he saw it.

A window.

Moving double time, he stepped up to the small, circular glass that offered a view of outside. 

Water...and not just any water. Ocean. Open ocean.

They were out at sea!

---------

OJ whipped his head towards the door of the club at the sound of it bursting open, brows knitted and fists clenched as Williams and seven other detectives walked into the club. He was sick and tired of this new Captain coming into the club whenever it suited him and OJ stood, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

“Something I can help you with, pendejo? Buffet doesn’t open till dinner time,” he sneered with a smug expression.

Williams burst into laughter as he closed in on OJ. "Oscar Diaz Jr," he said, grinning at him. "Where's your boss?"

"Not sure. But I'll tell him you stopped by," OJ answered with a smirk.

"That might be difficult seeing as how you're under arrest," Williams replied, earning a scoff from OJ as the larger man stepped behind him and cuffed his wrists. “You got the right to remain silent and I, for one, wouldn’t be offended if you exercise that right--”

"--You got nothing on us, bro. This is fuckin' harrassment," OJ growled, turning his head to one side to peer at the Captain over his shoulder.

"We’ve got your DNA...bro," Williams replied, turning to his men. "Find Ramirez.”

"Yes, sir," one of the detectives answered as he and the other moved past the Captain and OJ.

Williams turned his head to address his detectives once more. “And put cuffs on every person you find! I don't care who they are, if they're here, they're either an accessory or an accomplice!"

---------

When you arrived at your brother’s apartment, Roxie ran right to you, hugging you tight. You squeezed her back, hand moving to the back of her head to gently cradle her before turning back to where Detective Carisi was standing beside Helena with a notepad.

“Y/N,” he said in a greeting, brows furrowed. You knew how much Sonny adored Rafael so this couldn’t have been easy for him either. 

“Do you know anything?” you whispered desperately as you let go of Roxie.

He shook his head. “Still taking a statement, Roxie said she just came home and Liam was alone. No sign of Barba anywhere in the apartment.” 

“He would never leave our son,” Roxie continued to repeat as if no one was listening to her.

“We know that, Rox,” you assured and laced your hand with hers, giving it a tight squeeze.

“Alright,” Carisi said, looking at Helena and then Roxie. “How long were you gone for, Roxie?” 

“The whole of the day, since this morning. I went out with my mother and then I had to work. Rafael had been with Liam, he needed to go to One Hogan Place to drop off his resignation. He left me a voicemail about half an hour before we got home,” she said, wiping tears again. “He said he and Liam had just gotten back and that he would see us soon.” She couldn't help but laugh a bit. “He wanted to know about my day.” She loved Rafael more than she could ever put into words. The idea of living without him was something she wasn’t prepared to entertain.

“This is all good Roxie,” Sonny said, offering a reassuring smile. “Any detail helps. Did you notice anything outta place when you got home? Anything knocked over? Broken?”

“No, everything was just as it should be except Liam was alone in his crib.” 

“Had there been threats by anyone lately?” Sonny asked.

“No, not that he mentioned.” Roxie shook her head, gripping your hand tighter. “He had just resigned, there were no new cases where he angered someone...no reason for anyone to be cross. Who would want to do this?” 

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” you said softly. 

“Did you call Nevada?” Roxie asked, turning to you and not caring that Sonny was listening. “Did you ask him i-if he knew anything.”

“He’s not picking up, but I’m going to try again okay? Let’s let the police do their jobs.” You couldn't remember the last time you’d said that.

Liam started to fuss in Helena’s arms, screaming until his tiny face started to go red despite his grandmother trying to rock and calm him. 

“Roxie, why don’t you take a seat with Liam, feed him, whatever you need. I’m going to talk to Y/N and your mom,” Sonny offered. “You have all of SVU on your side, Rafael has always been and will always be family and we don’t take this lightly. We’re gonna find him.” 

Roxie nodded wanting to protest but hearing her son cry changed her mind. She took Liam into her arms and holding him tight. “It’s alright, Liam, it’s going to be okay,” she whispered, moving to the bedroom to rock him and feed him.

After Roxie was gone, Sonny turned back to you.

“Listen, off the record, okay? Any threats made on your end? Towards Rafael, I mean,” Sonny asked. 

You shook your head. “I don’t know what’s happening, Rafael hasn’t pissed anyone off recently that I know of. Unless he was hiding something. He might not tell me but he definitely would have told Roxie. If she doesn’t know, then there was nothing.”

Sonny sighed and closed his notepad. “I just had to ask. Alright, Liv’s out with Fin looking for him and Rollins is tracking his cell phone. We’re gonna find him.” He looked up just as the CSU team walked into the apartment. “Mrs. Hume can you show me to Liam’s room so these guys can dust for prints?”

Helena nodded. “Yes, yes of course, anything to help.” 

---------

Nevada checked the safety on his gun while Jasper dropped anchor before the former got into the inflatable life raft on the starboard side. He could see the yacht a mile or so in front of them and from what they could see from their distance, there didn’t appear to be anyone on deck. Jasper handed off a backpack, which Nevada carefully placed at the front of the raft while the Englishman climbed in.

"How many do you reckon are aboard?" Jasper asked as he yanked on the pull string to start the small engine.

"I don't know. Boat that size, it's gotta be at least ten, right?" Nevada answered. 

"Let's assume fifteen," Jasper muttered, steering the raft towards the large yacht.

"She packs a lot of heat, so we gotta be on point," Nevada said. 

"Just keep them off me while I plant the bomb. We'll have five minutes after I activate it to get back," Jasper replied.

Nevada knitted his brows as he took in the vessel they were headed towards. It seemed far more luxurious than anything Natalia would have, especially considering she wasn't nearly as rich as she had been when he'd first met her. In fact there was only one person he knew of that could easily afford a yacht like the one they were approaching.

"Heeley," he said, almost to himself.

"What?"

"Heeley, that motherfucker. That's gotta be how she got out, how she's been able to make moves without drawing any attention," Nevada replied. "We might get two for the price of one."

"So, twenty men aboard," Jasper mumbled as they came up to the stern and pull up next to a small boat that was tied to the yacht. Tying their raft to the larger vessel as well, they crept onboard, Jasper turning to look at Nevada. "Ten minutes, meet back here."

Nevada nodded, and the two split up, Jasper to plant his explosives in the engine room and Nevada to find Natalia. Stalking along the port side of the yacht, Nevada made his way towards the bow, gun at the ready. A movement from his left had him raising his weapon and firing off a shot, clipping the body coming out onto the deck before he took cover behind a corner as the person shot back and shouted for backup. 

Moving quickly, he fired off another round just as two more men appeared. He shot one in the throat before ducking into a cabin wall just as the second fired round after round in his direction. Waiting for the sound of empty chambers, Nevada held his position until the telltale click. He came out of his cover to shoot again, hitting the man in the chest as he stalked once more towards the bow. He knew with all the gunfire that it would only be a matter of time before more men came, but he had one purpose in that moment.

"Where are you, you fuckin' cunt?" he growled under his breath.

---------

Roxie sat down at the precinct with her son, rocking him back and forth with her arms as she tried to calm him. She had a feeling he could tell something was off. He was crying for nothing. Not for food, not to be changed, nothing. He was just crying. 

“I’m here,” she whispered. “Daddy will be home soon, alright?” 

The waiting so far had been the worst part, not knowing what had happened, wondering if he was alive or dead in a ditch somewhere. 

“As soon as Daddy is back, I’m going to take a week off and we can stay home and spend time together, alright? Just us three.” 

The baby calmed after another moment of rocking as she bounced him gently in her arms. 

“There we go,” she cooed. “All better. You don’t have to worry, Liam. Mummy is here for you. No matter what. She’s here. And daddy will be too.” 

She wasn’t lying, Rafael would be here. She knew he would. He had to be. 

“Roxie,” Olivia called as she moved out of her office and took her usual confident strides over to the British woman, pulling her into a hug. “How are you and Liam holding up?” 

Roxie hugged back. “We’re managing, please tell me you have something.” 

“Fin and I couldn’t find anything on our canvas, but Rollins traced his cell phone,” Olivia began. 

“Oh thank god, and you found him?” She jumped to conclusions too soon, desperate for any hope she could cling to.

“No, it led to a warehouse. I sent Rollins and Carisi there but it was a dead end. All they found were his wallet and phone,” Olivia said regretfully. “But that’s not gonna stop us, we’re going to find him. I have CSU combing every inch of that warehouse, if there’s any prints or anything to tell us more about who was there with him, they’ll find it.”

Roxie offered a bit of a smile. “I know you will,” she mumbled and looked down at her baby then over to where you were talking with another officer.

She watched your phone ring as you looked down at it and walked out of the room. She felt a glimmer of hope, perhaps it was Nevada calling about Rafael. It had to be.

You answered once you were a safe distance away from law enforcement, frowning down at the caller ID. It wasn’t your husband like you’d hoped, it was Sawyer.

“Sawyer?” you answered. Sawyer never called you, there was no reason to. If she was calling there had to have been something wrong. “Are you with Nevada? I can’t get a hold of him.” 

“No I’m not. I’m calling because Captain Williams came to the club,” she said in a panic before her voice lowered to a harsh whisper. “Dama, he’s looking for Nevada.”

“What?” You frowned. “Why?” 

“He’s wanting to arrest him,” she said. “He came to the club and arrested everyone, Dama. Everyone. Me, Chibby, OJ, the dancers...even the guy who refills the vending machine in the break room. I don’t know what he has on us but it’s bad. It’s really, really bad.” 

“Oh my god. Okay, has someone called Rita yet?”

“I think so, yes. They gave me one phone call and I used it to get in touch with you. I needed to warn you. If you see Nevada, tell him to stay away,” she pleaded. 

"Alright, time's up," you heard from behind her and your heart sank. Sawyer wasn’t made for prison, neither was Chibby. You felt sick to your stomach for more than one reason.

“Thank you, Sawyer, thank you,” you whispered, hanging up and trying your husband again. “Come on, come on, Nevada, dammit!”

---------

Rafael made his way to the deck of the yacht, looking around frantically for a way off the boat. There had to be a life raft somewhere, he just had to find it. Turning towards the stern, he began to look for the raft. He had heard shots from somewhere on the deck and knew he didn't have very much time before someone inevitably spotted him. With any luck it was Olivia or Carisi coming to find him.

He could just jump into the water, but with no land in sight there was no telling what might happen if he did. Then he saw it, far into the distance but there nonetheless, another boat. If he could just get to the stern without incident, he could swim to it and hope that whoever was onboard would take him to shore. Keeping low and close to the cabin wall, he made his way towards the stern. 

A figure that walked with a purpose stomped in his direction and Rafael gasped, ducking behind a wall, hand quickly reaching for the gun at his side. He looked down at the weapon to take the safety off and waited with baited breath until the footsteps came closer. As he rounded the corner and raised the gun, he was met with a familiar face.

"Nevada?!" 

His brother-in-law stopped dead in his tracks, eyes widened as he stared back. "What the fuck are you doing here, Rafa?" Nevada demanded, lowering his gun.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Rafael repeated. 

Nevada ignored the question. "Where's Natalia?"

"What?!" Rafael shook his head.

“Natalia, I know she’s here. Where the fuck is she?” 

"I don’t know, I didn’t see her. Look, it doesn't matter, let's just get outta here. Heeley is somewhere on this boat and he wants me dead."

"I want that bitch--"

"--Nevada! My son needs his father, my wife needs her husband and my sister needs hers, too. Let's go!" Rafael answered, engage the safety once again on his gun and grabbing a fistful of his brother-in-law's jacket. He pulled him towards the stern, eyes continuing to scan their path for hostiles.

Nevada clenched his jaw. His vengeance would obviously have to wait until Rafael was safely off the yacht. There wasn’t enough time to get to Natalia and save Rafael. Turning his eyes to his brother-in-law, he shook his head idly. "How the hell did you get here?"

"Heeley kidnapped me out of my apartment," Rafael answered, leg muscles burning from his pace. “I don’t remember much, he must’ve knocked me out somehow.

"It was a challenge, for certain." The sound of Heeley's voice came from behind them and the two men whipped around to face the blonde villain, who was pointing a gun at them. "Now exactly where do you think you're going, Rafael? We haven’t even had a chance to talk."

[snarkybluechristian]

Villainous: Reform School Chapter 28

Flug entered his lab and found Melanie strapped on to a gurney/hospital bed. She was still and sleeping soundly.

Flug moved closer to examine the girl’s sleeping form, specifically moving closer to analyze her broken tracker. His expertise immediately told him that although the tracker did not leave her ankle it was effectively totaled. It had been exposed to a powerful heat source that warped it almost beyond recognition. Whatever Melanie had done to it, the tracker was destroyed and needed to be replaced.

After only several minutes of work, Flug managed to get the tracker off Melanie’s foot. The next step after that was getting a suitable replacement. That would be easy enough.

All of it would be. It was Melanie who made things so difficult, all because she refused to let go of her ideals.

“Foolish, stubborn girl,” Flug muttered to himself as he got to work.

Luckily, Flug had the foresight to begin upgrades at the start of this. He had made an organic chip he could place inside her.

Part of Flug wished he were allowed to do more painful things to Melanie for all the annoyance and difficulty she put him through. Another part of him wished her better fortune in the future as he prepped the chip out of the ice box.

Flug knew the price for defying Lord Black Hat. He could only hope that Melanie would give in. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, she had potential.

Flug sighed as he chose a spot for the implant and began to prep for surgery. He took off Melanie’s restraints and moved her onto her stomach. Then after moving her ponytail aside, Flug sanitized and numbed the skin on the nape of Melanie’s neck so that she would not feel the coming injection.

Then, with the preparations having been made, he injected the tracking device into her neck. It was a quick and painless process with the chip now inside and resting like her.

Melanie wouldn’t have needed to be put to sleep for it if she hadn’t been so damn resistant.

With the procedure done, Flug covered the injection spot with a band aid, took the green scrunchy out of Melanie’s hair, put it on her wrist, and laid Melanie on her back to rest. He put restraints on her hands and feet, covered her body with a blanket, placed her head on a pillow, and turned away to work on other projects.

About an hour later, Melanie began to stir.

Flug looked over at Melanie. Then he looked over at his watch to check the screen for the tracker to make sure the chip was operational and was pleased to find it working.

“Excellent,” Flug said to himself.

Melanie’s eyes then fluttered open and the first thing she saw was Flug looking at a screen she couldn’t see.

Flug glanced at Melanie before turning off the screen and said, “Finally awake I see.”

Still very groggy, Melanie asked, “Where am I?”

“A part of my lab,” Flug said rather coldly “A part of my lab,” Flug said rather coldly as he crossed off some things on a checklist he was carrying around on his clipboard.

“Why am I down here?” Melanie asked tiredly. “Did you dissect me? Is that why I can’t move?”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Flug said, lifting the blanket for a moment to let Melanie see the restraints on her hands and feet before letting it drop back over her body. “I simply had to take care of that broken tracker.”

“But it’s not on my foot now,” Melanie said, wiggling the foot the tracker used to be on.

“Yes, well, it was damaged beyond repair,” Flug said before continuing sarcastically, “Thanks for that by the way.”

Melanie flashed a cheeky smile and said, “You’re welcome. It wasn’t easy. I tried sawing it off with my scythe, holding it under water, and then holding it over a portal to Hell to melt it off, but it didn’t work.”

“Once again, thank you for gloating,” Flug said, visibly annoyed.

“It’s your fault for making them too strong,” Melanie retorted, ever the sass master even when drugged.

“I’ll remember that if I ever attempt something similar,” Flug waved off dismissively.

“I’d be gone by now if it weren’t for that,” Melanie lamented, gesturing with the restrained hand closest to Flug. “I’d be flying away outside. I should have just left.”

“Well, fortunately, you won’t have an opportunity like that again,” Flug said, pulling up a rolling stool next to the gurney so that he and Melanie could look at each other closer to eye level.

“Why not?” Melanie asked.

“Because I’m here to tell you to stop,” Flug chided. “Believe it or not, everything we do here is for your own good and to spare you from the wrath of Lord Black Hat.”

“Yeah, right,” Melanie said sarcastically. “Because you did such a good job of that earlier.”

“I’m serious, you dumb kid!” Flug exclaimed. “What do you think will happen if you continue to fight him?”

“Nothing worse than what’ll happen if I don’t,” Melanie replied, shaking her head sadly.

Flug sighed deeply and said, “Melanie, here’s a piece of advice that I want you to take to heart…”

He then slowly pointed to the tip of his paper bag and finished, “It can always get worse.”

Melanie paused and looked away for a moment before she looked at Flug with defiant eyes filled with compassion and earnestness and said, “It can also always get better. I have found life beyond this place and him with people who care about me and love me as I am. It’s the best my life has ever been. I found a world where I could be myself and be free and feel the love of God. And I don’t care if I die for it. I’m not giving it up. It’s better than anything Black Hat has ever offered anyone in my family. I know for a fact that it’s better than anything Black Hat has ever done for you either. You could find that for yourself too.”

Flug looked askance for a second and then replied, “Black Hat has already given me everything I could possibly want. Black Hat has given both sides of your family everything they’ve wanted, too. He’s even part of your family, you know. He could do the same for you if you cooperate with us…”

“I’m not gonna cooperate!” Melanie snapped. “I don’t care if Mama Muerte and my parents work with Black Hat. I don’t care if my Papi and Black Hat are technically brothers and that makes him my grand-uncle either! He can eff right off!”

“Melanie, this goes beyond blood or business,” Flug said. “Black Hat is a force, the force of all evil…”

“Exactly,” Melanie interrupted. “Why do you think I want nothing to do with him?”

Flug sighed as he stood up, kicked his stool back across the room, and said, “Be stubborn about it then. He’ll want to see you soon enough anyway, and with any luck, he’ll show you what I’ve been learning from him. How to wield incredible power.”

Flug then turned from Melanie and radioed Dementia through his watch for assistance, “Dementia, get down here. I need you to escort Melanie to her room.”

“I don’t care what Black Hat wants to teach me,” Melanie said, staring wearily at the ceiling. “I will only care if he lets me do one thing.”

“And what’s that?” Flug asked.

“If he lets me free the trapped souls here. They’re everywhere,” Melanie replied as her eyes followed the movement of the invisible souls as they flew around the room. “They’re down here, too.”

“Good luck with that,” Flug said before muttering the rest. “Those are one of his favorite snacks.”

Melanie’s tired mind then remembered something important, “Dr. Flug, where’s the new tracker?”

Flug paused and had a moment of silence, pretending as if he didn’t hear her, before responding with a slow turn around, “What makes you think there’s a new one?”

“I don’t see the old one anywhere,” Melanie replied.

“Well, as I said before, it was damaged beyond repair and had to be disposed of, but that doesn’t mean I had the time to make a new one,” Flug lied. “It’ll take time to build.”

Melanie looked at Flug suspiciously and began pulling against her restraints.

“And what do you think you’re doing?” Flug asked.

“You know why I don’t listen to you?” Melanie asked. “It’s because I know I can’t trust you. I know you don’t care. I know you’re just brainwashing me because Black Hat wants you to. Everything you say is fake. So, by extension, what you’re saying now must be fake too.”

Flug folded his arms, raised a brow, and asked, “And if I’m telling the truth?”

“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” Melanie replied, resting from her struggles for the moment. “All you’ve done is limit my freedoms, drug me, and make me listen to boring lectures. You’re not trustworthy.”

“Well, I suppose you won’t have a choice this time,” Flug said, turning around and holding his hands behind his back.

“Did I ever?” Melanie asked sarcastically.

“Then you know the drill,” Flug said rather smugly before calling Dementia on his watch again. “Darn it! Where is Dementia?”

Melanie took the moment to phase both hands out of her restraints at the same time.

This went unnoticed by Flug who sighed in frustration at Dementia ignoring his call yet again. He absentmindedly waited for her while Melanie sat up in bed and stretched her arms.

Then as Melanie phased her feet through their restraints, Flug sat down on his rolling stool. His guard continued to go down as he placed his hand under his chin and allowed his mind to wander to different places. He thought about his talk with 505 and wondered how he would make up yelling at his son. Maybe Flug would get 505 ice cream to make up for it.

Meanwhile, Melanie tiredly pulled the blanket around her body, and climbed off her gurney.

Flug didn’t notice Melanie step onto the cold floor and start walking around. He checked his watch to track Dementia and sighed in annoyance when he found that she had not even begun to make her way to the lab.

Flug almost didn’t notice Melanie walk away from him into the surrounding lab, hoping to find a bathroom. He finally noticed when she paused and allowed her tired eyes to rest on the shiny equipment.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Flug asked with an exasperated sigh.

“The bathroom,” Melanie said. “I have to go. Would you show me where it is please? Or give me a beaker to use instead? Or maybe you could take me outside and let me dig a hole like we did when we went on that camping trip…”

Flug waved his hands to make Melanie stop and said, “Alright! Alright! I’ll take you!”

Flug grabbed a hold of Melanie’s hand and dragged her forward past the sliding doors into a hallway. She wearily shuffled her feet to keep up. He led her past many blueprints and chambers, one of which contained the Flower of Foulness which tried to snap at them. Soon enough, Flug reached a lavatory reminiscent to that of a plane.

“Okay, here we are,” Flug said, letting go of Melanie’s hand and gesturing to the bathroom.

“Your lab is effing huge,” Melanie said, looking around at the lab.

“Thanks, I guess,” Flug replied.

Melanie then turned to Flug with a burst of realization and said, “Hey! You were holding the hand I set you on fire with.”

Flug scoffed, looked at his burned lab coat, and replied, “So, I did.”

Melanie looked at Flug with a sad smile and said, “I’m sorry that happened by the way. I didn’t mean to set you on fire. I was trying to break your nose.”

Flug rolled his eyes in annoyance and replied sarcastically, “Gee, thanks.”

“I mean it,” Melanie protested sincerely. “I only tried to break my nose so you wouldn’t inject me. I didn’t actually want to kill you. I mean, yeah, you’re a jackass, but I don’t want you to die.”

Flug paused, feeling unexpectedly touched and pleased by this revelation. He actually felt himself smile a little. Unfortunately, that emotion was immediately undercut by both his profession and his alignment.

“You have weakness as a hero then,” Flug replied coldly, raising his hand and thumb to point to the door again. “Now, are you going to use the bathroom or not?”

Melanie scowled and entered the bathroom, leaving Flug alone with his thoughts.

Folding his arms, Flug leaned against the metal walls and thought of how he liked the kindness and restraint she showed, but how it was ultimately all pointless and foolish. Melanie could never become a villain with that attitude.

After a few minutes, the toilet flushed, the sink switched on and off, and Melanie emerged from the bathroom or rather staggered out of it with her blanket wrapped around her cold body. She was still groggy from the sedatives.

Flug pat Melanie’s back, placed his hand behind her shoulder, began guiding her forward, and said, “We should get you back to your room. I’m sure 505 is done by now. I’d wait for Dementia, but I frankly have no idea what she’s doing. So, it’s up to me.”

“You’re being nice to me?” Melanie asked in surprise. “That’s new.”

“Yeah, well-uh, I’m not against being polite,” Flug said. “Like it or not, you’re still a guest.”

“Is there a distinction between a guest and a prisoner with you?” Melanie asked.

“I would say it’s different since you’re still a kid,” Flug replied. “You still have so much to learn.”

“That’s what Sensei Lucy always says to me,” Melanie said before catching onto what Flug was saying. “Wait…like what?”

Flug's goggles gleamed as his hands followed along his words into a fist, “Who has power and how to wield it. Something I’m sure your Nun-ja friends won’t teach you.”

“You’re wrong!” Melanie snapped. “Sensei Lucy has done more to teach me how to control my powers than Papi ever did! She understands me which is something you never will be able to! She’s one of my best friends! I love her and look up to her! Besides that, she’s the only person I know who ever got away from...”

Melanie covered her mouth and her eyes flashed in panic as she realized what she was saying. She backed away from Flug nervously to get out of his immediate reach.

Flug loomed over Melanie maliciously and said, “Is that all you have to say? I’m sure Black Hat would love to hear more.”

“No,” Melanie muttered. “I knew it was an act. Leave me alone! I’m not telling you a damn thing!”

She then summoned her scythe and flew away from Flug as quickly as she could.

“Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God! I’m so stupid!” Melanie cried.

"That much at least is true…” the familiar raspy voice would whisper before she found herself at the foot of Black Hat's desk, at the blink of an eye. "But I must say it's quite helpful."

The being that was evil incarnate turned slightly with a wide grin and an illuminated monocle.

[hanzier]

This is a story about love, amongst other things. It is the story of the summer in which the losers club came to be. This is the story of how Eddie met Richie, and the story of how they fell in love. But, before any of this there was another love, one that no one had been aware of, save for poor Ben Hanscom. For this story to truly make sense we must go back to the very start of the summer before senior year. In Eddie Kaspbrak’s eyes the summer kicked off with one life altering problem, which would soon lead to a dozen more life altering problems. And so it began, as most problems do, with a boy (not the boy you’re thinking of, his part in this story will come in time). This boys name was Bill Denbrough and he was a real son of a bitch.

Eddie Kaspbrak was 17 years old when he realized that his feelings for Bill Denbrough were not at all what one would consider platonic. This realization came at quite an inopportune time, however, so he did what all self respecting 17 year old boys did with their emotions and suppressed them.

“It’s not third wheeling if they’re not dating, Eddie.” The ever sensible voice of Ben Hanscom sighed over the phone.

Eddie was frantically throwing articles of clothing into a bag. His room, which had been relatively neat just moments ago, now looked as if a bomb of pastel polos and khaki shorts exploded everywhere.

“They act like it. They’re always hanging out, just the two of them. How else do you explain it?” Eddie snapped at his friend.

He shuffled around under his bed for his swim trunks, he only had two pairs to last him the entire summer and he was currently missing one of them. “I mean, you’re right. We have kinda been split but, I blame school. Stan and Bill both took regular regents classes this year while we took AP’s, it made them spend more time together. But, I really don’t think they’re any closer than they were before…I mean their parents are best friends, Eddie.”

Ben was right, as usual. The Uris’ and the Denbrough’s had been close before Stan and Bill had even been born. The families used to vacation together every summer outside of Derry, at Paradise Beach. They were neighbors in the small beach town, before the Denbrough’s sold their vacation home a few years back.

But, that did nothing to calm Eddie down, he was going to spend his whole summer in uncomfortable agony, “Even if they aren’t together I’m still gonna feel like a third wheel. Are you sure you can’t come today?”

Ben snorted, “Yes, Eddie. The beach is no place for a boy with a broken leg.”

Eddie snatched his trunks from a backpack that had gone untouched since last summer, “How many weeks till the cast comes off, again?”  

“Most likely two, but one if I’m lucky. I’m finding out for sure today.” Ben sounded a little sad on the other end of the line.

The smaller boy groaned, “Why’d you have to play football? You better heal yourself quickly; I can’t go a full two weeks alone with the married couple… I can’t believe I let Bill talk me into going.”

Ben chuckled, “I’m pretty sure Bill could talk you into robbing a bank with little to no effort.”

Similar to any other time where Ben had made an insinuation about his feelings for Bill- Eddie felt his face heat up, “I take it back, Hanscom. May your recovery be long and painful.”

Eddie could practically hear Ben smiling on the other end, “Hey, I gotta go. I have the last x-ray soon, so I’ll let you know if your wish comes true.”

His tone was light, but then he paused, “Eddie…please try to stay sane ok? You and Bill…” Ben trailed off, sounding concerned and Eddie couldn’t help but feel sick to his stomach, “It’s fine, Ben. It won’t be that eventful anyway. Not much can happen in a few weeks.” Eddie would soon learn that he had never been more wrong.

“Okay, have fun. Pack sunscreen!” Ben had something else to say. He always did. But, true to form, he kept his insights to himself. It wasn’t his place to speak on the matter…not yet, anyway.

It had taken Eddie several months to convince his mother to let him spend the summer at the Uris’ beach house. Sonia Kaspbrak was not a pushover by any means. In fact, she was incredibly controlling. But, she loved her son. She wanted him to be happy, and he had convinced her that going on vacation with his friends would make him happy.

Sonia had really only allowed her son to go on an unsupervised trip because Stanley Uris was going. In her eyes Stanley Uris was the most responsible 17 year old boy in Derry. If Stanley was supervising, she didn’t mind as much that her son was going to spend two months away. As long as he called her every day after he took his medication, Sonia would trust her son to spend the summer with his friends.

But, she had a selfish wish that he would be overwhelmed. She secretly hoped that Eddie wouldn’t enjoy his time away. It was kind of like a test run for college. If he didn’t like having so much freedom, he might chose to stay home for college after all.

Eddie knew his mom didn’t really want him to leave. And secretly he wished that she might make him stay home. He had spent all that time and energy convincing her to let him leave and he regretted it. That was all before Stan and Bill started acting like a couple.

He sat in the kitchen, three pill bottles on table in front of him.

“Make sure you take them every day. All of them.”

Eddie nodded, he knew. He only really needed one of them, for anxiety. The rest of them were placebos his mother had forced down his throat since before he could remember. He yelled at her when he found out; she had fooled him into thinking he was sick his entire childhood. Sonia just wanted her son to be safe, and nearly lost her mind at the thought of him without his medication. Despite her craziness, Eddie loved his mother, so he continued to take the placebos, but only when she was watching, just to calm her nerves.

He popped open his anxiety medication and shook out one pill into the palm of his hand. He placed it onto his tongue and gulped it down with water. He twisted the lid back into place and put them in his bag along with the two bottles of placebos.

“I’m going to miss you, Eddie Bear.”

Eddie walked over to her large figure on the recliner, “I know, ma. I’ll miss you too. It’s only a few weeks, though.”

He heart a honk outside and his stomach dropped, “I’ll be back before you know it.” He bent down and kissed her cheek before swinging his duffle bag over his shoulder.

I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.

The mantra in his head felt less believable with overstep, but he called to his mother anyway, “See you soon! Love you!”, and stepped out of the door.

Bill Denbrough was a notoriously bad driver and Eddie Kaspbrak didn’t even have his license, so that left Stanley Uris behind the wheel for the two hour drive to Paradise Beach.

Eddie, predictably, was in the back seat. Like a true third wheel, he was half listening to the discussion Stan and Bill were having and half listening to the soft rock playing from the radio.

His eyes, however were trained on Bill’s feet. He was wearing converse and they were stationed on the dashboard, causing Eddie to feel a little queasy. He was thinking about the amount of germs Bill was probably transferring. Bill wore those white hightops everywhere, including the muddy quarry. Eddie was struck at first that Stan didn’t yell at Bill for dirtying his car. But, he then remembered the difference between himself and Stan.

It was parallel to the difference between cleanliness and neatness.

Eddie wasn’t neat; his clothes were always slightly wrinkled and his room was not pristine by any means. But he was a germaphobe, he valued cleanliness above most things. Since a young age he had carried hand sanitizer and a travel sized disinfectant spray, just in case.

Stan was neat; his shirt was always tucked in, his curly hair was somehow always meticulously in place. The slightest amount of disorder made his hands twitch, but he was unfazed by germs. Eddie envied this, because Stan’s OCD lead him to be much more composed than Eddie.

“Eddie, are you listening?” Bill asked, his feet were no longer on the dashboard but he had left a partial foot print behind.

Eddie snapped his eyes up, to meet Bills, “Sorry, what?”

Stan scoffed and opened the car door, Eddie hadn’t even noticed they’d stopped moving, “He asked if you wanted a snack. I need to fill up the tank.”

“No, I’m gonna use the rest room, though.” Eddie stepped out of the car the same time Bill did.

He ignored the flutter in his chest when Bill looped his arm over his shoulder as they walked, “Hope you know I’m getting you some sour patch watermelons, anyway.”

Eddie smiled, he remembered his favorite candy, “Thanks, Bill.”

He opened the door to the gas station bathroom with caution. He didn’t really need it, he just needed some space.

Eddie looked at himself in the mirror and cringed. Truthfully, he was very tired. He didn’t sleep much the night prior,he was nervously mulling over everything that could go wrong on his trip. His eyes looked sunken and his skin was pale. He was expecting a good tan once they got to the beach, the lack of color made him look sickly, especially in the shitty bathroom lighting. He splashed some water on his face, once he got back in the car he decided he was going to take a nap.

And thats precisely what he did.

Eddie didn’t wake up until Bill shook him awake after Stan had pulled into the garage.

He noticed that Bill had stocked up on junk food at the gas station. So, he picked up a few grocery bags as they made their way out of the garage.

They walked up the steps in silence, Eddie hadn’t been here before, but he quickly realized that it was a small house.

The house was elevated, the garage was below it to minimize any damages if there was flooding. When they reached the top of the wooden steps, they stood on a quaint porch, Eddie took in the view while Stan fiddled with his keys.

The town was small, he could see down the block there were very few houses and very few stores before the road ended and became what Eddie could only assume was the beach.

“You seem pretty out of it, Eddie.” Stan said as he opened the door, “If you want we don’t have to do anything today, we can just lay low.”

Eddie shook his head, “I didn’t get much sleep last night. But I’m fine. What did you guys have in mind for today?”

The three of them stepped through the threshold and Stan proceeded to take off his shoes. Eddie and Bill followed his lead. The house was, as Eddie had suspected, meticulous. There was an open living room space with a light blue couch, TV and glass coffee table in the center. Behind it was an open kitchen area with white marble everything.

Eddie and Bill placed the snacks on the counter top, while Stan adjusted the air conditioning.

“I thought we could go to the beach, meet up with some of my old lifeguard friends. Bill knows them too. They’re pretty easy to get along with.” Eddie furrowed his brow when Bill laughed.

Stan smiled knowingly, “Most of them are easy to get along with.”

Eddie shrugged as he started to put the snacks in the pantries, “Fine by me. Where should we put our stuff though?”

Suddenly the air in the room became awkward, “Um… there’s only my room and my parents room. I was thinking I could share my parents bed with whoever, since its a king, and someone can take my room, my bed is just a twin, though.”

He saw Stan’s cheeks start to darken while Bill gave him a slight grin.

Eddie could take the hint, “I’m the smallest, so I’ll take your room, Stan. Which one is it?”

“Ben, I swear to God they’re dating.” Eddie was leaning on the railing of the wrap around porch.

Bill and Stan had shut the door to their room ten minutes ago and not opened it since. In the mean time Eddie had managed to explore the entire house while on the phone with Ben. Not that there was much to explore; there was big space split into a living room, kitchen and sitting area by a large bay window, next to the window on the right side of the house was Eddies new room. On the other side of the living area, to the left were two doors; one was the bathroom which also held the washing machine, and the other Stan and Bill’s new honeymoon suite.

Ben sounded downright exasperated, “Are we gonna have this talk for real, Eddie?”

Eddie suddenly regretted opening his mouth in the first place, “What do you mean? What talk?”

He felt sweat forming in his hairline and blamed it on the heat. Ben let out an awkward sigh, “You sound bitter. I just don’t get why it would matter so much if Stan and Bill got together unless…” He trailed off and Eddie knew where this was going.

Ben had brought it up many times, he wasn’t exactly the best at subtlety, but somehow he always seemed to mention it without mentioning it.

“I don’t care, Ben. I just don’t like third wheeling- it sucks. So, how long is it gonna take for your crippled ass to get down here?”

Ben laughed, he was saved from the inevitable dreaded conversation for the second time in one day, “You have one week, Kaspbrak. After that, I’ll come to save your scrawny ass from our best friends. If you don’t get over your paranoia by then, I’ll be there to fix it- even though we both know there’s nothing to be fixed.”

Eddie cracked a grin, “Benjamin Hanscom, hero of hypothetical non-situations. I owe you one for healing extra quick. I know you did it just for me,” he joked.

He looked up and noticed Bill had started around the porch looking slightly confused, “Is that my broken baby, Ben?”

Eddie laughed, “Who else would it be?”

“Tell him I miss him. But, we should get moving if we want a spot near the stand.”

The town was adorable. Eddie understood why the boys spoke about their vacations so fondly. There were a few blocks that were residential, but the blocks closest to the beach were all tiny shoppes and stores. Everyone they passed looked friendly, which was a change from the disdainful looks Eddie received in Derry.

Eddie, Stan and Bill walked down the board walk until they reached the steps. Clamoring down, they made their way over towards the lifeguard stand. They laid down their towels and started setting up an umbrella because Bill would likely freckle, then burn to a crisp if they didn’t.

They were finally set up and Eddie felt at ease for the first time since they arrived. He only had to go a week without Ben, the sun was just strong enough, and a good song by Troye Sivan was playing softly on Bill’s speaker. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“BILLIAM! STANIEL! Do my nearly useless eyes deceive me? Is it really you?”, an obnoxious voice jolted Eddie out of his happy place.

He sat up on his towel, just in time to see Stan get jumped on by a lanky figure with a mop of black curls. Eddie turned to Bill, confused, but he found Bill was occupied. A beautiful redhead girl had jumped into Bill arms.

Eddie reveled in the sound of Bills laugh, while he spun the girl around in a hug, “Billy boy, you didn’t come back last summer. We missed you.”

The other boy had detached himself from Stan and was now on his way to Bill. Eddie stared at him; he had sharp features and massive glasses. But, the most alarming thing about him was him outfit. He wore the signature red lifeguard trunks with a bright blue and yellow Hawaiian shirt.

Bill and the boy embraced, while the girl gave Stan a welcoming hug. Eddie had never felt more out of place.

He considered laying back down and closing his eyes, when another boy holding two trays of assorted coffee drinks jogged up to them.

The boy had dark skin and quite possibly the most beautiful smile that Eddie had ever seen. He looked like some sort of lifeguard god and he stopped at the end of Eddie’s towel, “Hey! I’m Mike.” He crouched down to set the coffees on the sand and smiled, “You must be Eddie.” He stood and offered Eddie a hand up, which he gladly took, “Bill and Stan mentioned you’d be coming.”

Eddie smiled, “Nice to meet you.”

Mike turned his attention to the others, giving both Stan and Bill hugs.

The girl looked at Eddie and gave him a large smile, “Hi, I’m Bev. I’ve heard a lot about you!”

Eddie looked at Bill for a split second, “Same here,” he ignored the jealousy in his stomach and smiled back.

Going into Freshman year, Bill had dated Beverly Marsh all summer. He’d been so involve with her for months after, he didn’t stop talking about their summer fling for about a year. Eddie wondered if he was still hung up on her.

He didn’t think so, considering the amount of time Bill and Stan spent together, recently.

The dark haired boy slung a lanky arm around Bev’s shoulder, “Wotcher, mate?” He gave Eddie a lopsided smile.

Bev rolled her eyes, “This is Richie, ignore his shitty accents.”

Eddie felt uneasy for some reason, but still tried his best to be friendly, “Hey, I’m Eddie. I think Stan and Bill have mentioned you before.”

He scoffed, looking highly amused. Eddie felt like he was missing the joke, “They better have-” Mike cut him off, “You left the stand without anyone on it, Rich. Kids could be drowning. Im off duty, so get back to work.”

Richie smiled cheekily and saluted Mike, “Aye Aye, Captain. But first, did you bring my drink?”

Mike rolled his eyes and handed Rich what looked like a frappuccino with far too many toppings, “You’re a god among men, Mikey.”

Richie took an alarmingly large gulp of the sugary drink then spoke with his mouth full, “Nice to meet ya, Eds. Hope you’re planning on stopping by the party later. Duty calls.” He winked and gave the group a final salute before jogging back to the lifeguard stand.

Eddie ignored the irritation at the nickname “Eds” not wanting to cause a scene in front of his new friends. Instead of giving a snarky response, he looked at the four people in from of him and simply asked, “What party?”

Bill shrugged, “There’s always a party going on around here. If you’re down we can go to whichever one they’re going to.” He nodded at Bev and Mike.

Bev smiled, “You wanna come to the bonfire?”

Eddie didn’t know that his answer would set the course for an entire summer of wild mishaps, “Sure.”

@richietoaster @dewdropseddie @fuckuris