#idk what she’d have to do to break out of it. land a joke or something

[digitalmyyth]

Sunny really should do at least one crazy unexplained episode every season……Like I want an episode where Dee is stuck in a time-loop Groundhog Day style and then we just move on like that was normal

[sketchy-rosewitch]

Play With Me Like a Child: Carly Jones x Bo Sinclair

Warnings: Carly and Bo are both 18, PinV, fingering, Bo somewhat being Bo, (anything else I missed please tell me)

A/N: Day 3! day 3 day 3 day 3! dayyyy 3! I changed this idk how many times and landed on Carly x Bo so now y’all get this!

Haunted Hoedown Masterlist

Day 3

Previous: Anything for You: Corey Cunningham x afab!gn!reader

Next: ai!android!Captain Denninger x afab!gn!reader

The school bell rings and Carly is quick to get up and make her way to her locker to grab the rest of her things.

Nick told her not to wait up on him, he and Dalton were going to be hanging out tonight. Carly took this chance at lunch to ask Paige is she wanted to hang out. Unfortunately her and Blake were going on a date tonight.

Which means Carly is going to be alone. She hasn’t been alone on a Friday night since her freshman year. But last week changed everything. Her and Wade finally had a serious talk about him coming to New York with her.

Wade didn’t take it well, he spent the whole year trying to avoid this talk knowing sooner or later it’d have to come. Last week was when it came and Wade tried so hard to get Carly to stay and Carly tried so hard to get Wade to go. They couldn’t come to a conclusion and it ended in their break up.

The whole school caught on quickly to it, but that wasn’t saying much as their class alone was only 75 students. Still, it was embarrassing. Everyone and their mother thought Wade and Carly would never break up, that they’d be High School Sweethearts. Now that they weren’t together anymore she could hear whispers of people wondering if true love really did exist.

Did Carly and Wade really set the bar that high?

The dirty blonde girl sighs as she frustratingly opens her locker. She puts the text books she doesn’t need away and pulls out homework she didn’t finish in class that she’d have to do over the weekend. One more month of this shit, then she was free.. until September that is, but even then it’s be a whole new set of work.

“Carly.”

The teen jumps slightly and looks to her right. Her eyes roll to the back of her head and she slams her locker shut.

“What do you want Sinclair?” She looks at him with her brow raised. The brunet has a crooked smile on his face. Carly knows how charming it is, but so does every other girl at this school.

“Just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out tonight.” He replies, shrugging nonchalantly. Carly maneuvers around him and makes her way to the school’s entrance.

“Why would I wanna hang out with you?” She asks, not even trying to hide her annoyance. The oldest Sinclair brother catches up to her and begins to walk at a similar pace as Carly.

“Cause you don’t have anything better to do.” He answers, Carly glares up at him, making Bo snort. “Listen, I don’t have anything better to do either. You��re free, I’m free. I’m single, you’re single. We can go out tonight. Everything is on me.”

“Are you serious? A week after I’ve been broken up with and you wanna ask me out?”

Bo stops in his tracks and laughs stupidly at himself. “Shit, I’m sorry I didn’t mean it like that.”

Carly is quick to turn around. “What did you mean by it then? Huh? You think this is some joke?” Her face turns red from embarrassment and anger. Instead of Bo getting pissed back at her, he holds his hands up.

“No, hun, I just think you need to have a fun night out is all. Relax a bit.”

The teen takes a deep breath and looks down. “Fine. But none of your, ‘Sinclair funny business’.”

“Anything for you. I’ll pick you up at 6.”

-

A truck horn honks loudly outside of Carly’s house making her cringe. Of course Bo had to let everyone in Ambrose know that Carly Jones was hanging out with him.

She grabs her satchel with money and her phone and walks downstairs. “Who’re you hanging out with?” Her mom asks. It’s not suspicious, yet Carly’s heartbeat picks up pace.

“Just Paige.” She smiles and goes to hug and kiss her mom on the cheek. Her mom would murder her if she found out she was actually hanging out with a Sinclair boy.

“Okay, well. Have fun tonight and be careful!”

The teen nods her head and leaves the house. Bo’s truck blasts heavy metal music and if Carly’s mom had come out here. She would’ve known right away her daughter was lying to her.

Nervously the girl opens the passenger’s door and she gets in. Her classmate turns down the music and starts to back out of the driveway.

“You look good.” He comments as he drives down the small town roads. She looks at Bo who wears a flannel with rolled up sleeves and jeans.

“You too. Your uh-hair is nice.”

God, why is she so nervous. This isn’t a date, she literally grew up with him too.

Bo smirks and combs his fingers through his curls. “Thanks.”

“So, where are we going tonight?” Carly asks, her fingers fumble with a loose string on her shirt.

“There’s a lake a few miles out. Figured we could shoot some cans and talk for a bit. Brought picnic shit too.”

“Mmm, you sure this isn’t a date?” Carly teases. She doesn’t mean to be but she ends up sounding more annoyed than playful when asking the question.

Honestly what he was taking her to do sounded a lot more fun than doing homework. It actually sounded more fun than what Wade usually had planned. A movie of some sort, it was always one in town, one at his house, or one of those drive-ins. Those would get so boring after so long and it wasn’t like they did anything together. Any advances she made would get brushed off.

“It’s whatever you want it to be.”

Bo parks the truck under some trees and gets out, Carly following close behind him. He grabs his shotgun and a bag and the two of them start to walk into a large field.

“Over by the peach tree.” Bo points. “I found this spot years ago, I take my brothers here sometimes. I’m surprised no one else has found it yet.”

“Why bring me here then?” Carly asks.

“You won’t tell anyone. Paige is just as city girl as you are so why would she come out here? Nick hasn’t hung out with you in years and Wade.. well ya know.” Bo explains, he sets down his gun against the tree and drops the bag next to it.

“Well why aren’t your brothers here?” Carly yells, Bo is yards away setting up the cans again, he glares at Carly but she doesn’t back down from her question when he doesn’t answer.

She flops down in a shitty lawn chair as Bo comes back up.

“Nuh-uh-uh. You’re up first.” Bo gestures his hands towards himself, he grabs his shotgun and hands it to Carly.

Carly looks down at it and then over at Bo. “I’ve never-“

“God, you really are a city girl.” Bo teases, his signature crooked smile comes in his face. Carly’s stomach churns and her face gets a bright pink in embarrassment.

“I’m not, I grew up with you Sinclair! I just never learned how to shoot a gun.” Carly grumbles. Her grip tightens defensively on the barrel of the gun.

“Well that’s just bad parenting. Come on. I’ll teach ya.”

Carly and Bo walk so they’re facing towards the old shitty fence with the cans on top of it. He takes the gun from Carly’s hands and sets it down. “Do this.” Bo crosses his arms but holds his elbows up and Carly mimics Bo. She watches closely as Bo takes his hand and pokes next to her shoulder but below her collar bone. “Gonna want the butt of the gun right here. It’s gotta be comfortable.” He says. “Your feet like this.” One toe faces forward and the other is pointed right slightly. Again Carly mimics Bo, not wanting to fuck anything up and get herself or even him killed. “Good.”

The teen’s heart swells but she shuts down the emotion immediately. Bo hands her the gun and puts her hands where they need to be, the emotions she feels for Bo coming right back up as if she didn’t just get out of a relationship just last week.

“Gotta keep both eyes open. Right eye stares right down the barrel.”

Carly nods her head. The brunet goes behind her and looks at her stance. She feels his eyes wandering, making her gulp. “If you think this is some way to check me out you have another thing coming, cause who’s the one with the gun Sinclair.” Carly’s tone is defensive. She’s scared, she can’t fall in love again, not when she’s going to be leaving this small town and especially not when it’s Bo Sinclair, who is far worse than any man out there.

Except if he’s so bad, why’d she go somewhere with him… alone.

“I ain’t gonna do shit, I’m makin’ sure you’re not gonna hurt yourself. Geez.” Bo sighs. She can tell he’s shaking his head at her. “I want you aiming at that rusty can in the middle.”

Carly listens her eye focuses on the can. “Safety off.”

She turns it off and shoots, the bullet hits just below the can. Into the wood of the fence. She aims again, this time higher and shoots. The can knocks down.

“Hell yeah!” Bo whistles with his teeth excitedly. “There we go!” Carly’s adrenaline picks up and she blushes.

The two manage to shoot cans for a couple of hours before they sit down and eat dinner.

“Ain’t much but it’s what I make Vincent and Les when we come out ‘ere.” Bo says biting into the chicken salad sandwich he made. Carly takes a bite too and leans back in the lawn chair.

The sun is starting to set, she looks at it then over at Bo. “Why didn’t they come?” She can’t help but ask about his brothers again, Bo’s quiet. She knows he’s reluctant to answer.

“Vincent’s getting caught up with the Wax Museum and Les made some friends of his own.” Bo replies. Carly nods in acknowledgment. “Is it true why Wade broke up with you?” Bo asks, he finishes up his sandwich and takes a sip of his beer which Carly never commented on.

“You mean him not wanting to go to New York with me? Yeah.” She answers, honestly up until now she forgot about Wade’s existence. She didn’t feel anything towards him anymore. Originally she was sad but now, who cares? He was never going to change his mind and she should’ve known that from the beginning of their relationship Freshmen year.

“He’s fuckin’ dumb.”

Carly furrows her brows and looks at Bo. “How so?”

“Because, he had one chance to get the hell outta here. Honestly if my girlfriend asked me if I wanted to go to college with her, I would’ve! Ambrose doesn’t provide shit. You get a whole new life away from this place and he takes it for granted.” Bo rants, he’s now standing up and pacing, Carly shrugs.

“Yeah, guess he wasn’t feeling it.” Carly mumbles, Bo looks at her.

“He didn’t deserve you. Fuckin’ hope you know that.” He huffs and shakes his head. Carly finishes her sandwich and chugs down her water.

“Yeah and that’s why I broke up with him Sinclair. Let’s just, forget about it, okay?”

The boy nods his head and takes another sip of his beer. Carly looks up at the peach tree and looks to see a single peach hanging from a branch.

“I can get it for you, if you want it.”

Carly feels how close Bo is behind her.

“Oh no! I was just-“

Bo drops his beer bottle on the dirt and climbs into the tree impulsively. Carly gasps.

“Bo! Get down here, I don’t want you hurting yourself!” She squeaks. On the ground she follows Bo as he walks and crawls to the branch where the ripe peach hangs.

“Oh god, please it’s not even that far of a drop!” Bo shakes the branch with his legs making all sorts of reactions come from Carly. Bo chuckles and before she knows it, Carly has to stop because of the water. Bo reaches up to grab the peach and smirks once he does grab it and shows it off to Carly. She nervously plays with her dirty blonde hair.

“See, nothing to be afraid of.”

“Okay, stop showing off and get back down here!” Worry still laces the girl’s voice. It had every right to as she hears the tree branch snap and then a large SPLASH. She gasps and runs towards the water. “BO?!”

Quickly she toes off her boots and jeans and jumps into the water. It’s not to shallow and not to deep, but with the sun setting it was harder to see what was underneath.

Bo come up before Carly can fully give under. He wears a goofy smile and it still holding the peach for Carly. The fort blonde huffs at the brunet. “You’re not funny! I told you to be careful!” She starts to walk out of the water and grabs her clothes and boots. Bo comes out after her.

“I was very careful! And I got your peach. Bo combs his hair back and out of his face and Carly glares at him. He makes it really hard with how he’s looking at her, she really wants to smile but she still is a little pissed.

Bo waves the peach in her face and she takes it, biting into it. The juice falls from her lips, down her chin and onto her chest. She wipes her mouth and raises a brow holding the peach out for him to take a bite from. He eyes her and takes it, biting the same amount she did and feeling as the sticky nectar drips down his chin too. Carly takes another bite, but this time from his hand and he finishes it off.

When Bo done chewing he grabs Carly’s face and kisses her deeply. Her lips and his both tasting like the fruit they just ate. Carly doesn’t even hesitate, she knows what she wants. Her fingers entangle in Bo’s wet hair and she lets out a small moan.

“Let’s-let’s go back to my truck.” Bo mumbles breathlessly. Carly nods and everything is quickly packed up as the last part of the sun sinks under the horizon.

Bo chucks the bag and gun in the bed of the truck before opening the hatch and lifting Carly onto it. Messily he kisses and licks at Carly’s jaw, his wet clothes getting thrown off in the process. He easily unclips Carly’s bra and she slips it off. When Bo’s hands reach her panties though both of them stop, panting and staring into each others eyes.

“Do you-“

“I’m a virgin.”

Bo backs up and looks at her. “You’re tellin’ me Wade had one of the prettiest girls in Ambrose and he didn’t fuck her once?” He growls. Carly nods her head.

“Got on birth control cause he said he wanted to. He never took my advances though so I never asked.”

“Such a goddamn cuck.” Bo rolls his eyes. Cary laughs which makes Bo smile. “Do you want me to?” His face drops into something genuine and it makes Carly happy.

She looks away but then back at Bo. “Yeah. I’m sick of waiting.”

Bo is slow with her. He grabs her hips and pulls down her panties. He stairs at her dark and hairy mound and almost drools, his thick sigh it’s dipping between her legs and pushing into her. She feels her pussy stretch and grabs onto Bo’s arm.

It feels good, so much better than her own fingers.

Bo’s thumb circles her clit lightly causing Carly to squirm and let out a tiny squeal. He leans down and kisses her cheek. “So tight. Gonna take good care of you.” He promises. Carly nods, her mouth wide open yet she’s unable to speak as his fingers curl in her. Wet noises come from her pussy as he pleasures her and she lets out breathy moans.

“God, I wanna fuck this pussy. This is a good pussy. So goddamn tight.” Bo growls into her ear and bites on her jaw lightly.

He pulls his fingers out and sucks on them as he adjusts himself, getting ready to fuck into Carly.

Carly looks at his huge cock then up into Bo’s blue eyes.

“Don’t worry. I don’t wanna hurt ya. I’ll be slow.”

Slowly Bo slides into Carly and she arches her back. Both of them letting out loud moans. She takes his face in her hands and pulls him down, kissing him messily. Without warnings Bo starts to grind into Carly.

The dirty blonde doesn’t care, she rolls her hips into him and lets out soft pants. Bo’s cock stretches her out with every thrust. Bo kisses and licks her neck gripping onto her hips trying to get more leverage. The truck creaks and groans underneath them.

“You feel so good around me. Squeezin’ me just right city girl.”

The nickname causes Carly’s pussy to pulsate around Bo making him groan more and almost fall on top of her. He keeps thrusting, his hand moves up and thumb caresses her nipple before he pinched it lightly. Carly yelps in surprise which signals Bo not to stop.

Carly’s legs start to shake as she feels her stomach tighten and she starts to sweat.

“I’m gonna cum. Please.” He pinches her nipple again.

“Fuck, yeah you are. You gonna cum around my cock? You gonna let me cum in you?”

Bo’s nose nuzzles against Carly’s cheek and he gives her a wet kiss. She nods and Bo smirks.

“Gotta hear you say it.”

Carly moans and Bo slows down slightly.

“Come on. Then you can cum.”

Carly wiggles trying to get more friction but Bo’s hands hold her in place. “Fuck.. fuck Bo just cum in me! Make me yours!” Carly screams, Bo starts up his pace again and it takes Carly right over the edge. Her back arches as her pussy spasms. She lets out high pitched squeals and cries into the night sky.

Bo falls over the edge rig after her. He bucks repeatedly into her pussy, filling her up just right. He grunts and falls onto her.

“Fuck you felt so good.” He sounds out of breath.

Bo looks at Carly and caresses her face, moving her sweaty hair out of it. He slides out of her causing her to whine. “Sorry, I gotta get you cleaned up.” He says, getting up, he grabs his flannel and wipes her pussy clean. He then pulls Carly back on top of him and the two lay there like that. The night air feeling warm against their skin.

“Do you wanna come to New York with me?”

Carly lets out a small gasp, no, she didn’t mean to ask Bo that. Not at all. No, that’s embarrassing, she tries to get up, but neither Bo or her own body let her.

Instead she hears Bo laughing, she can tell his nose is scrunched up.

“Ask me again in August. I think it’s too soon for you to think you’d wanna room with me.”

Carly opens her mouth to speak but shuts it again and nods. Bo plays with her hair and kisses her head a few times. The two lay there almost all night talking about everything and anything which each other. Catching up on all those years they despised each other.

[theyreonlynoodlesmike]

Could I please get a Tommy fic where he's not the one who's possessed (idk who instead) but anyway him and the reader both make it onto the bus but like not without a struggle and maybe the reader gets injured, not life threatening but bad, and he comforts them as they drive away. And maybe this injury also elicits a confession from them like they knew each other before and are friends but they both like each other but won't say it. Confession could be words or just an abrupt kiss or mix of both. Anyway they're both camp councillors and borderline flirt with each other all the time. Thanks!

OH HO HO MOTOR IS RUNNING

I Thought I Lost You For a Sec (Tommy Slater x Reader)

Warnings: angst, murder/blood/violence/gore, major and minor character death, attempted murder, major character injury, Arnie was chosen!au, kissing, confessions, applying first aid written badly, Alice dies (i’m so sorry queen), Arnie dies (sorry king)

Word Count: 1.9k

"How much Tylenol did you take, asshole?" Alice asked, stepping closer to her boyfriend. She'd been looking around the shelves, busying herself while the three of you explored on. Arnie wasn't feeling well, apparently. He'd just sat on the bench, and closed his eyes.

You, Tommy and Cindy had gone into the room with all the creepy witch shit, and your flashlight shined on Arnie's name carved into the wall.

"That isn't funny. Alice will freak." Cindy said, looking to you. As if you'd carved into solid stone with your fingernails. And, really, this wasn't how you'd prank your friends. You'd known them all for forever, holding them all together like one single piece of string as they grew apart. You and Tommy glanced at eachother, and then you gave her a small shake of your head.

"I didn't do it." You told her. Tommy had been standing right besides you as Cindy looked at the books, found that the cave went deeper. The three of you looked towards the entrance to the room, your heart sinking.

Alice stepped right in front of Arnie, snapping in his face to try to get his attention. She even shook his shoulders, saying,

"Earth to Arnie. Earth to Arnie." Before she walked away with a sigh. She wanted to get out of there. This witch hunt had been a deadend, and now she was stuck babysitting. She looked over her shoulder when she saw her boyfriend get up, and head towards the wall. She watched him pick something up, and she asked, "Arnie? What the hell are you doing?"

Your flashlights shined in the dark, shined the curly, brown haired figure holding an axe. Tommy was behind you, but you and Cindy had gone through the tunnel first. And, before any of you could tell Alice to step back, to run across the room to where it was safe, you all watched as Arnie swung his axe into her head. You and Cindy screamed as you watched him split her head open, but Tommy was grabbing you both by the shoulders and saying,

"Shit, go! C'mon!" Before Arnie was even done. He pushed you guys through the hole, following you both back into the room. The three of you looked around, trying to find an exit, when Cindy looked at the altar. She ran over, trying to tip it, before she yelled,

"Tommy, help me!" And Tommy was right behind her. He helped her knock it over, all of the books and candles landing with a crash. Tommy grabbed you by the arm, yanking you forward and making you go first through the hole as Cindy yelled,

"Go, go, go!" You ducked down and crawled as fast as you could, Cindy pushing you to make you go faster. Just as you reached the end of the short tunnel, you heard Tommy yell. You turned and you saw that Arnie had followed you. And had grabbed Tommy's ankle. You screamed,

"Tommy!" And you watched as Cindy turned to try to grab his shoulders, and you scrambled to help. You watched as he was yanked back, quickly moving to lie flat and try to kick the brunette away. He kicked him once, twice, before he finally kicked him against the cave wall, and the pair of you dragged Tommy out before the cave could close around him.

You clamoured out, nearly falling as the rocks fell behind you. You could feel tears burning your eyes, from either the events of what had just happened or the dust that fell when the cave finally closed. Cindy sobbed, and you reached to grab onto the boy besides you. You held onto his arm, burying your face into his coat. Tommy held you close, smoothing his hand down your back before he paused and asked,

"Do you hear that?" He asked, and the three of you listened. It was a slow steady breathing, loud in the silence of the cave. Finally, Cindy asked,

"He's still alive?" And you ran a head over your face. You tried to keep it together, tried to keep yourself calm as you quickly said,

"He- He can't get us. He can't get us." You said, and leaned back into the warmth of the boy besides you. "He can't get us." You repeated one more time, like a mantra to yourself. You closed your eyes, trying not to cry as you buried your face into the shoulder of his coat.

***

"Tommy, take them to the bus and Ziggy and I will-" Cindy had started to say her plan. She'd gotten herself a shovel and Ziggy a trowel. The four of you had been discussing the witch, how you were finally going to break the curse. You'd each gone through hell, with Ziggy nearly being killed by Arnie, Cindy having to kill Arnie, Tommy nearly being crushed in the cave in, and you breaking your leg in the cave below, making Tommy have to carry you everywhere you went. But, you'd found the hand. Both you and Tommy's noses had started to bleed when you sat in the moss, and it only took a quick passage reading from Tommy for you to realize where you were sitting. The two of you had dug and ripped up the moss, before you finally found the skeleton hand of one Sarah Fier.

"What?" You yelled, staring in disbelief at her. You couldn't believe she was side-lining you. You looked to her sister, and then to Tommy. He grimaced, rubbing the back of his head. You scoffed. "So, that's it? Tommy and I find the hand and we don't even get to see it through?" You asked, and Cindy gave you a look. You knew that wasn't just it. She said your name quietly, her tone even as she said,

"You can't walk. Tommy- Tommy had to carry you here. And you need to get to a hospital." She said, and you frowned. You knew she was right. You knew that, perhaps, you were being a little unreasonable. That it would be even more unreasonable to make Tommy carry you all the way to the Sarah Fier tree. But it sucked. And, plus, you felt stronger with all of you together, even if Arnie laid in a heap in the kitchen. Even if there wasn't an axe murderer chasing after you now. Tommy reached over and gave your hand a squeeze, and you looked away. It was hard to say no to them, especially when Tommy was looking at you like that. He said a soft,

"It's okay. It's basically already over anyways. We just get to go home sooner." He said, and you couldn't deny that getting to see your bed, most likely a hospital bed first though, was compelling. And, well, you supposed you'd be alright if Tommy was the one coming with you. Sighing, you said,

"Fine. Fine." And you gave a defeated gesture. "But, you better not take all the credit when you talk to the papers." You said, cracking a half-attempt at joke. Cindy and Ziggy smiled, and Tommy gave your hand another squeeze. And, really, that was all you needed to make you feel better.

***

Tommy had chased down the last bus, yelling,

"Wait, wait!" As it started to drive off. It came to a screeching stop, and it's doors hesitated before they opened. Tommy had been carrying you bridal-style, so he had to turn sideways as he stepped onto the bus. "Thank you, thank you." He told the bus driver as he carried you on. He panted, and you would've felt bad if you weren't gritting your teeth in pain.

Running had led to jostling your leg, and every step Tommy had taken had felt like a searing hot-iron pressed to your skin. You were gripping his jacket tight, trying to get a grip on yourself. It wasn't like you could've told Tommy to slow down, otherwise you would've missed the bus.

Tommy grabbed the front seat, one that was quickly evicted by its previous taker the second they saw your leg. You tried not to let out a curse as Tommy sat down, your grip on his collar so tight that your knuckles were turning white. Instead you let out a pained noise as you buried your face into his neck, moving to grip his shoulder instead. Tommy rubbed a hand down your back, doing his best to help you rest your leg and to ease your pain. You grit your teeth when the bus started moving, already hating the ride. Softly, he said,

"In hindsight, maybe I should've grabbed the Tylenol." And you let out a pained, half-laugh. You slapped his chest lightly, telling him.

"Don't make me laugh. It hurts." And he chuckled in response. Then, his hand was brushing your thigh. Tommy had been the one to wrap the makeshift bandages around your wound. He'd used the end of his sweatshirt, and had made a makeshift crop-top of it. He checked it gently, made sure it was secure, and turned around to ask,

"Can someone pass me the first aid kit please?" And the counselor across from you went to get it. They passed it to you, and he opened it. It was full of Band-Aids and Neosporin, and the only thing helpful was the clean bandages. You watched him as he untied them, and you winced as he pulled them off. As gently as he could, he wrapped clean ones around your leg. He said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Every time you even made a face. Once he was done, he brushed a hand over your face, tilting your head to look up at him. You did, glancing over his features.

Tommy was one of your oldest friends, and, well, part of you had always liked him. He was sweet, caring, kind, and maybe you spent most of the summer flirting with him. He'd proven that he was all of those things and more tonight. He'd stuck by you in the cave, carried you up the hole, and got you on the bus before it left. He cared for you in a way that made your heart skip a beat, and, as you stared up at him, you couldn't imagine how you would've gotten through this night without him.

"Y'know, when you first fell- well, I thought I lost you for a sec. It scared the hell out of me and, the entire night, all I could think about was making sure you were safe and-" And you didn't let him finish. His words were too sweet. He was too sweet. You couldn't stand it anymore and you reached up to cup his neck, pulling him in by it and pressing your lips against his. He seemed surprised for a moment, but he was quick to kiss back. He cupped your cheek, holding you close and stealing your breath away. His kiss was slow and soft, addicting in the way you could barely think about anything else. And, for a moment, you didn't feel an ounce of pain.

When you pulled back, the two of you were silent for a beat. Before Tommy softly chuckled.

"Well, if I had known running away from an axe murderer was the way to get you to kiss me, I would've-" And you cut him off again, pulling him in for another round of kisses.

[cali-holland]

An Irregular Romance ★ Harrison Osterfield One Shot

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield X Reader

Summary: Over five years ago, Harrison followed his heart (a.k.a. you) to drama school, and the day he asked you out was the day he discovered you had a boyfriend. He thought that part of his past was behind him, but then he was cast as Leo in The Irregulars and you were cast as Bea. Romance and shenanigans ensue as he tries to navigate the resurrection of his crush on you.

Word Count: 10k

Warnings: spoilers for The Irregulars, swearing, drinking (reader gets v drunk at one point), cheating boyfriend + “open relationship” drama

Masterlist in bio

*Gif is not mine

A/N: inspired by harrison literally saying he followed the girl he liked to drama school but she didn’t like him back; the drama school is the brit school (idk if that’s what he was talking about but age wise it works better); also darci is 18+ in this fic bc it just fits better to make her around their age; plus i had to re-post this bc the tags didn’t work so rip

also just like to say a massive thank you to @duskholland​​ for proofreading this for me :) you’re the best! this fic would be missing 90% of its commas if it wasn’t for you lmao

❁❁❁❁❁

Harrison had been buzzing with excitement all week. While he knew for sure that he had landed the role of Prince Leo in The Irregulars, he had no idea who the other cast members were. His agent learned from Netflix that they’d announce the cast on Saturday, so now here he sat, anxiously awaiting the news as he drank another pint with his good friends.

“Anything yet?” Tuwaine asked, refreshing his Twitter timeline.

“Nope.” Harrison said with a shake of his head as Netflix’s Instagram page remained unchanged as another minute went by.

“Maybe they’re announcing it at midnight.” Tom shrugged, trying to be useful to ease his friend’s nerves.

“Everyone would be asleep.” The blond replied before taking another long drink of his beer.

“Well, congratulations whenever they officially announce it.” Harry stated, standing up with his empty glass. “Next round’s on me.”

The conversation began to wander off, and Harrison found himself deep in thought, pondering his mysterious, new castmates. Would he like them? Would they like him? Were they big names or no names? Were they people he had screen-tested with (because, truthfully, he only screen-tested with a few girls, but even then, he didn’t screen test with all of the potential actresses)? As he got stuck, trying to think of someone he’d actually liked when they screen-tested together, he was snapped out of his thoughts by Tom yelling.

“It’s up!” Tom held his phone in the middle of the table as he, Harrison, Tuwaine, and Harry, who was now back with more beer, looked over the cast. A sense of pride soared through the group at Harrison’s picture and name being on the official Netflix page for The Irregulars. Harrison read over the other names, wondering if he knew any by happenstance. Just as he recognized one name in particular, Tom spoke up.

“Y/N Y/L/N? Isn’t that the girl you fancied in drama school?” Tom asked with a smirk. His smirk seemed to widen as Harrison blushed a deeper shade of red.

“No, no, no!” Harrison grumbled, taking out his phone to look over the post for himself because maybe, if he looked from his own account, the cast would magically change. When he looked at your name and picture right beside his, realization hit him. He slumped over, putting his head down on the table regretfully.

“I’d nearly forgotten about Haz’s girl that wasn’t his girl.” Tuwaine joked.

“Wait, what girl?” Harry questioned, out of the loop.

Perhaps the stupidest but best choice Harrison had ever made in his life was following you, his biggest crush, to drama school. Why his mother even let him chase after a girl like that was beyond him; he thought she should’ve advised him against it, but with the whole “follow your heart” attitude, his mum was his biggest supporter. He did his best to impress you, to get you to notice him, but you were unfazed by him. The day that he finally got the courage to ask you out was the day that he learned you’d had a boyfriend for the past two months.

Though he didn’t get the girl in drama school, he actually enjoyed it, and look where he ended up now— a new Netflix show was on the horizon for him. Despite the fact that he was (and still sort of is) crushed and embarrassed by the fact that you (very kindly) rejected him five years ago, drama school turned out to be a blessing.

“Harrison, here,” Tom laughed as he clapped his friend’s shoulder as Harrison still didn’t lift his head from his pitiful position, “thought he’d pursue acting because Y/N wanted to be an actress. He didn’t realize that in order to get her attention, he’d have to actually talk to her.”

That was enough to make Harrison lift his head, eyeing his friend questioningly. Cutting Tom off, he defended himself, “What do you mean? I did talk to her.”

“Right— you’d have maybe one conversation with her every three weeks.” Tom turned back to his brother, “Anyway, Haz finally asked her out and, turns out, she’d been dating this other guy for months.”

“Whatever. I only asked her out because you and Tuwaine shoved me into her. Maybe she doesn’t even remember me.” Harrison pulled out his phone to check over Netflix’s Instagram, wanting to see for himself the new cast again. When he opened the app, it notified him of all the new followers he had gotten, and, with one glance at the list of names, one account stood out to him.

‘@yourusername started following you’. Harrison let out a sigh, not wanting to dwell on this any further.

“She works fast.” Harry teased, looking over the blond’s shoulder.

“We’re co-stars now. She probably followed everyone else too.”

As if on cue, a new notification came through his Instagram— ‘@yourusername sent you a message’. With bated breath, he opened it to see the message that confirmed his worst fear— you remembered him.

‘Hey stranger! How have you been?’

❁❁❁❁❁

With every passing day, Harrison’s excitement for this new big project grew… but so did his dread about seeing you again. He wasn’t entirely sure now as to why his gut was filled with butterflies mixed with anxiety just thinking about you. You were only ever nice to him, both before and after he asked you out. It all led him back to the same conclusion that he still had a thing for you, but yet again, maybe it’s just life that your first real crush always has some power over you.

As he walked down the strangely long hallway to the conference room, he adjusted the collar of his letterman’s jacket. Today was the big day— the first table read for The Irregulars, and the first day he’d be confronted by you after all these years. Just on the other side of this door, his co-stars and the main production crew were waiting. Everything was real now; production would start in just a few days.

With one last nervous breath, he pushed open the heavy oak door and entered the room. People were chatting as they sat around the large conference table, which had small name cards at each seat. Harrison’s eyes found you almost immediately. You were locked into a conversation with your co-star, Darci, seated to your left for the table read. To your right was one of the last available seats, and Harrison’s name was on the little card on the table. All hopes of being unnoticed by you were instantaneously gone as he took his seat beside you.

“Fancy seeing you here.” You said to Harrison with a laugh, and he was instantly reminded of how that laugh basically drove him to where he was today.

“How long has it been?” Harrison asked, trying to play it cool like he hadn’t been rehearsing this day in his mind for the past several months.

“Far too long.” You smiled.

As the last few people trickled into the room, introductions flew around the table as everyone met their new coworkers. After a cold read-through of the script and a few words from the show’s creator, the table read was deemed over. Just when Harrison thought he was free to forget about your existence for a few more days, you pulled him aside.

“Hey, Darci and I were going to get drinks with McKell and Jojo. You should come.” You offered, and Harrison chanced a glance across the room to where Darci was chatting with your other two main co-stars.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Harrison replied. He cleared his throat before giving you a definite nod that yes, that’d be a great idea.

“Perfect.”

And just like that, the five of you made your way across town to a pub. Darci had chosen the spot, explaining that it was the best place for drinks in Liverpool, and, seeing as she’d lived there her whole life, none of you tried to argue with her.

Harrison felt a strange pit in his stomach as everyone talked and laughed over some beers, as if you weren’t all strangers a few hours ago. His eyes always seemed to land on you and your contagious smile. You looked almost exactly how he remembered you, and you still were the same happy, go-lucky girl he’d fallen hard for. It was crazy to him how quickly you gave him butterflies, how effortlessly you made him feel like a silly schoolboy all over again. He couldn’t help but wonder if you thought he’d changed since his school days, too… or if you even thought about him enough to notice. So far, you’d made no indication that he was anyone besides an old friend from drama school, making him hope you didn’t remember that dreadful day.

As you and Darci excused yourself for a bathroom break, Harrison gave himself a little reminder that he was meant to be getting to know all of his co-stars right now and wasn’t meant to be focusing so intently on you. He took another sip of his beer, turning back to Jojo and McKell.

“So how do you and Y/N know each other?” McKell asked, and Jojo tried to hide his shit-eating grin behind his beer.

“Drama school, a few years ago.” Harrison replied, trying to play ignorant.

“Ah, so it’s a schoolboy crush, then?” Jojo questioned teasingly.

Harrison felt his face heat up. Jojo and McKell were practically strangers to him, and they already knew. He was cornered, “Is it that obvious?”

“A little.” McKell said while Jojo simultaneously replied, “Very.”

“Just ask her out.” Jojo encouraged.

“That’s the problem— I did.” Harrison replied, and both of their jaws dropped.

“No way. Did she let you down easy at least?” McKell’s voice was somewhere between a disbelieving, teasing, and pitiful tone.

Harrison scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, “Well, yeah? I mean she wasn’t rude about it, but it was still a bit awkward. She was dating this other guy at the time. He didn’t go to our school, though, so I had no clue about him.”

“That’s rough.” Jojo grimaced, before he gave Harrison a hopeful smile, “Maybe she’s single now.”

“I’ve been rejected by Y/N once— I don’t need her to reject me a second time.” He shook his head with a small laugh to conceal his embarrassment. He took a drink of his beer, hoping that would calm his nerves a little.

“Incoming,” McKell said quietly, nodding in the direction of the bathroom.

“What’d we miss?” Darci asked as she slipped back into her seat. You remained standing to put your jacket on, both you and Darci completely unaware of the boys’ conversation.

“Nothing, just Jojo being an idiot.” McKell joked, to which his newfound friend just punched him in the arm, taking another long drink of his beer.

“I think I might head back to the hotel.” Your words were met with a collective groan from three of your co-stars— Harrison silently frowned as he sipped on his beer.

As your head was down to collect your things, Jojo swiftly kicked Harrison under the table. Harrison looked at him quizzically, sending him a “what the hell was that for” look. When his co-star just nodded his head encouragingly towards you, Harrison got the idea.

“I’ll walk you.” Harrison said, making you look over at him. Standing up from his seat, he insisted, “I was just about to head out, too.”

“Okay,” You smiled, still completely unaware of his interaction with Jojo.

After you all exchanged phone numbers and created a group chat lovingly titled “The Irregz”, you and Harrison left the pub. You fell in step together, walking along the sidewalk in the chilly Liverpool air back to the hotel that you’d all be staying at for the next few months.

“So what have you been up to since graduation?” Harrison asked you, his hands deep in the pockets of his letterman’s jacket.

“All sorts of things, really.” You shrugged with a smile, “I got a few TV roles here and there, did some modeling, but so far none of it has really stuck, so I’m hopeful that this will be a foot in the door. What about you?”

“The same as you, really, but, instead of shows, I’ve done some short films.”

“I see you’re still best friends with Tom.” You said in a teasing tone. Harrison felt an unusual, upsetting tug on his heartstring. Not noticing any change in his demeanor, you continued with a laugh, “It’s funny. I would’ve placed my bets on you being world-famous after graduation.”

“Me?” He questioned, surprised by your words.

“Yeah, you didn’t go to LAMDA for nothing.” You playfully nudged his arm with your elbow, and he felt his cheeks heat up once more. “Don’t be modest— I’m not wrong.”

“Can’t argue with that logic.” A laugh passed his lips, any previous bashful reservations slowly fading away.

Before Harrison could say anything further, your phone began to ring. You fished it out of your pocket and barely looked at the caller ID before sending it to voicemail. Your actions were fast, but Harrison still caught the name of who was calling, Davey, followed by a red heart emoji. And that’s when it hit him— you were still with the same boyfriend from drama school, all those years ago.

And just like that, Harrison felt a tsunami wave of heartbreak from drama school wash over him.

“Hey, Y/N!” Harrison called out as he stumbled his way over to stall you from leaving school. He had one hand holding onto his book bag strap tight enough that his knuckles were turning white, and he shuffled his other through his hair.

“Hey, is everything alright?” You asked, concerned at how nervous he seemed.

“Yeah, um, well, tonight’s opening night for West Side Story, and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me? I know it’s your favorite play, and it’s one of mine too, so, yeah, I thought maybe we could go together?” He was sure that he’d never sounded so unsure of himself. Truth is, he didn’t want to ask you out right now, but Tom and Tuwaine had quite literally shoved him in your direction, physically encouraging him. He felt rushed and unprepared.

When you smiled so captivatingly and softly at him, he felt his racing heart speed up even more. Was this it? Was he really going to take you on a date? He thought to himself. His hopes weren’t up for long as you spoke up, “I can’t. I’ve already got tickets for tonight. I’m going with Davey.”

“Davey?”

“My boyfriend.” You replied, a hint of guilt in your voice.

His heart shattered. The only reason he was here, at this school, was because of you, and now he just had all of his hopes for any future dates with you thrown out the window.

“You and Davey are still together?” Harrison wondered aloud as you two arrived at the hotel.

“Yeah,” Your response was hesitant and quiet. He knew why— there was that elephant in the room between the two of you.

Before he could stop himself from mentioning it, he blurted out, “You don’t have to feel guilty about it, you know.”

You paused, watching unsure as he ran a hand through his hair nervously. “I kinda wonder what would’ve happened if I had said yes. Davey and I didn’t even end up seeing  West Side Story, anyway, so I wonder if you and I would’ve ended up any differently.”

It wasn’t much, but his heart sped up ever so slightly— so you had thought about him, even in the dating context. Harrison couldn’t think of a response (his brain repeated “fuck Davey, ask her out again”) fast enough as you stopped at the front desk. You mumbled something about needing some towels, and Harrison took that as his cue to just continue walking. He bid you a quick farewell, wanting to escape to his room as fast as possible.

Nothing you had said tonight had been particularly flirty, but he still rewound the events in his head because maybe he missed something. As he laid down in his bed that night, his mind drifted off with thoughts of you, wondering just how he’d manage to pull off these next few months without falling for you all over again.

Over the next several weeks, his predicament only seemed to grow. Spending so much time with you (and your other three co-stars) just made Harrison wish even more that he’d asked you out sooner in drama school, and having to spend most of his screen time gawking over you added to it further. Maybe it was another school boy crush, or maybe it was intense method acting— either way, he definitely liked you.

Ever since he read the script for episode four, he knew that eventually your two characters would become romantically involved. He would’ve felt giddy over the thought (because his eighteen-year-old self would’ve died at this opportunity), but whenever he thought of the scene, he was reminded about your boyfriend. Harrison wasn’t the type of guy to hate his crush’s boyfriend, but something just didn’t seem right about Davey.

Harrison was lying on his hotel bed, reading over the episode’s script for what must have been the fifth time through that afternoon. It was Sunday, the day before you’d both film Leo and Bea’s kiss. With a beer on his side table and an array of highlighters beside it, he was set. As the words started to run together, and his glasses began to feel uncomfortable on his nose, he heard a knock at his door.

“Coming!” Harrison called out. Setting his script aside, he rolled off the bed. He was confused at who could possibly be at his door, but, figuring it was someone from set, he had the decency to slip on a white t-shirt, opting for not answering the door in nothing but grey sweats. He was thankful for his last-minute decision as he opened the door and was met with you on his doorstep. Smiling at you and leaning on the doorframe, he let out a small, “Hey.”

“Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to rehearse tomorrow’s scene.” You offered with a friendly smile on your face.

“Right now?” He asked, glancing back into his room to decipher if it was clean enough or not.

“Oh, is this a bad time?” You replied, subconsciously stepping back. “Is someone here?”

“What?” Harrison looked at you, confused before it clicked what you thought, “Oh, no, no. There’s no one here. I was just rehearsing, too.”

“So is that a yes then or-?” You trailed off.

“Yeah, come on in.” He opened his door fully, allowing you to step in. He chivalrously closed the door behind you. “Would you like water or anything?”

“Can I have a beer?” You asked, spotting the one on his nightstand.

“Sure.” Harrison nodded. While he got you a beer and grabbed his own half-consumed bottle and script, you settled on the couch with your pages in hand.

“Thank you.” You smiled as he handed you the beer, and you took a sip happily. “You know, I’m honestly so jealous of you this week.”

“Why?” He asked with a laugh, thrown off guard by your confession.

“You get to do all the palace scenes again.”

“I also throw myself off a balcony.”

“But still.” You insisted. “Leo really needs to sneak Bea into the palace just so I can have one of those extravagant ball dress scenes. I just want to feel like a princess, and I feel like it’s what Bea deserves.”

Harrison looked at you admiringly for a moment. “You are a princess.” His face dropped as soon as he realized he’d said his thoughts aloud. Coughing, he tried to cover it up, “I mean—- you were kind of princess-like in episode 3, right?”

“Smooth.” You laughed, but didn’t press the situation. Your phone began to ring, and Harrison watched as you rolled your eyes, declining the call and ultimately silencing your phone.

“Spam call?”

“More like clingy non-committal somewhat boyfriend.” You stated, rolling your eyes.

He furrowed his eyebrows, confused. You hadn’t mentioned Davey in the past few weeks— not that Harrison was complaining, but he just assumed you were private about your personal life. “I thought you and Davey were on good terms?”

“We are? I don’t know.” You sighed, taking a sip of your beer.

“If you’re not comfortable with the topic, we can just rehearse-”

“No, it’s fine. I just haven’t really talked about it with anyone. Before I came here, he asked about having an open relationship while I’m away, and I told him no. And the last time we talked, we got into an argument and that was a couple days ago. I’m not ready to talk to him, and at this point, I’d much rather talk to you than him. It’s very frustrating that he wants to have an open relationship, but he still expects me to be at his beck and call. It’s like he’s looking for someone to substitute me, but I can’t have a life of my own. He wasn’t the most supportive of me taking this job in the first place, too.” You paused, with a small shrug, “I know you’re probably thinking I should leave him, but I can’t. We’ve been together for 5 years. I don’t know anything else at this point.”

“I get it.” Harrison said softly, hesitantly resting a comforting hand on your knee. “He was your first love. It makes sense that it’s hard to move on.” He felt his own heart sink at his ironic words. After all, you were his first love.

“I wouldn’t say he’s my first love.” You said softly, placing your hand on his, squeezing it gently. “Plus, at this point, I wouldn’t even say I love him.”

A silence fell in the room. Harrison really didn’t know what to say now. He would have told you to leave him, but you already knew that, so what was the point in him repeating it? Besides, it was your relationship, and you needed to make the decision for yourself… or let Davey make it for you.

“Let’s go through the scene, yeah?” You asked, changing the topic. You dropped his hand to pick up your script again.

“Right.” Harrison mumbled to himself, flicking through the pages to the scene.

You glanced around his hotel suite for a moment, looking for something similar to a bridge rail to lean on. “Should we use the kitchen counter? As the bridge rail?”

“Yeah, that works.” He nodded. The two of you got up, scripts in hand. Harrison stood to your right, just as the stage direction had called for. There was some space between the two of you, enough room for Harrison to shuffle closer to you later, as scripted.

“You’re not on your own, Beatrice. You must remember that.” Harrison said to you, leaning on the counter but looking over to you with his icy blue eyes. “You’re very different to anyone I’ve ever met.”

“What do you mean?” You asked, looking at him curiously.

“You have something about you.” He started, awkwardly.

You cut him off, “Like a smell?”

“No, like a quality.” He chuckled softly before continuing, “I don’t know what it is, but I really like it.”

“Well, when you think of it, let me know.”

“I’ll be sure to.” He smiled at you, his confidence slowly building as the scene continued on. Harrison stepped closer to you until he was right beside you, leaning sideways on the counter. “And I’m not saying you don’t smell, by the way. I’m just saying that that’s not the thing.”

You laughed, turning your head away from him in disbelief. “You know, I was thinking of kissing you, but now I’m not gonna.”

Harrison paused, taking a moment to mentally hype himself up for what was about to happen, but also taking a moment because it was scripted for Leo to be nervous. “Well, uh, I suppose I have to kiss you then.”

You turned to him, smiling coyly. Slowly, Harrison closed his eyes and leaned in. His heart started racing faster as he felt your breath fan against his face before his lips finally found yours. It was gentle and hesitant, everything that it had been scripted to be. As much as he wanted to keep kissing you and keep tasting the sweet strawberries of your lipgloss, it had to end. He pulled away after a moment, and you seemed almost breathless as you opened your eyes to see him again.

“I meant it when I said you’re not on your own.” Harrison looked at you with more hesitancy this time, but he still kissed you with the softest passion. The script said that Leo and Bea kiss and continue to kiss for a few seconds; Harrison wasn’t counting, but he was sure this kiss was longer than it was meant to be. Again, he found himself dreading its inevitable end. If there was one thing he could do for the rest of his life, it’d be this… well, this amongst other things with you. His stomach started to stir with guilt as he remembered Davey; you were still technically in a relationship, open or not, arguing currently or not. But then it clicked with Harrison, you weren’t pulling away— no, you were fully kissing him back.

Before he could pull away and end the scene with his last few lines, a knock came from his door. Regretfully, he stepped away from you. He didn’t meet your eye as he went to answer the door while you read over the script on the counter. Flustered, he opened the door.

“Mum! You’re here.” Harrison’s eyes went wide, surprised to see his mother and his sister standing before him.

“Surprise!” She smiled, hugging him almost immediately. “We had to come and see you at your big job.”

“Are you not happy to see us?” Charlotte teased, and Harrison shook his head, pulling her in for a hug. As they all stepped into Harrison’s apartment, you waved from the kitchen.

“Hi.” You smiled, coming over to introduce yourself.

“Oh, mum, Charlotte, this is Y/N. Y/N, this is my mum and Charlotte, my sister.” Harrison introduced the three of you.

“You’re Y/N Y/L/N from drama school?” Phil said with a smile, making the connection as you shook her hand. Charlotte seemed to stifle a laugh as Harrison’s cheeks heated up.

“Yes, that sounds like me.” You laughed, brushing off any awkwardness that Harrison feared was there. “We were just rehearsing our scene for tomorrow.”

“Maybe we can come to set.” Phil suggested, sending Harrison an expectant look.

“I’ll have to ask. This is so, so last-minute, though, so I don’t know.” He replied.

“It’s a spontaneous weekend trip.” Charlotte clarified.

“We should get some dinner. We haven’t eaten much all day.” Phil told Harrison before turning to you, “Y/N, you should come, too. It’d be so lovely to get to know you.”

“Oh, I don’t know.” You trailed off, glancing at Harrison. He sent you a silent look that said ‘she seriously does want you to come… If you don’t come, I won’t hear the end of it’. “I’d love to. I just need to go change first.”

You grabbed your script off the counter, and Harrison walked you to the door. “How long do you need?”

“Like 10 minutes?” You replied, and he nodded.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know they were coming, or that they’d invite you to dinner.” He said quietly, making you laugh.

“It’s fine, but I do have to warn you, if my parents spontaneously drop by, they don’t know who you are.” You teased.

He let out an embarrassed groan, “Let’s not talk about that.”

“See you in ten.” You sent him a wink before leaving to your own hotel room. As Harrison closed the door and turned back around, he was met with the smirking faces of his mother and sister.

“So, is there anything you want to tell us?” Phil asked.

“We were rehearsing. That’s all.” Harrison insisted, going through the wardrobe to find some clothes to change into for dinner.

“Huh,” Charlotte trailed off, crossing her arms. “So, you wearing sparkly lip gloss that matches Y/N’s is a coincidence?”

“It’s a kiss scene tomorrow. We rehearsed the lines and the kisses, too.” He explained. With a pair of jeans, a clean shirt, and his red letterman jacket in hand, he made his way to the bathroom.

“Oh, multiple kisses.” She teased, making him roll his eyes.

“She has a boyfriend!” Harrison ended the conversation, closing the door to the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, you returned back to Harrison’s room, and the four of you left, making your way to an Italian restaurant nearby. You and Harrison shared anecdotes about filming so far, keeping spoilers to a minimum until the server came with your food.

“We got in so much trouble from the makeup and hair department.” You laughed as Harrison finished telling them of how you two went on the playground last week, much to the chagrin of the crew.

“It was worth it.” He added.

“Who would’ve known you’d play a Netflix prince?” Charlotte asked teasingly, but it was clear she was still proud of his achievements.

“Look at that face. He couldn’t play anything but a prince.” You joked, and he smiled smugly.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He stated.

“Phil, I have to say, I’ve never met someone more well suited to play a well-mannered prince.” You told her, playfully pinching Harrison’s cheek beside you.

“I remember when there was a time he was revolted at the idea of playing a prince.” Phil said, her lips growing into a smirk, and Harrison knew exactly what that meant.

“Mum, no—“ He started, but you just shushed him, wanting to hear whatever embarrassing story was about to be told.

“He watched a single Batman movie growing up— and not even a good one at that, and decided he simply had to be Batman.” She explained. “Then the Christopher Nolan ones came out, and there was no stopping him.”

“Every kid wants to be a superhero, and Batman is simply the best one.” He said as if it was obvious.

“I didn’t know you had a Batman phase.” You teased.

“Phase? He still has posters and comic books and dolls.” Charlotte added.

“Action figures.” He corrected her, making you laugh at the humor of it all.

“You know, honestly, I think I still have Catwoman action figures.” You admitted, trying to make him feel better, and Phil’s eyes lit up as she remembered another story.

“I cleaned your room a couple weeks ago, Harrison, and I was surprised to see you still Anne Hathaway as Catwoman posters.”

“Do we really have to talk about that? Does this torture not end?” He groaned.

“Fine. That’s enough for tonight.” Phil let out a defeated sigh, clearly enjoying herself.

“Y/N, if you want the really embarrassing stories, you’ve got to talk to Tom. He’s told me embarrassing Harrison stories that I can’t say in front of mum.” Charlotte laughed, and Harrison’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head at his sister’s words.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” You smiled coyly.

“Sometimes, I wonder if he forgets that I know just as much embarrassing shit that he did growing up, too.” Harrison stated, shaking his head.

The night went on with minimal embarrassment on Harrison’s end. After Phil and Charlotte went back to their hotel, you and Harrison started the walk back to your own hotel. As you walked, your hands would brush against each other’s every so often, but neither of you made any move to take it further.

“Darci’s going to be so jealous in the morning.” You said, making him laugh a little.

“Why’s that?”

“That’s her favorite restaurant in town. Plus, I just got a free meal.” You laughed. A visible shiver coursed through you as the chilly night air picked up.

“Are you cold?” Harrison asked, already taking off his letterman’s jacket.

“Thank you.” You replied, taking his offer of warmth. Your short sleeves did nothing to shield you from the cold, but he had at least been prepared enough with long sleeves. “Are you sure you won’t get chilly?”

“I’ll be fine.” He reassured you.

“I had a really nice time tonight. I’m glad your mum invited me.” You admitted happily.

“Me, too. Apart from all of the embarrassment I just went through, I enjoyed tonight.”

“I never knew you had a secret Batman fanboy side.”

“I never knew you had a secret Catwoman fangirl side.” He countered with a smile.

“Guess that means we make a good team, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess it does.”

As you smiled at him, completely content under the moonlight, he wanted nothing more than to kiss you right then, to taste the sweetness of your strawberry lip gloss again. The last bit of your walk was filled with you two arguing over Batwoman and Catwoman, two things that neither of you had ever realized you had in common before.

Harrison’s wish finally came true the next day, as you two ran through the kiss scene multiple times. It was strange at first for him, because his sister and mother were intently watching, proud to see him in action, even if it was just a kiss scene over and over again. But, with you there, he grew more and more comfortable with each take.

As a few more weeks passed by, Harrison thought that perhaps you and Davey had officially ended things, but then he heard through Darci that you had magically worked it out. Whatever magic it was, he was upset about it, and he found himself increasingly irritated at the mention of Davey.

“Ooh, we finally get to meet the Davey tonight?” Darci asked as the five of you enjoyed lunch in between shots. It had been two weeks Harrison’s mother and sister visited, and now Davey was coming, much to Harrison chagrin.

“He’s only here for two days.” You explained, taking a bite of your sandwich.

“Ah, so you’ll be very busy, then.” McKell teased, suggestively nudging your side with his elbow. You brushed off his comment with a laugh, avoiding Harrison’s eyes.

“We should get him to do that calzone challenge with us.” Jojo said to Harrison. Although Jojo and McKell had been rather supportive of Harrison’s interest in you at the beginning, they seemed to forget about it most of the time now— for which he was actually kind of grateful.

The conversation couldn’t go any further as the director came into the room, holding the script in his hands. The look on his face told all of you that something was up. He looked between you and Harrison before speaking, “Change of plans for tomorrow. Eileen isn’t feeling well, so we’ll film Bea and Leo’s scene tomorrow instead of her scenes.”

“But tomorrow was supposed to be—“ You started, but cut yourself short, realizing there was no point in arguing. Schedules, plans, things all change, and this was just part of the job. “Never mind.”

“Well, tomorrow will be interesting.” Darci said quietly, voicing what was on everybody’s minds.

The director left with a silent nod, and the room fell silent for a moment. You and Harrison wouldn’t dare to look at each other, both of you feeling awkward suddenly. Making out with Harrison multiple times, especially with your boyfriend there, was not something either of you particularly enjoyed the thought of.

Having to film no more scenes today, Harrison went back to the hotel with Jojo and McKell. He didn’t end up seeing you for the rest of the day, but he was okay with that as he wanted to go as long as he could without meeting Davey. The director had taken some pity on the two of you, asking you to come in later in the morning instead of at 6 AM like usual.

Harrison made his way down to the hotel gym, wanting to utilize his newfound free time. Normally, he’d get his daily workout in after filming, but he didn’t see a reason to not get an early start today. He didn’t expect anyone to be up this early, but as he got closer to the gym, he could hear a voice coming from inside the room, the door cracked just slightly.

“Love, I promise I’ll be back in two days.” The stranger paused before continuing, “You know I’m only here for business, nothing else.”

Curious and trying to decide if he should even enter the room, Harrison snuck a quick glance through the crack in the doorway. He felt his blood run cold as he immediately recognized the guy sitting on the weight bench. Afterall, Harrison had looked at your social media enough to recognize your olive-skinned boyfriend, Davey.

“Bit early for you, isn’t it?” Harrison nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of your voice from down the hall. He heard Davey mumbled something on the other side of the door, probably having heard your voice too.

“Yeah, but I just figured I’d start my pull-ups early today.” He replied before opening the door for you, acting like he had no clue that Davey had been in there.

“Hello, gorgeous.” Davey said to you, completely ignoring Harrison. He stood from his spot at the weight bench to wrap his arms around your waist and kiss you possessively.

“Davey, this is Harrison, he plays Leo. Harrison, this is Davey.” You introduced the two guys.

Davey looked Harrison up and down with his dark brown eyes and seemed to stand straighter, even though the blond was inches taller. Harrison was the first to step forward and politely outstretch a hand to the raven-haired guy before him. With a tight smile, Davey shook his hand, “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.”

Davey turned back to you, “Spot me?”

“Actually, I wanted to-” Your eyes drifted over to the treadmill as Harrison got in position to start his pull-ups at the bar. Davey looked at you expectantly, and you nodded, silently agreeing to stand there and spot Davey while he bench pressed.

Slipping on his headphones and turning on some music, Harrison began his workout. He played his music loud enough to block out your conversations with Davey. Not only was it none of his business, but god, Harrison really hated everything about him already. Hearing silence between you and Davey when his song changed, Harrison spared a glance over towards you. He was surprised when he found your eyes trained on him or, rather, trained on his abdomen that seemed to stick out from his tight white shirt. Still unaware of his eyes on you, your own eyes trailed up to his arms, watching as they flexed with each pull-up. Feeling flustered by your fixed gaze, Harrison faltered a little, and your eyes immediately darted back to Davey in front of you. Harrison couldn’t help the proud smile that ghosted his lips as he continued— you were checking him out.

Harrison finished his workout and decided to get cleaned up before heading to set in half an hour, leaving you and Davey in the gym. When he left, he was surprised that you were still spotting Davey, getting no work out in like you had planned. The whole time he was getting cleaned up (and brushing his teeth repeatedly to ensure he had good breath), he just kept picturing your staring in his head. He had worked very hard to get his body in this shape, and he was very proud of himself too, but he was even prouder that you’d clearly taken notice. If anything, it almost excited him that they’d be filming this scene today. There were a few times in this episode specifically in which Leo is shirtless, but none of those scenes had been filmed— and if this scene was going to be anything like it was scripted to be, then you’d definitely get a better show than in the hotel gym.

He didn’t see you again until the two of you were on set, in full costume and makeup. He had a loose shirt on, but underneath it, his chest had been painted with blues and purples to make convincing bruises. As he went to his mark, Leo’s makeshift bed on the floor of the cellar, Harrison spotted Davey across the set, looking bored and unhappy. His blue eyes drifted over to you next, and he refrained himself from smirking as he noticed your makeup artist applying chapstick to your lips.

While you gathered your prop lantern and the lights dimmed around you all, Harrison made himself comfortable under the ragged blankets. The director called out “Action!” and Harrison closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep as he waited for you to come into the shot. Hearing your footsteps, Harrison stirred, blinking his eyes open.

“Bea, is everything alright?” He asked, looking up at you as you stood over him.

“Let me see your body.” You said definitively.

“Beatrice—” He started, but you cut him off.

“Show me, Leo. I want to see it.” At your words, Harrison shifted slowly, moving as if in pain. He pulled the blankets down and went to roll up his shirt. “Take your top off.”

He paused, looking at you questioningly with a hint of fear in his eyes. Groaning a little, Harrison sat up and removed his shirt. He looked at you expectantly, and you set aside the lantern before kneeling on the blankets beside him. Your hand drifted over the painted bruise tentatively, ghosting over the same abs that you had been studying just hours earlier. Harrison waited for you to deliver your next line, knowing he was scripted to kiss you after it. It felt like ages that he was waiting for you, wanting nothing more than to kiss you right now. His mind went blank as your eyes found his and you leaned in to kiss him.

It was unscripted, and he was surprised, but he didn’t let his surprise stop him from immediately kissing you back. Your chapstick tasted of strawberries, just as it had the last time the two of you had a kissing scene, and he swore he was in love with the taste of it. He expected to hear the director yell cut, to hear him question why you suddenly improvised, but when nothing came, he just continued to kiss you. You pulled back, a shy smile on your face, “I don’t want you to hide your body from me anymore. It’s too nice to be hidden.”

His heart leapt as he leaned forward to catch your lips once more, this time scripted. His hands shuffled to your waist, pulling you down to lay beside him as he rolled onto his side, his chest leaning over yours. Your fingers tangled into his hair, and he savored the feeling.

You pulled back again, whispering up to him, “No more hiding.”

“No more hiding.” He reaffirmed. As he continued to kiss you, his hands sensually wandered down your back, keeping you as close to him as possible. Part of him wanted to pause the intimate scene and pinch himself, just to make sure it was really happening, but he was worried if he stopped kissing you now that he’d never get the opportunity to kiss you like this again.

“Cut!” The director called, and Harrison reluctantly pulled away from you. He could’ve sworn a small frown passed your lips as he looked down at you, not having shifted off of you yet.

“Spearmint— my favorite.” You teased quietly, as if it was only for the two of you to hear. As you laughed underneath him, Harrison couldn’t help but wonder what his younger self would think if he knew he’d one day get to make out with Y/N Y/L/N. Even if it was just for the show, it was a sight that he’d always want to remember.

“I’ve always enjoyed the taste of strawberries.” He replied softly, rolling away from you.

The director ran you two through a couple pointers for the scene, and, to Harrison’s surprise, he even suggested Bea kissing Leo first, just like you had improvised. You reasoned that you forgot your line momentarily, but something about the way you kissed Harrison made him feel like that wasn’t the case; no, it seemed like you’d truly wanted to kiss him.

After running through the scene a few more times, the director was satisfied. While you stayed behind on set to film more scenes, Harrison returned to his hotel room. Just as he was searching his toiletry bag for some much-needed chapstick, his phone began to ring with a Facetime call. Seeing Harry’s contact photo light up on his screen, he accepted and set his phone aside momentarily. He didn’t need to wonder what Harry (and most likely Tom, Tuwaine and maybe even Sam) were calling about— he had made the dire mistake of telling his easily-excited best friends about today’s scene.

“Why are we looking at your ceiling?” Harry asked almost immediately.

“I’m, uh, looking for lip balm.” Harrison admitted quietly and smiled to himself when he found some. He quickly put it on and then grabbed his phone, heading to his bed where he could comfortably talk to his friends.

As expected, his friends let out an incoherent chorus of excitement. Sam seemed to calm down enough first to ask (more like, shout through the phone), “How was it?”

“Does she really kiss with tongue? Remember Jack used to say-” Tom started, and Harrison scoffed, hearing the name of one of their old classmates who swears he had a summer fling with you once.

“I still don’t believe him, but no, not today at least.” Harrison was honestly a bit embarrassed to admit it. You were in a relationship… with a possibly cheating moron, but still. It just didn’t feel right to talk about you in that way.

“Not today? So there could be another time!” Tuwaine shouted encouragingly.

“Is she still with that prick?” Tom asked.

“Yes, but,” Harrison paused, and they all looked at him expectantly, waiting for elaboration, “I think he might be cheating on her.”

“What makes you say that?” Harry questioned. “Mate, just because you fancy her doesn’t mean her boyfriend’s a cheater.”

“No, I mean I heard him on the phone, and he said he was in Liverpool for business, not for his girlfriend.” He reasoned, “I’m just very suspicious of him.”

“You should tell her if you think he is.” Sam stated, “If he isn’t, then, oh no, you’re on bad terms with her boyfriend, who probably already hates you after today. If he is, well, she’d hate you if she finds out you kept it from her.”

Harrison let out a small sigh as the others nodded. “I don’t know. It’s not my place. Besides, she said something a few weeks about him wanting an open relationship. Maybe it’s that?”

“Okay, look, forget I asked about him.” Tom said, shaking his head, while the others looked at Harrison skeptically through the phone, “How was it to finally have your drama school dreams fulfilled?”

“Fucking heaven.” Harrison admitted with a laugh.

For the next week, Harrison resisted the urge to tell you about Davey. He wanted to, he really did, but whenever he’d finally be alone with you and mentally prepare himself for the conversation, you would always just seem so happy and content. He couldn’t bring himself to disturb your happiness, especially when it was Harrison making you happy. After Davey left, it’s like something changed within you, and Harrison had no clue what it was, but he enjoyed it.

‘You have to tell her.’ Harrison read over his most recent text from Tom again. He let out a small sigh, trying to get the courage to tell you as you sat across from him at the booth.

It was Saturday, and you two, along with Darci, Jojo, and McKell, had made your way to a club, wanting to celebrate another week down. With only two episodes left to film, you all knew your time together was starting to run low. You were all a few drinks in by now, happily buzzed. Jojo and McKell were off somewhere, probably attempting to be each other’s wingmen. Darci was telling you a story so wild that Harrison wondered if it was even true. He finished the rest of his drink and shuffled out of the booth.

“I’m going to grab another drink.” Harrison said to you two, and, without waiting for a response, he left. He made no move to flag down the bartender, leaning against an empty spot in the bar. Pulling on the collar of his blue shirt, he started to feel hot, unsure if he could handle this.

“What happened to getting another drink?” You asked him, stepping up beside him.

“Where’s Darci?” He replied, not wanting to answer your question.

“Found a friend in the crowd.” You laughed and turned to flag down the bartender. You ordered a round of shots, to Harrison’s surprise.

“Are you good?” He asked skeptically.

“Yeah,” You nodded, but with how your eyes were glazed over the alcohol and another unreadable emotion, Harrison didn’t quite believe you. Playfully, you nudged him, “I should ask you the same thing. You’re the one who’s been moping all night for god knows why.”

“I haven’t been moping.” He argued as a tray of four shots was placed in front of you two. You handed one to him and took one for yourself.

“Cheers to another week done.” You clinked your shot glass against his before both of you downed them.

As you went to grab your second shot, Harrison reached a hand and stopped you. Concerned, he asked, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Davey and I broke up— for good this time.” You admitted, and his hold on your wrist softened while he looked at you pitifully. “He told me when he was here that he went through with his ‘open relationship’ plan, even though I never agreed to it, so he’s been basically cheating on me since I left for this job. Then tonight, he drunkenly texts me, and I know it’s just a booty call. He’s done it for years, but now I actually see it for what it is. So now, my shitty boyfriend is gone, I’m finally single, and my only plans for tonight is to get properly drunk. Maybe even hookup with a stranger— god knows it’s been a while since I had decent sex.” Harrison was speechless, and you continued, a smile finding its way to your face at the end of your venting. “Dance with me after this shot?”

“Do I have a choice?” He asked playfully, feeling your mood lighten once more. You winked at him, handing him a full shot glass. He made a mental note to keep a close eye on you and to keep you from drinking anymore.

After you both drank back the burning liquid, you grabbed his hand and pulled him out to the dancefloor. Harrison had felt the alcohol that was flooding his system earlier, but the colored lights, pounding music, and countless bodies around him seemed to make the alcohol hit him harder. There was a weight off his shoulders, knowing you were actually single as you danced with him, and yet he still felt strange about his current state with you— were you truly into him or was he just the first guy you could drunkenly hook up with?

You turned to face him, a small frown on your face, “Haz, you’re being a bit of a killjoy.”

It was then that he realized, while you were fully grinding on his body, he was relatively motionless. Your hands found his, and you planted one on your hip and another on the small of your back, low enough though that it teetered being on your ass. You leaned in closer to him, letting him get a whiff of your perfume. While one of your hands trailed along the hem of his shirt, daring to even dip below his shirt, the other traced through his hair.

As you planted a kiss on Harrison’s neck, not caring at all for the dancing bodies around you, you heard him let out a strangled groan of your name. Your nails light scratched over the deep V in his hips, hooking onto where his jeans met the line.

“Should we get out of here?” You asked Harrison, your lips right next to his ear as your voice dripped with seduction. He felt his heart flip with intoxicating excitement before he was immediately reminded of the gravity of the situation. You went to kiss him, but he moved back quickly, stepping out of your reach. Pouting, you asked, “Do you not want me? After all this time?”

“No, I do.” Harrison insisted. “I want you, but not like this, not when you’re drunk. You’re not in the right headspace for this. I don’t want to be your drunken rebound.”

“How can you be a rebound when it’s always been you?”

Harrison sighed. Oh, how much he’d love to hear that from you— sober. He was saved from having to reply when Darci, McKell, and Jojo found you two. They looked at the two of you skeptically, but Harrison just shook his head.

“I’m going to take Y/N back to the hotel.” He said as he stepped closer to the group so that they could hear him over the music.

“We’ll come, too.” Jojo insisted, even though, with his words slurred and his eyes glazed over, he was thoroughly drunk, too.

“Where did Y/N go?” McKell asked, realizing your sudden absence.

“Oh god,” Harrison muttered, and the four of them dispersed in the crowd to find you, tripping over the other sweaty bodies. Darci found you first, unable to stop you from having a couple more shots.

“No, no, you’re done.” She argued with you. You reached for the last shot that she had taken from you, but, in your intoxicated state, you easily lost your balance. Harrison quickly wrapped an arm around your waist to hold you up.

“I don’t think she can walk.” Jojo commented.

“What gave that away?” McKell asked sarcastically.

“Come on, let’s get you home.” With a small sigh, Harrison, as the most sober of the group (though he still felt fairly tipsy), proceeded to lead you out of the club.

Darci hailed a cab for the five of you, and while it was an illegally tight fit, you all made it work. You leaned on Harrison as he was pressed right up against you. On your other side sat Jojo. You mumbled softly to Harrison, one of your hands falling onto his knee, “Do you remember that year when they put up mistletoe at school?”

“Where are you going with this?” He asked you softly.

“I saw you kiss Vivian at the one outside of the gym, and I couldn’t walk in that area for three months without thinking of you. I was so jealous of her, and you just looked like such a good kisser, which I’m happy to report you are.”

“Babes, maybe stop with the drunk talking.” Darci said, because all of you could tell this was stuff sober you would never say.

Harrison looked at you in surprise— he barely even remembered when Vivian dragged him under the mistletoe, so the fact that you remembered and were jealous? And you said he was a good kisser, too. He felt a glimmer of pride overcome him.

“Ask me tomorrow, it’s the truth.” You shuffled in your seat, laying your head against Jojo’s shoulder, “Jojo, wanna know a secret?”

“Y/N, maybe-” Darci started, but Jojo cut her off.

“No, go on, Y/N.” He laughed, wanting to hear your drunk thoughts.

“Do you think I’d make a good Catwoman?” You asked, words slurring together as you grew tired.

“Catwoman? Like Anne Hathaway?” He questioned, and you hummed a ‘yes’. “Yeah, you’d make a good Catwoman.”

“Good. Tell Haz he needs to my Batman then.” Your voice was quiet, as if it was something just meant for the two of you to hear, but your voice wasn’t nearly as soft as you had thought it was, meaning Harrison and the rest of your friends were truly aware of your little drunken secret

“Okay, I’ll tell him.” Jojo reassured you, a shit-eating grin on his face as he glanced over your head to look at the embarrassed Harrison.

The rest of the car ride was silent, and Harrison helped you out of your seat. With the help of the others, he got you safely inside your hotel room. Everyone retreated to their own rooms, except for Harrison who stayed with you. He laid you down on your bed and went searching for your pajamas, which to his luck were stowed underneath your pillow.

“Can you change or—?” Harrison asked, holding out the clothes to you

“I’ve got it, though I wouldn’t mind you helping.” You said with a wink. As you started to change out of your club clothes, Harrison turned away from you and focused on getting out some much-needed pain reliever and a glass of water for you to have in the morning. He heard you shuffle on the bed behind him before you let out a small huff, “Hazzy, can you come here?”

Hazzy— that was a new nickname. To his surprise, you were already tucked up in bed, your previously worn clothes scattered on the floor around you. He set the water and meds on your nightstand before kneeling to your level, “What’s wrong, love?”

“Do you know why Davey wasn’t my first love?” You asked quietly, your eyes beginning to droop with sleep. You reached a hand out to tentatively run your fingers over his cheek before you cupped it, smiling softly at him.

He had a hunch, but he played along anyway, wanting to hear you say it, in case he never heard it again. “Why?”

“Because you were.” Your voice was so quiet that he barely heard you, but he was so glad that he did. He leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to your forehead, and you let your hand fall from his face.

“Get some sleep. We can talk in the morning.”

“Can you stay tonight? Please?”

“Of course, love.” Harrison stood to his full height, and when he looked at you again, you were already asleep. He softly readjusted the blankets on your bed to make sure you were warm enough, before he made his way over to the couch. Grabbing a throw blanket off the back of the couch, he settled into his bed for the night. Just like every other night lately, he drifted off thinking of you, but this time, there was an excited flutter in his heart.

The next day, Harrison woke up to you letting out a groan, loudly asking, “Why the fuck is it so bright in here?”

He slowly sat up from the couch to check on you. A smile crossed his face as you took the pain meds he’d left out and downed the glass of water. Your eyes seemed to bulge out of your head when you noticed his presence in the room. Laughing, he greeted you, “Good morning, sunshine.”

“Please tell me you miraculously don’t remember anything I said last night because I remember, and I don’t want to.” You said, pulling your knees up to your chest.

“Sorry to disappoint then.” He sent you a sympathetic smile.

With a sigh, you patted the spot beside you on your bed. Wordlessly, Harrison got up from the couch and came to sit beside you on the bed. He expected you to say something, but when you were silent, seemingly caught up in your thoughts, he spoke up, “Did you mean it? When you said I was your first love?”

“Yes.” There was no hesitation in your reply, and you turned to finally meet his eye, “It was a very intense schoolgirl crush, hence why I hated Vivian after that mistletoe incident, but seeing you again just made me realize that it was more than just a crush. I’ve regretted saying no to you all those years ago ever since you came back into my life.”

“Well, I thought I was over my crush on you, but turns out, there are just some things time can’t change.”

A comfortable silence overfell you two again before you finally spoke up with the words that had been on your mind for weeks, “I think I’m in love with you.”

“I think I’m in love with you, too.” Harrison sealed his words by leaning in to kiss you.

With no script to follow now, he felt fireworks as you kissed him back. One of your hands drifted to the back of his neck, silently urging him to continue kissing you. His hands snaked around your waist before he shifted to lay on his back, rolling you on top of him. You deepened the kiss, your tongue finding its way into his mouth. He moaned at first, fully enjoying himself, before his lips curved into a smile, and he started to laugh against your lips.

“What’s so funny?” You asked, pulling away from his lips. His hands wandered from your hips up to where your own hands were resting on his chest, and he casually intertwined your fingers.

“It’s nothing.” He said in an attempt to play it off, but the smile on his face told you that whatever he was thinking was hilarious to him. “You remember Jack Evans? He told everyone that you were the best french kisser in school, and, well, he’s not wrong.”

You let out a scoff before giggling to yourself, “First of all, how many girls have you french kissed from drama school and should I be jealous? Second of all, Jack was an ass who couldn’t kiss for shit, but I’ll take it as a compliment that he told everyone that.” You leaned down until your lips were just barely touching, “And thirdly, do you want to keep talking about drama school, or do you want me to keep kissing you?”

“You don’t need to be jealous, but I kinda like that you are.” He replied with a cheeky smile. “And you’re right. He was an ass.”

“And for the last one?” You asked, raising your eyebrows at him.

Harrison pretended to think about it for a second before he let go of your hand to cup your cheek, bringing your lips crashing back down to his.

[calehenituseappreciation]

Ive seen a lot of Dream (and usually Techno and Phil too) as gods au (i have one too dw) but all of you are sleeping on the funniest option.

Tommy is the god.

Tommy.

hes the only one in that galaxy (other than drista ofc)

Just imagine how fucking funny it is like 

it would be so fucking hilarious

and tommy just doesnt tell them

so techno is just there making all these blood god jokes and jokingly telling tommy to serve him and tommys just laughing

imagine a god in the form of a chaotic 16 year old racoon gremlin just walts into your land commits arson and gets banned, only to come back with another person who he helps start a nation for drugs?

imagine how fucking funny it is

just

imagine tubbo banning a literal god from his lands and he just doesnt come back? he just plays by the rules? then goes and like sits in the corner all sad because some humans/dreamons told him to leave

ranboo, just joining the server: hi-  a chaotic gremlin god: wanna commit arson with me?  ranboo, just trying to vibe and maybe not disturb this god: sure 

Phil and Ranboo recongnize Tommy as a god on sight.

Everyone else just refuses to believe it. hes Tommy. Tommyinnit. hes just weird lol

And Drista being a fucking chaotic blood god? 

drista is open about her godhood and does not hesitate to spawn blocks

Drista finds Dream and decides she likes this small human, and dream just has to deal with it lmao.

drista and tommy are both born at the same time.

Tommy is a god of music, chaos, war and theivery (the last one bc he is a BITCH)

Drista is the blood god, chaos, deception, and theatre

okay but imagine the sbi interactions... like ig in this au tommy joins at like 12/13 years of age (in their minds) so he doesnt really grow much 

and like tommy, a literal god, just claiming phil as his father???

phil, in his house making eggs, assuming one of his sons woke up and came to the kitchen, not looking: hey son  tommy, from their couch, already deciding hes phils son now: whats up dad? phil: looks up at tommy who are you tommy: idk dad, who am i  phil: *stares at tommy for a second* eh i made extra eggs you can stay 

ASJIDGASUIOG IMAGINE TOMMY TELLING THEM HES A GOD BUT THEY THINK HES JOKING AND IGNORE HIM

everyone on the server: tommy is the youngest! tommy, as old as the universe: no im not!!!! im not a child!!!! he doesnt pout because pouting is for children and hes not a child but hes pouting tubbo: lol im older than you by a month tommy dont try to hide it tommy: im not a child!!!! techno: laughs

tommy doesn't try to hide that hes a god just its tommy

thats all the evedince anyone needs to think tommy isnt a god or powerful its like mcc hes good but only when he doesnt throw for content

quackity: sees drista written in bedrock lmao drista visited? tommy: yeah! i wrote that for her!  quackity: snorts yeahhhh sureee tommy

imagine like how fucking funny it is jsut like 

a fucking chaotic god breaks into your house androbs you makes a room under your house and decides to live in your floorboards

imagine dream like trying to manipulate tommy, and tommy a fucking anchient diety immeditly recongnizes what hes doing

but decides to play along for the angst and giggles and then actually gets mad when no one fucking cares for his theatrics

tommy, storming off to technos base to rob and build under: >:///// cant believe none of them acknoledged my  deppression 

i love that tommy stills robs everyone, he doesnt need to he can spawn in anything he wants

he just does it for the sport of robbery

JAKOGFSDOH

THE HOLY LAND

dream: im god actually tommy: thats so fucking funny lets make a cult about that :)  dream: see! look! im god! and jesus!  tommy: wheezing

imagine tommy getting stressed and letting go of his mortal form

Tommy, his human form peeling away, showing his actual form a bit: WH̸͘A͠T̷ ̶̢T͞H͢E ̡͘F̴̵͘Ù̧C͜K҉ ̶T͘͜͞E͟CHǸ͏Ǫ  Techno: HAH?

tommy just saw tubbo and got emotionally attached

Tommy, a literal god: hello Tubbo: oh hi do you like my pet bee? Tommy: you’re mine now Tubbo: im okay with this

tommy, a bored god: gives techno shapeshifting powers  techno, not even caring: changes into more human to pig-ishg forms as he wishes this is my life now ig 

phil lets tommy do fuck all in exile bc he knows hes a god hes fine

phil: IDC IF YOURE A GOD! YOU WILL DO THE DISHES NOW YOUNG MAN! tommy: grumbles but does them

phil is the only one who can control tommy

god... tommy... with star freckles... on his human form... (as well as his god one)

tommy: f̷͛͠a̵̋t̵̒̑h̸̚e̶̓͝r̸͊ ̸̐̒i̴ ̸̅̿d̷̉͆o̵͂͋ ̵̛̆ñ̸̾ő̶́t̸̎́ w̶͆͘i̴͠s̵̓̈́h̸͗́ ̵̯͗f̶͋́ő̴͑r̷̐̌ ̶͝é̵̽g̸͊͂g̵̒s̷͂̃  phil: idc, eat your goddamn eggs tommy: pouts

tommy, despite being able to get supplies himself by fucking spawning them in: hey tubbo? we need supplies 

In this au ig like if a god claims you you get a mark on your skin showing that. Drista’s would be like a green crown, Tommys would be a red and white disk (white as the outer ring and red as the center) (its different enough that if you don’t realise tommy is a god you wouldnt realise whos it is) (schlatt is the only one who never had one which shoulda been a sign dude :/)

Dream has two from the beginning, everyone else has only one, well until they meet drista. (sbi have had one since they met tommy, though they dont remember the first time they met tommy)

wait what if tommy like found them all as children one by one and later kinda pulled some strings to get them all in one kingdom. (he still joined sbi through forcing phil to adopt him) 

OKAY BUT IMAGINE IF TOMMY MET TECHNO WHEN TECHNO WAS YOUNG ENOUGH TO NOT REMEMBER

tommy would hang out with baby techno and tell him stories

once he told him the story of a man named thesus

another time he told him the story of a blood god

like for example tommys first time meeting techno would be like

(for context techno lived in a shitty village and was an orphan and it was kinda a dog eat dog place, he learned how to be strong because of it)(he was young enough that he doesn’t remember this well, just like learning about the blood god and someone giving him gold)

baby techno: sighs tommy, appearing out of nowhere: oh heyyy whyre you sad? techno: jumps turning around with a knife up ready for a fight who are you tommy: im tommy! :) techno: what do you want from me! you dont scare me! tommy: whats your name! techno: i have a knife! i'll use it! tommy: of course, thats a given, but its rude not to tell people your name techno, confused: t-technoblade? tommy: smiles thats a nice name techno: so. tommy: hm? techno: why're you here tommy: i don't have a reason. im just a traveller! techno: then why hole to this terrible village! theres nothing nice here! everyone is terrible and so are you! tommy: hmmmm i dont agree techno: what are you? a child? i thought adults were supposed to know that everyone is mean tommy: mmhmm looks at the bruise on technos face where'd you get that? techno: fight. i won. i'll win against you too! so don't try anything. tommy: of course. i would never win in a fight against a blood god techno, putting down his knife a bit, stars in his eyes: blood god? tommy: grins blood. god. i think she'd like you. techno, muttering: maybe i can give the blood god some of your blood tommy: laughs yeah, she'd defenitly find you intresting tommy: here tosses techno a golden crown at techno, he spawned it in in the moment techno: whats this? tommy: a crown, thought it suit you screams in the distance tommy: huh. i need to go. have fun lil piglin. ruffles technos hair before running off towards the screaming unbeknownst to the pig the blood god was actually the one waiting for the god he met. techno: stares at the crown 

Techno found a pouch of gold in his ‘house’ later that day. he didnt know who left it but it helped him get food for that night. (he kept the crown)

okay but imagine tommy not taking the war seriously at all, and only seeing it as a squabble between mortals, Like toddlers fighting

dream: SURENDER BY TOMMOROW OR WE'LL DECLARE WAR! wilbur: FUCK YOU WE'LL NEVER SURENDER AND JOIN YOUR SMP! Tommy: how cute

tommy doesnt realise that theyre serious until wilbur dies

tommy would usually go apeshit against anyone who dares messes with his humans, but what is he supposed to do when his humans are fighting Eachother?

wilbur: fucking goes insane and dies  tommy: hey- hey can you guys let me talk to wil for a sec? everyone else leaves tommy, unsually somber: sorry i didnt help you i forgot how easily breakable mortals are tommy: this time you wont die, and i'll make it so that you dont break again, okay? tommy: brings wilburs soul out of its body and enters his mindscape ghostbur: wakes up what- where am i? tommy: hi there ghostbur: who are you tommy: i go by a lot of names all, one, you, the world, the universe, god, but you can just call me tommy ghostbur: oh okay. who am i? tommy: you're name was wilbur soot. you were the son of philza minecraft and brother to Technoblade, Tubbo and myself. ghostbur: was? tommy: well you see, you died. ghostbur: oh... well what am i then? tommy: a ghost! well actually its your choice. would you like to continue your existance or fade away with your body? ghostbur: i dont want to fade away! tommy: smiles thats what i thought you'd say stretches his hand to wilbur ghostbur: grabs tommy hand tommy: lets go home

ghostbur doesnt remember that though

he only remembers the good

tommy wont let him remember the bad, what if he breaks again? mortals are so fragile

phil realises what tommy did as soon as he sees ghostbur 

drista, painting tommys nails (there both in god form btw) (after wilburs death btw): tommy shouldn't you of all gods realise how fragile they are?  tommy: i know just... forgot  drista: sighs and nods i get what you mean, especially with the ones we found... they act a lot like gods sometimes i forgot they arent  tommy: ikr? wait- drista here gets drista's hair out of her face you were gonna get it on my nails, anyways, don't judge me. we all know if dream died you would turn him into a ghost too drista: smirks not if you do it first, we all know you would tommy: you say that as if you wouldn't fight me to do it first  drista: .... tommy: ... drista: both of us when he dies? tommy: nods tommy: anyways my turn to do your nails 

or like tommy with ghostbur like

ghostbur: i don't like this :( tommy, a worried brother and god: whats wrong? ghostbur: everyone is mad at me and i d-dont know why- why are they mad at me tommy: theyre mad at something alivebur did ghostbur: b-but im not alivebur sniffs it hurts. i dont like it. tommy: spawns in some blue here ghostbur: whats that? tommy: its some blue! it'll help you not hurt anymore! ghostbur: how does it work? tommy: see how its blue? ghostbur: nods tommy: well its blue because it sucks up all the bad feelings! it'll help ghostbur: !!!!! ghostbur: presses the blue into his chest ghostbur: !!!!its working!!!! :D tommy: smiles good

wilbur fucking died and tommy went from annoying little brother to caring older brother

tommy just wants to help his brother :) though he doesnt realise that not letting ghostbur remember bad memories isnt good

*at logsted shire btw* ghostbur: who are you? tommy, chuckling: did you forget me already ghostbur? ghostbur: i didnt forget you! i think! you're tommy! i just... you're different tommy, looks over at ghostbur: different how? ghostbur: you're not normal are you? tommy: grins whaaaaat? you think im weirdddd? how heartbreaking... my own brother thinks im weird, this is terrible ghostbur: giggles tommy: but really, don't worry about it bur. ghostbur: you sure? tommy: yeah, dont worry about me ghostbur: smiles okay! do you want some blue anyways? tommy: giggles sure! ghostbur: grins

ghostbur isnt worried about tommy

he knows hes strong

phil having to tell tommy that he cant just not let wilbur remember the bad memories

and tommys like "what if he breaks again!" and phil hugs him and tells him to at least ask ghostbur if he wants to remember and tommys like ‘fine’

tommy: hey bur? ghostbur: yeah? tommy: do you like you're memories? ghostbur: i mean, yeah its hard not to when you only remember the good tommy, quietly: would you want to remember the bad? ghostbur: w-what brought this question on tommy: answer the question ghostbur: no- alivebur was badi shouldn't want to- tommy: but what do you want bur? wilbur, silent for a moment: yeah- yeah i do. not that i like the bad memories! they hurt... but i wish i could remember tommy: ... ghostbur: hey tommy? tommy: yeah? ghostbur, with tears in his eyes: do you think they'd be less mad at me if i could remember, maybe then i could repair my relationships, what the hell am i supposed to do when i dont even remember hurting them? tommy: what if they dont? what if you break again? ghostbur, saltily: we'll maybe i'll be able at least be able to say i know why everyone hates me tommy: i know how to get all of your memories back ghostbur, looks towards tommy in shock: you do??? tommy: nods ghostbur, voice wavering: for how long tommy: since the beginning ghostbur: and you didnt tell me tommy: i did what i thought was best. i just didnt want you to hurt anymore. ghostbur, angrily: WELL THAT CLEARLY WORKED DIDNT IT? tommy: sorry wilbur, sometimes i forget how to handle humans ghostbur: what- tommy: sighs and taps ghostbur on the forehead and ghostbur does the ghost equivilent of passing out tommy: wont hide any memories this time

ghostbur doesnt wake up, instead wilbur wakes up weither thats good or bad we'll see

wilbur, waking up with all his memories: HOLY SHIT TOMMY WASN'T KIDDING phil, who was reading beside the bed tommy placed wilbur into, which was in technos house. yes he broke into technos house with a passed out wilbur. move on.: hm? wilbur: holy shit phil: huh? yeah. wilbur: wait you knew? phil: yeah i recongnized him as soon as i saw him about 5 years ago now? wilbur: excuse me while i freak out because my little brother is an actual god

it really hits wilbur that tommy is a god later

wilbur: hey tommy? tommy: yeah? wilbur: how fucking old are you? tommy: snorts of course thats the first thing you ask wilbur: well? tommy: i dont really know the exact years since years are kind of a human thing that were invented recently wilbur: they were invented thousands of years ago- tommy: but it was around the beginning of this galaxy wilbur, softly: what the fuck

tommy telling wilbur stories about different heros and villains and different humans he met during his life.

Adsjbffsg what if Tommy made himself blonde and blue eyed and white bc thats hyow the first human he met looked like asjfhsd

and just didnt change that, despite meeting new humans, its just his defult settings.

he would totally do this tho im crying.

drista just based her human form off dream because she is his sister now. he must deal with this. trying disowning me when i look like you BITCH.

thats my take anyways later might continue this

[emeraldspiral]

Just got out of Thor: Love and Thunder.

IDK why it gets bad reviews, aside from some people just having a massive hate-boner for Taika and his style not being what they want for the Thor franchise. I was going into it expecting a huge letdown, but it wasn’t at all. I don’t think it was as solid or consistently good as Ragnarok, but there were parts of it that had some of the best stuff I’ve seen in Marvel. The ending especially I really liked because it’s one of those rare endings you get where it doesn’t come down to just killing the bad guy, it comes down to compassion and actually addressing the reason the conflict started in the first place. I think Jane got a pretty good sendoff that made it worth bringing her back after she’d been unceremoniously discarded. I think this, and the Party Thor episode of What If...? were the only times I felt like she and Thor had believable chemistry and I actually felt invested in Thor’s emotions over Jane. I don’t think the movie had as many jokes and wasn’t as funny as Ragnarok but I think there were fewer jokes that didn’t land or made the mistake of going too far or undercutting a moment that should’ve been played seriously. I think they came up with a satisfying explanation for why Jane was able to wield Mjolnir when that’s supposed to be a really high bar to clear and I like that it actually got used again in the finale and not just as a justification for Jane!Thor. It was kinda like the ending of Shazam. I thought the 2nd act battle in the shadow world was really cool. Looked like they dropped the framerate to make it look like an old stop-motion animation to give it an extra eerie sand surreal feel and it had a bit of a Sin City vibe with the level of contrast and the little pops of color. Nice to see yet another phase 4 Marvel project breaking away from the homogeny of the rest of the franchise and going for more avante garde stylistic choices.

I didn’t check the runtime, but the movie did feel a little short. But maybe that was just because it felt like it should’ve been a little longer to develop some parts more. Like, I think we should’ve been introduced to Axel in an early scene and had him being Hiemdall’s son come up in conversation, so we get that information in a way that feels more natural than Thor just explaining who he is to the audience the moment he becomes relevant. I feel like Valkyrie really didn’t get her due in this movie. She mostly stands on the sidelines of Jane and Thor’s relationship and doesn’t get to do much as a supporting character to advance their story and all she gets for herself is like, one scene of acknowledging her own loneliness and heartache that doesn’t get resolved because she’s written out of the movie in the third act. Korg regrowing his body, finding a dude and having a baby with him in a couple lines of exposition I’m okay with though because Korg was always a comic relief side-character, we don’t really need to see a whole character journey for him.

I really liked where Thor ends up at the end of the story. I like that it wasn’t just another movie where he lost someone he loved. This time he actually gained something and it’s changed the status quo for him in a significant way. Every other movie he’s leaving his family, his people, his girlfriend, the Avengers, the Guardians, or whoever he’s with to go looking for action somewhere else. But now that there’s a kid in the picture he might actually have to settle down in one place for a while to give her some stability. I also thought the girl was very cute and I loved her interactions with Dad!Thor.

[motherjoel]

from heaven above (spencer reid x fem!reader)

summary: you go into labor while spencer’s on a case, not answering his phone

a/n: i honestly say penelope garcia rights in my fics fdsbkfna i always give her the spotlight. also idk anything about birth, forgive me

wc: 2.2k

warnings/includes: idk just birth dfjhbfjh

-

Your due date wasn’t for two weeks- Spencer was supposed to be home and you were supposed to have this baby with him. In two weeks. You weren’t allowed on planes, so you stayed with Garcia at the office towards the end of your pregnancy, working from there. You had been sitting in a chair next to her when you felt your water break.

“Uh, Pen?” you asked, looking in shock down at your legs.

“Yes, my beautiful glowing goddess of nature and all things holy?” she asked, eyes still glued to the screen. After you didn’t answer for a moment, still in shock, she turned to look at you with concern. She followed your gaze down to see what you were internally freaking out about. Her eyes widened as she gasped. “Okay, Y/N, wow this is happening!” she yelled, frantically running around the batcave, looking for god knows what.

“I have to- I gotta call Spence,” you said, taking out your phone and dialing the number of your husband. After a few rings, you were sent to voicemail.

“They might be on the jet, oh no, oh my gosh,” said Penelope, freaking out even more than you were.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, uh, I guess it’s a girls day!” you shouted, trying to make light of the incredibly stressful situation.

“Oh, you know I love a girls day,” Penelope replied with a nervous laugh, helping you up and guiding you to grab your bags from your desk. “Move everyone! Get out of the way, mother nature is calling!” Penelope shouted at the others in the office. You laughed lightly at the shocked faces, stopping midway as you faced one of your contractions. 

“Garcia it’s happening!” you said, taking a seat in a nearby chair as you squeezed her hand, riding out your first contraction.

“It’s okay honey, I got you,” she said, repeating comforting words until you were finished. Once you were done, she quickly guided you into her car and sped off to the hospital. The entire way there you were grabbing onto the door handle for dear life, repeatedly calling Spencer and praying he’d pick up eventually. They were scheduled to land soon, but this baby was coming and it was coming fast. You both rushed into the hospital and were immediately put into a room, where you were basically told to ride out the contractions until you were dilated enough to push. You had given up calling Spencer, figuring he’d just call you back when you landed. Penelope, however, decided to call the rest of the team a million times over until Morgan actually answered.

“Derek! Is Spencer there, please tell me Spencer’s there,” she said, putting her phone on speaker. You were on high alert now.

“Calm down baby girl, yeah he’s right next to me,” Derek said, defensively.

“Then tell me why the HELL he isn’t answering his phone!” you yelled as you felt a contraction coming on.

“Oh god,” said Morgan over the phone, you could hear shuffling as he handed it to Spencer.

“Y/N? Is everything okay? My phone died,” Spencer said, worry laced in his voice. You responded by screaming- this was a particularly bad contraction. You were also annoyed at his neglect to charge his phone. 

“It’s happening Reid, the baby genius is gonna pop,” said Penelope, looking at you with concern. You heard Spencer tell Morgan to change directions and drive to the hospital.

“We’re on the way! I promise, I’ll be there Y/N,” Spencer said, feeling extremely guilty.

“Hurry!” you cried, taking the phone from Penelope and hanging up. Your contraction had ended, but they were coming more frequently now and you had little patience.

“Damn girl, you tell him,” said Garcia at an attempt to lighten the mood. You could only offer a weak laugh, already exhausted from the day you’d had.

-

“Derek hurry up,” Spencer said from the passenger's seat, urgently shaking his leg.

“I’m going as fast as I can pretty boy, I promise you’ll be there in time,” Derek said, having already turned on the lights and sirens. JJ and Emily were in the back seat, with Hotch and Rossi following them in a separate car- none of them were going to miss this. Spencer couldn’t help but feel extremely guilty for not being with you. He had tried to stay at home but you insisted he go on the case, him being an asset and a genius and all. 

“I should’ve just stayed home, god I’m an idiot. I should have taken into consideration that 26% of births occur at 37 to 38 weeks, I should've known!” Spencer said, scrutinizing himself. JJ reached up from the seat behind him, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Spence, there was no way of knowing about this,” JJ said in her best motherly tone.

“Yeah, Y/N told you to go on the case and you saved lives! Now it’s time to bring one of your own into the world,” Emily finished, surprisingly thoughtful. Spencer just nodded, trying to maintain his sanity.

-

“Penelope, I don’t think they’re gonna make it,” you said, near tears at the thought of your husband being absent for the birth of your child. Garcia smoothed your hair back and held your hand, doing her best to comfort you.

“He will be here Y/N. And hell, if he’s not, we’ll just continue this girls day into the delivery room!” she said, successfully lightening the mood.

“You’d do that? You’d come with me?” you asked, looking at your best friend in awe.

“Of course. Anything for you, my dear. I’ll even push for you,” she said as you went into another painful contraction, squeezing her hand even harder than before. Soon after, the doctor came in to check your dilation.

“Well, it looks like you’re just about ready to push!” she said with a smile. Panic spread throughout your entire body.

“No, no! He’s not here, Penny he’s not here,” you said through tears, looking up at Penelope. Her heart broke at the sight. The doctor looked at you for a moment, unsure of what to do.

“I’m sorry ma’am, but if we wait any longer you migh-” she was cut off by a breathless and sweaty Spencer running into the room.

“I’m here! I’m here!” he said, running to your side and placing a kiss on your sweaty forehead. You grabbed his hand and looked into his eyes- you were positive you had never looked worse, but he looked at you like it was your wedding night. Penelope quickly left to find the rest of the team in the waiting room as you were pushed into the delivery room.

 “Are you ready?” asked the doctor. You took one more look into Spencer’s eyes- eyes that were panicked, excited, worried, and elated all at the same time. You were ready. You both were. You breathed out a quick “yes” before you began to push, squeezing onto Spencer’s hand for dear life. You pushed and you pushed until the doctor told you you could stop. You let out a sigh, knowing that it was only the beginning.

“You’re gonna be okay, we’re doing this Y/N,” Spencer said with a smile. You glared at him. “I mean, you’re doing this. It’s all you, baby,” he said and you reached up to kiss him quickly on the lips before pushing again. You screamed so loud you were sure the entire team could hear you from the waiting room.

-

“She was so nervous, I hope they’re okay in there,” Penelope said, pacing around the waiting room.

“She was nervous? You should’ve seen pretty ricky! I thought he was about to hop out of the car and run to the hospital,” Derek said, earning light laughter from the team.

“I remember when Jack was born,” said Hotch. “I was a nervous wreck, the nurses had to get me ice chips,” he joked, which was rare from him, but the nervous energy warranted it. Everyone was silent for a few minutes, all lost in thought. Rossi spoke up first, saying what they were all thinking.

“I can’t believe the kid is having a kid,” he said, earning a chorus of agreement.

“It feels like just yesterday I was asking him if he ever wanted to have baby geniuses,” Emily laughed in reminiscence.

“And little did we know that when Y/N joined the team, she’d be his angel sent from heaven above,” said Garcia dreamily. Everyone nodded at her dramatics, but overall agreed- you really did save Spencer in his time of need, whether you admitted it or not.

-

With one last push and the encouragements from your sweet husband, you were done- your baby girl was finally outside of you. Only, you felt like something was wrong. 

“Spence, why isn’t she crying,” you asked, tears of exhaustion and sweat dripping down your face.

“I don’t kn- hey, why isn’t she crying?” Spencer panicked, trying to get the attention of a nurse who was frantically running around, paying little attention. He tried to push his panic down as he turned back to your worried face.

“Is she okay, is my baby okay?” you yelled, now crying from emotion. Spencer shushed you and stroked your face, promising she was fine (he had no idea if she was fine, but all he wanted to do was comfort you). After a few moments of intense silence, you finally heard it- the wail of your newborn child. You exhaled in relief, Spencer doing the same. You pulled him down into a hug, the exhaustion from exerting your body making you extremely drowsy. The doctor came over and handed her to you. Spencer stood next to you, his fingers lightly brushing her small tuft of hair. He was astonished- to him, she looked exactly like the both of you (maybe he was delusional from his lack of sleep, because he would normally argue that newborns were wrinkly and unidentifiable).

“She’s beautiful,” Spencer cried, kissing you on the cheek.

“She is, she really is,” you said with relief.

-

After you had spent a few moments alone with the baby, Spencer made his way out into the waiting room where the entire team was anxiously sitting- they stood when they saw him.

“It’s a girl!” he yelled, lifting his arms over his head in excitement. The team whooped and hollered, Derek even lifting Spencer off of his feet in a hug. “You guys can come see her, if you’d like,” he said, the team excitedly shuffling into your room behind him.

“Hi guys!” you said weakly, holding your beautiful baby girl. Everyone quietly walked over to your bedside, cooing at the baby. Rossi reached out his finger and she latched on tight. “Looks like she loves grandpa Rossi already,” you laughed.

“Grandpa?!” he almost yelled, jokingly offended at your statement. The team laughed and Hotch patted him on the back.

“Have you guys thought of any names yet?” asked JJ, who was bending down and grabbing her small feet. 

“Well,” you said, sharing a look with your husband. “Her name is Marie, after Marie Curie,” you said, as if it was obvious. “And her middle name is… Penelope,” you said, earning a gasp from Penelope, her hand on her heart. “The woman who was willing to push this baby out for me,” you laughed. Garcia pushed her way through the team and bent down next to you.

“I am going to love this child like it’s my own. I call the first babysitting gig!” she yelled, looking around at the team with daggers in her eyes (as if anyone was going to fight her on it). 

The team had stayed for a while longer before heading home, deciding to leave the two of you alone. Spencer climbed into the hospital bed next to you, his long legs almost hanging over the edge. You held Marie for the longest time, both of you staring lovingly at her and already planning her future.

“Obviously she’s gonna be a genius, I mean look at the way she grabbed Rossi’s finger earlier,” you said, playing with her hands.

“Well if she takes after you too, she’ll be a beautiful genius,” Spencer whispered into your ear and you laughed.

“Spence, we already have one hot genius in the family, what am I gonna do surrounded by a bunch of nobel peace prize winning supermodels?” you asked, looking up at Spencer with heart eyes. He just leaned in and pressed a soft kiss on your lips, soaking in the first moments of fatherhood. He was making the perfect family for himself- the family he never had, and he couldn’t have done it with anyone but you.

[deiliamedlini]

WIP Wed

I think I need to tag things better because I’ve definitely done a WIP Wed for this before but I can’t find it. It was Link jumping into a river to grab Zelda. Idk. Maybe I’m just crazy. 

ANYWAY!

I've had this fic going forever but the beginning is such a dumpster fire, and the other night, I dreamed a way to fix it, so I have been playing with that before I forget my master plan. So, this is young Zelda and her older brother Edric running around. 

It’s a childhood friends to lovers thing, so Zelda and Link are friends, Link is friends with her brother, and things are complicated. I keep changing their ages too, so I think I have Zelda as 12 in this section? I am still trying to figure out how to age them up faster, like maybe this needs to be a prologue? Maybe I need two prologues? Maybe I need to section it out into “youth” “teens” and “young adults” lol. Idk I’m babbling. Have a WIP

~

Zelda already had the window opened and finagled one leg out onto a small roof above the innermost courtyard. She waved a thanks at Van before carefully placing one foot in front of the other in a near perfect line to follow the narrow railing that ran along the top beams where vines and flowers bloomed in a hanging display.

She moved quickly, perching on the end of the drop that was at least three times her height.

Many people at court had called Zelda the reckless child. She’d been gifted with the grace of ignorance by being the younger sibling: the spare to the heir, as it were. Others called her courageous, often found with legs dangling off rooftops with a book leisurely in her hand, or daring to join a fight with her brother and his older friends, no matter how many times she was knocked down.

There were few who called her wise, but that’s how Zelda liked to see herself. She wasn’t brave: her fear of heights was what led her to embrace climbing as a hobby until she learned to enjoy the view. It was strategic, not courage. And if she were truly courageous, she’d have run straight through the council meeting to cut Edric off quickly and safely, but she knew better than to disturb her parents during important meetings.

So, here she stood, poised on a short roof, waiting for her moment to pounce.

Edric ran around a corner in the distance, glancing behind himself and slowing fractionally in his perceived safety. She could even see him take a relieved breath.

Until Zelda let herself drop down, rolling to break her fall when she did, though her ankle throbbed and her cheek burned from an un-practiced landing gone only mildly awry.

Edric gasped, his hazel eyes widening as Zelda stood up to face him.

She tackled him, her blonde hair dangling into both their faces as they laughed.

“How’d you do that?” he coughed, winded from her impact and from the run. “I was so far ahead of you!”

Zelda pushed her hair back, wincing once before settling on her knees above him. “Van’s room.”

“Damn him,” Edric muttered, looking up to see his best friend’s face sticking out a window too high to be sane. “You’re insane.”

“Yep,” Zelda agreed, green eyes glinting as she ripped an object from his grasp. It was a small circular blob with four long, dangling, ‘mechanical’ arms, all knit and stuffed with fine wool. There was a bright blue bulge in the center of it, knitted with care. “Well, next time, don’t take Terrako from my room.”

“I don’t get why you like it so much,” he said, pulling her to her feet alongside himself. “It’s just a doll.” Edric checked his sister carefully, examining her cheek that had already begun to turn red. His hand was light against her skin, cold to the touch. Despite his dismissive words, she could always read fear in his eyes, especially when she injured herself while they were together.

“Because I made it, that’s why! He’s my friend.”

“So sad,” Edric joked, smiling kindly so she didn’t take his jab seriously. He let out a huff and grabbed his sister’s shoulders, leading her inside with a playful sway of her shoulders before pushing her out of the way just before reaching the door.

“Hey!” she laughed, pushing him back. “Don’t be a jerk!”

“Don’t be in my way!”

“Don’t chase me!”

“Don’t jump out a window to get in front of me!”

“Edric! Zelda!”

Both siblings froze at the commanding joint sounds of their parents’ voices, both ringing out their names at the same time.

“What in the Goddess’ name was that?” Queen Hilda asked, pointing to the hallway behind her that Edric had just gone through. “Servants thought you were being chased.”

Zelda took a hesitant step behind her brother when her father, King Rohan, turned his attention to her. “You are both members of the royal family of Hyrule. We do not act like children here! I don’t care how old you are; this kind of reckless behavior is unacceptable! Your mother and I were pulled from a meeting because our children were running like Demise himself was chasing them! What is going on?”

“Where’s Granny?” Hilda asked, looking around. “Wasn’t she supposed to be with you?”

Zelda hugged Terrako closer, feeling it squish in her arms, and her grip on Edric tightened. Granny Agitha, the Dowager Queen, had stopped following them almost immediately once they’d left their rooms and Zelda had knocked over a brazier, nearly setting the hallway afire. It hadn’t, but that was because of Granny’s quick action, not Zelda’s.

Edric glanced behind him, his sister’s wide eyes already brimming with tears. Though their parents were not unkind in any way, Zelda had yet to develop the ability to tolerate criticism, and Edric knew that. If his sister had one flaw, it was that she tried too hard to be perfect, and crashed even harder when she failed.

Spinning, he straightened his back, turned his chin up, and spoke with the confidence any future king should have. “I was careless. I knocked over a light fixture while I was annoying Zelda. I saw it fall, but I was pre-occupied, and Granny took care of it. I’m sorry.”

“Edric,” Hilda scolded. “You will be the King of Hyrule one day. You cannot be doing such ridiculous things. What if you’d been hurt? What if something happened to you?”

“Then Zelda would be Queen.”

“Hey!” Rohan snapped, his eyes wide with a flash of genuine fear. “Don’t talk back. You know that wasn’t a question you were meant to answer.”

“Yes, Father. I’m sorry. For all of it.”

Zelda buried her face into Edric’s back, pressing her Terrako plush between them as she stifled a sob while he took the scolding meant for her. His hand stretched behind him, offering her a reassuring squeeze.  

Queen Hilda ran her hands along her eyes, weary with the stresses each day brought along with it. “Zelda? Is this true?”

“I was chasing him! I’m sorry!”

“Because I took Terrako,” Edric added quickly, stepping aside for them to see the little plush creature clutched in her hand. “It was my fault, Mother.”

“Go back to Granny. Both of you. And make it up to her.”

[thefatedthoughtofyou]

Do you think you could write a fic where Bucky finds out Sam and Sharon went out on a date and he’s super jealously and shady towards Sharon. Sam questions his behavior and he has to admit his feelings..

?

{{{ I LOVED THIS PROMPT SO MUCH AAAHHH! okay so there's not a lot of Sharon cuz i didn't wanna make her like? Idk, i didnt wanna have to go into the whole, she's the power broker thing in here cuz i knew if i put more of her i would NOT be able to stop myself, which is good cuz this got longer than i meant anyway!!! BUUUUUUUT THE TENSION IN HERE!! I was shaking as i wrote it THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SENDING IT INNNN!!!! ENJOY GUYS! 💖💖💖💖💖 }}}

Ao3

Shattered Glass

She's touching him.

Again.

They'd been working with Sharon off and on for a few months. She, apparently, had some intell on some pretty bad guys, courtesy of her time in Madrapoor. Sam and Bucky had been helping her track them down. Sam and Sharon working together most of the time. Her and Bucky didn't exactly get along. They didn't work well together. And this was only making it worse.

He'd noticed it about a week in. The touching. It was so... casual. She would just reach out and touch him. When she was talking, she'd reach out and touch his wrist, or his arm, her finger tips brushing his skin as she spoke. Bucky bit his lip, forcing something down, he wasn't even sure what, didn't want to examine that right now.

The longer they worked together the more she seemed to touch him. She still reached out to him when she talked. But now she'd touch him when she passed him, a hand on his arm, moving across his shoulders as she walked past him as he worked on the couch. Something angry and... violent, stirred inside Bucky, everytime he watched her reach out to him.

It wasn't fair. That she could just do that. Just reach out and touch him. Like it was nothing. Like it was okay. Like he was hers. Bucky started leaving. He couldn't just sit around waiting for leads and watching her touch Sam. It made his skin itch.

He watched her walk past the couch again, her hand moving across Sam's shoulders slowly, her eyes on Bucky, he clenched his jaw and looked away, his stomach turning, filling a glass with whiskey and taking a long swig. The liquid burned on the way down and did nothing to stop that itch under his skin.

"Ya know Sam?" Sharon's voice carried, Bucky turned, just a fraction, just enough to see her fingers tugging on the hem of Sam's shirt sleeve.

"Hmm?" Sam hummed, not looking at her.

"We should really try another date. Don't you think? It's been awhile." She asked, her lips curved in a smile, her palm pressing to Sam's arm. His head jerked to look at her at the same time Bucky's fingers clenched around the class in his hand, shattering it. He felt his hand burn and looked down, a jagged red line cut across his palm, he blinked and his hand was covered in blood.

"Buck?" Sam's voice now. He blinked hard, swallowing around the scream in his throat, and moved his eyes back to the couch. Sharon was still sitting, her chin resting on her hand on the back of the couch as she looked at Bucky. Sam was standing, also looking at him, concern in his eyes. Bucky cleared his throat and shook his head. He grabbed a towel from behind the bar and wrapped his hand, his feet moving him toward the door.

"Are you okay?" Sam again. His voice closer now.

"I'm fine Sam. I'll see you at-" he stopped himself from saying 'home', his eyes catching Sharon's smirk.

"I'll see you later." He grumbled, opening the door carefully, doing his best not to rip it off the hinges, and walked out.

~

He was washing his hand in the bathroom when it hit him. The rage. He balled his bleeding hand into a fist and slammed it into the mirror above the sink, four times, screaming as he did. His chest rising and falling rapidly when the wave of emotion passed. He looked at the shattered mirror, the glass in the sink, and sighed, his shoulders drooping.

He cleaned up the glass, and took what was left of the mirror off the wall, his hand only getting more cuts as he did. He tossed the shattered mirror in the dumpster out back and went back inside, once again washing the blood off his hand. He grimaced as the water ran over the cuts, the jagged line across his palm already looking smaller. He pressed his metal thumb to the cut, hard, making it bleed again, biting his lip with a snarl. And then he heard the front door open and close, his back straightening as he listened.

"Bucky?" Sam called, and Bucky heard his footsteps, moving toward him, the apartment they shared now was small, and Bucky had long since memorized Sam's sounds. He could tell where he was in the apartment at the smallest noise. He looked down at his hand, the blood in the sink, on his fingers.

"Fuck." He whispered to himself, and heard Sam stop in the hall. Bucky had one second, one small, heart stopping second, to realize he hadn't closed the bathroom door. He reached for the door, and then Sam was standing in the doorway.

Bucky just stood there, trying to remember to breathe as he watched Sam's eyes move over the scene. The cut... cuts, on his hand. The blood in the sink. On his fingers. The missing mirror and the glass in the small trashcan. He watched Sam take it all in, the crease between his brows deepening with each new thing he saw. Eventually his eyes landed on Bucky's face, they were full of concern again, and as soon as they met his Bucky looked away. Down at his hand, and then at the floor.

"Where's the mirror?" Sam asked softly, not acusing, Bucky knew he was trying to make a joke, but his heart wasn't in it and he sounded sad.

"It's in the dumpster. I'll buy a new one." Bucky explained, using the least amount of words possible. And then,

"I'm sorry." It was an after thought, but it felt important.

"Buck." Sam sighed his name, breathed it quietly in the space between them. Bucky kept his eyes on the floor.

He watched Sam's feet walk into veiw. Watched Sam's hands lift from his sides. Watched them reach for Bucky's bleeding hand, before cradling it gently. Bucky's eyes fluttered but he forced them to stay open. Sam's hands moved his between them, turning it over to see Bucky's bruised and bloodied knuckles. Bucky heard him sigh as he turned his hand back over, his fingers circling Bucky's wrist as he looked at the cut in his palm.

"What happened?" Sam asked, his voice still quiet. Bucky's brow furrowed.

"I broke the glass. And then I killed the mirror." Bucky explained, talking slowly, like he was explaining things to a child, Sam was observant, he figured he'd put it together. He heard Sam huff a laugh, his finger moving gently over the healing cut in Bucky's palm.

"I mean," he paused, ducking down low enough that Bucky couldn't help meet his eyes and raise his head a little.

"You've been acting strange... More strange." Sam said, his head tilting to the side, a small smile on his lips. Bucky swallowed, trying hard to keep looking at Sam, and failing. His eyes dropped to his hand again, fixing on Sam's hands holding his.

"I'm just worried about you." Sam said, his fingers gripping Bucky's wrist a little tighter. Bucky closed his eyes, swallowing again, his throat feeling tight. He cleared it, and looked up at Sam again.

"I told you. I'm fine." He said, hearing how unconvincing he sounded as the words left his mouth. Sam looked at him, that look of concern deepening even more, his beautiful eyes locked on Bucky like he couldn't look away. Bucky frowned, feeling uncomfortable under the scrutiny, and pulled his hand out of Sam's grip. He moved it hard, yanking it away from Sam, holding it to his stomach instead before turning back to the sink, away from Sam.

"You're fine." Sam said, repeating his words back to him, sounding unconvinced. Bucky nodded, turning the water back on and running his hand under it, scrubbing too hard at the healing cut, the middle bleeding again as he pressed his fingers against the skin with a grimace.

"Bucky stop." Sam's voice was firm, but Bucky ignored him, biting his lip and pressing his fingers down again. A small bubble of blood blooming and then washing away.

"I said stop, damn it!" Sam said, grabbing Bucky's wrist again, yanking Bucky's hand out of his own grasp as he turned Bucky back toward him. He grabbed the hand towel from the wall and pressed it to Bucky's palm instead, his palm pressed warmly to the back of Bucky's hand. Bucky frowned down at their hands, his heart beating fast as Sam leaned closer to turn off the running water, swaying into his space and then back out again.

"What the fuck is going on with-"

"You went on a date?" Bucky asks, cutting off the question, because he doesn't wanna talk about it. Doesn't wanna talk about all the feelings scratching and biting at each other inside himself.

"Wait, what?" Sam asked, Bucky's eyes jump to his face. He looks confused. Probably thinks he didn't hear him right.

"You. And ...her. You went on a date?" Bucky says, slowly, not sure if all the effort he was putting into keeping his voice calm was working. Sam's confused frown melted into something else, a different look, maybe three separate different looks, Bucky couldn't  be sure. Sam was hard to read on a good day, and this was decidedly not a good fucking day.

"We..." Sam sighed.

"I mean yeah. We did." He shrugged. Bucky took a deep breath, taking his hand away from Sam's again, slowly this time. He pressed his tongue into his cheek and nodded.

"Yeah." He said, and turned back to the sink, sitting the towel on the edge of it, inspecting the cut on his palm as Sam stood silently by the door, staring at him. The edges of the cut had closed now, the middle healing slower, probably because Bucky kept fucking shoving his fingers into it. He turned his hand over, looking at the bruising on his knuckles, the were healing too, looking at least a day old already.

"It was before the blip." Sam said, breaking the silence. Bucky took a deep breath, bit his lip and rested his hands on the sink, leaning on it, his head down.

"It was before the blip. It was one date. And that's it. Nothing else. Nothing happened." Sam said, his voice insistent. Bucky felt him move closer, taking a step into the small room. His heart was pounding in his ears. His mind a film of all the times he'd watched her touch him over the last few months, he shook his head slowly. He heard Sam take a deep breath.

"Buck-"

"The way she touches you." Bucky said, his voice small, his chest aching, that familiar burning in his throat and eyes, pressure trying to escape. He looked at Sam then, turning his head, only his head, to face him. His eyes were wide, and locked on Bucky. Bucky shook his head again.

"The way she touches you." He repeated, to make sure Sam was hearing him.

"She does it all the time. And it's easy. For her. Every time she's near you she's touching you. Your arm. Your wrist. Your shoulder. Your back. She's always fucking touching you." Bucky grits out, his jaw nearly locking from the tension inside him. Sam's shoulders droop as he sighs, his face softening as he looks at Bucky.

"It's not-"

"It is!" Bucky says, voice rising, turning fully to Sam now, his hands shaking at his sides.

"It is. All the fucking time. Any time she wants. And she's doing it on purpose! Keeps fucking looking at me when she touches you cuz she knows that I-" he inhales sharply, his chest tightening as his eyes go wide. His hands clenching, middle finger digging into the shrinking cut on his palm. And the way Sam was looking at him. Fuck. He should have kept his fucking mouth shut.

"That you what?" Sam asks, he's whispering now. Bucky stares at him, his chest rising and falling like he'd just been running a fucking a race. His stomach turns again as he looks at Sam, looking at him. He opens his mouth, he could tell Sam, right now. Just say the words. He listens to his own heart beat like a drum in his ears and closes his mouth, shaking his head instead, his brow furrowed, he bites his lip.

Sam takes another step closer, and there's nowhere for Bucky to go, unless he wants to climb into the fucking tub, but that would look like he's running. And he wasn't going to run from Sam fucking Wilson in their own fucking house. He presses back against the sink instead, the porcelain cold against his ass and thighs. Sam takes another fucking step. Bucky digs his teeth into his lip, frowning deeper, pressing back more, trying to keep a little space between them. His eyes are on the floor, or Sam's shoes, there's not enough floor between them now.

"That you what?" Sam says again, his voice still a whisper. Bucky chances a glance at him and almost bolts. His eyes. They're looking at Bucky and he can see it. He can see that Sam knows. Knows what he was going to say. And he's staring at Bucky now. Waiting. But he's still here. He knows what Bucky was going to stay and he didn't leave. He moved closer. Bucky licks his lips, and looks up at Sam, keeping eye contact now.

"She knows that I'm jealous." Bucky breathes, feeling his chest flutter and release the tension he'd been holding. Sam's eyes widen once, quickly, and he nods, once.

"Knows that I-" he takes a deep breath, looking away again because it's too much. The look Sam's giving him is too much.

"I wish it was me. That I could do that. Just reach out and touch you the way that she does. But I-" he takes a shaky breath, his head hanging, his hands shaking again as he flexes them at his sides.

"Bucky." Sam breathes, and then he takes another step, his foot settling between Bucky's boots now he's so close.

"Touch me." Sam breathes, Bucky feels his breath on his skin and snaps his head up to look at him. There's a soft smile on his lips and his eyes are warm, moving over Bucky's face like he's trying to memorize it.

"Wha-"

"You can touch me." He says, nodding slowly as his eyes continue to map Bucky's face.

"I-" Bucky tries, his words getting stuck in his throat, his brow furrowing. Sam moves slowly, reaching out, his fingers curling around Bucky's wrists gently and moving his hands up, settling them agaisnt his own chest. Bucky's nearly panting now, swears he is, his heart beat so loud it's making his ears ring, but Sam's hands are so warm, his chest so firm and sturdy under Bucky's palms, his fingers around Bucky's wrists grounding him.

"Touch me." Sam says again, his smile curling his lips as he moves his thumb over Bucky's metal wrist. Bucky stares at Sam, his eyes lingering on his lips and that soft smile there, and he does as he's told.

He moves his hand out of Sam's grip, lifting his arm until he can press his fingertips to the lines on Sam's forehead, he presses his skin to Sam's and sighs. He moves his fingers over Sam's face slowly, tracing touches down the side of his face, trailing his finger over the bridge of Sam's nose, moving his thumb across his high cheekbones before moving down. He takes a deep breath and moves his thumb slowly over Sam's bottom lip, licking his own lips as he does. Sam presses a kiss to his thumb, a barely there pressure that has Bucky's knees shaking.

Sam's thumb is still moving agaisnt his metal arm and the sentions mixing together are making his head swim. He moves his hand down, rests it on Sam's shoulder, palm pressed against his neck. He feels Sam shiver and looks up at him. Sam is still smiling, that soft look still in his eyes. Bucky blinks at him, slowly.

"Hi." He says, his own lips curling to smile back.

"Hey." Sam says, his smile growing the longer Bucky looks at him. Sam moves his free hand to Bucky's cheek, making him shiver now as he moves his thumb across his cheek.

"How's your hand?" Sam asks, voice low. Bucky takes a deep breath, lifts his palm away from Sam's neck a little, there's a bright pink line across his palm, but no more blood. He moves his hand back, pressing his fingers into Sam's neck, making him shiver again, and nods.

"It's good. Healing." Bucky says. Sighing when Sam presses closer, resting himself agaisnt Bucky.

"And the bruises?" Sam asks, leaning forward until their noses are almost touching. Bucky glances toward Sam's neck, where his hand is resting, his knuckles a collage of purples, greens, and yellows. He nods again, slowly, his eyes moving back to Sam's face, lingering on his mouth. Sam's lips twitch, a smile flickering there. Bucky watches him, sees him press closer as he looks at Bucky's lips. Bucky moves back, his hand on Sam's chest pressing down. Sam frowns at him.

"I'm sorry about the mirror." Bucky says, frowning himself. He hated breaking things. Hated giving in to that anger inside him. That violence. Sam's frown melted as he moved both his hands to Bucky face, cradling his head, holding him.

"I know you are. It's okay." He moved forward again, pressing his lips gently to Bucky's before pulling back again, Bucky's skin burning from his touch.

"It's okay." He whispered, nodding, looking into Bucky's eyes. And Bucky knew he wasn't talking about the mirror anymore, not completely. He opened his mouth, letting Sam in as he pulled him closer, Bucky grabbing at his hips, fingers digging into Sam's skin, making him moan into Bucky's mouth. He swallowed it greedily and moved his hands up Sam's back, pulling him closer as their tongues pressed together.

Bucky was shaking, his skin tingling with heat as Sam wrapped his arms around his shoulders, and kissed down his neck, his lips leaving a trail of fire in their wake. Bucky whined when Sam rolled his hips against him, smirking into his shoulder. He did it again and Bucky had to grab at Sam's arms to stay upright. Sam moved his hands to Bucky's thighs and lifted him, sitting him on the sink. Bucky gasped and blinked rapidly when Sam looked at him, the beautiful toothy grin on his face.

"I've got you." Sam said with a nod, his thumb moving over Bucky's bottom lip. Bucky pressed his lips to it, mirroring Sam's motions from before. Sam sighed happily and moved forward again, pressing his forehead to Bucky's.

"I know." Bucky sighed, his hand tangling in the front of Sam's shirt before he pulled him into another kiss.

Sam held him, hands on his waist, as Bucky's hands moved over his body. Bucky grabbed and pulled and soothed, his hands touching as much of him as he could reach. Touching his hands. His arms. His shoulders. His hips. His back. Sam kissed him, deep and soft, as he touched him. He moaned into the kisses, and Sam's firm grip. And his hands kept moving. Finding new things to touch. He smiled into Sam's kiss, his head somehow rushing with thoughts, and singularly focused on one thing.

Sam.

He was touching Sam. His heart pounding in his chest as his hands moved. His skin burning, head swimming as he and Sam smiled agaisnt each other, their teeth clicking, as Bucky touched him.

And touched him.

And touched him.

And touched him.

[adenei]

What Hurts The Most

Hi all! So this is a continuation of the drabble I wrote the other day with the prompt: “I would’ve done anything for you.” The beginning is the same, but I’ve expanded it as a competition piece. I’m not saying it ends any happier, but I’m definitely inspired to make a mini-series of it.

I know, I know...I’ve already written a Post War Australia fic before (or maybe two? Or more? idk, I’ve lost count..), but I can’t seem to get the direction I want this to go out of my head. 

******************************

Ron couldn’t find Hermione anywhere. The last of the guests had left the funeral, and all Ron wanted was some quiet alone time with her after the stress and grief of the day. The last place he could think of checking was his room, and he hoped she was waiting for him there.

When he opened the door he was disappointed to find the small space empty, and he ran his fingers through his hair from the resulting frustration. Ron walked over to his bed, resigning himself to sit and think of any other place she might be as he tried to quell the panic rising through his body. That was when he saw the letter perched on his pillow.

Her neat handwriting donned the envelope with his name. Ron felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach as he reached for the letter, his hands tearing it open of their own accord. He scanned the page hurriedly, hoping the words he was processing couldn’t possibly be true.

Ron,

Please don’t worry about me. I’m fine. I need to find my parents. I know you’re hurting and grieving for Fred, and your family needs you, so I couldn’t ask you to come with me. It’s not that I didn’t want you to come. I’m trying to keep your best interests at heart. You’ve just been reunited with your family, and I couldn’t possibly tear you away from that. But it’s time I found mine, too. 

I promise I’ll write to you. I’ll keep in touch so that you know I’m safe, and as long as you’ll have me, I’ll visit the Burrow as soon as I’ve returned from Australia. Hopefully, this won’t take long. Please don’t think I wanted to leave you. Especially not with things the way they are.

I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me.

Hermione

His hands were shaking. She just left? How had he not realized that she’d been planning to retrieve her parents right under his nose? It wasn’t safe for her to go alone. His parents would have understood if he’d joined her. Ron shook his head in anger. He wanted to go with her, but she hadn’t even given him the choice.

“I would’ve done anything for you.”

He crumpled up the parchment and tossed it in the bin as angry tears stung his eyes. There had to be something he could do. Anything. But what? She was probably halfway around the world by now.

The door opened, and for a split second Ron thought that maybe it was all a cruel joke. That Hermione would be the one to come waltzing through the door to check on him. His hopes were mistaken, though, as it was Harry who entered.

“Did you find her?” Harry asked hopefully.

It took everything in Ron’s power to look up at his best friend.

“She’s gone.”

“What do you mean she’s gone?” Harry shut the door behind him and crossed his arms, waiting for Ron to go on.

“What do you think I mean?” Ron spat. “She took off for Australia without telling anyone! Without telling me!” The anger caused his voice to rise to a dangerous level.

His hands were shaking uncontrollably as he reached up to pull at his hair. The grief was already making him emotionally unstable, but this was enough to push him over the edge.  Hermione’s departure had sucked away what little happiness he had left. Hermione—and their budding relationship—was the one bright spot in his life as he navigated the loss of his brother. Now that she was gone, an emptiness washed over him. The pain of feeling alone began to consume him when Harry’s voice drew him out of his tailspin.

“What are you going to do about it?” There was no sympathy in Harry’s voice.

He looked up at his best friend, meeting his stare. “What?”

“You heard me. What are you going to do about it?”

“What can I do? She’s already gone, and she clearly doesn’t want me with her.”

“Is that what your gut is telling you?”

Ron gawked at Harry. “What’s my gut got to do with anything?”

“It’s a saying, isn’t it? Trust in your gut.”

“What’s your gut telling you?” Ron grumbled. 

He bloody well knew the saying. What he didn’t understand was why it mattered right now. Ron would have preferred that Harry just spoke plainly and not in riddles. He was starting to sound more like Dumbledore by the day.

“My gut? My gut’s saying that my best friend is a right prat who’s going to wallow in self-pity instead of going after the love of his life!” Harry threw his hands up in the air exasperatedly.

“I—what? That’s not—you don’t...” Ron spluttered incoherently.

“Please, mate, I know you two think I’m thick sometimes, but I’ve watched you dance around each other for seven years. And I bore witness to your kiss in the Room of Requirement in the middle of a battle! Don’t tell me that doesn’t mean anything. Stop letting your stupid pride get in the way and go after her!”

Ron couldn’t believe his ears. For once, Harry was making sense, and as much as he wanted to ignore his best friend’s suggestion, he knew deep down that Harry was right. Trust your gut. Right now Ron’s gut was screaming ‘don’t let her go.’

“But how am I supposed to find her?” he asked desperately.

“How’d you find us when you came back to the hunt?” Harry was eyeing the deluminator that was lying on his nightstand.

Right. The deluminator. He had a point. A good point. But would the deluminator work, or would he have to wait for her to say his name again?

“What if it—”

“You won’t know unless you try. Now, pack a bag and let’s find out.”

Ron fought through the millions of thoughts creating a haze in his mind as he grabbed his rucksack off the desk chair and began shoving things randomly into the bag. He’d done a lot of mental things in his life, but this just might be the barmiest. If the ball of light miraculously appeared, could it actually take him all the way to Australia? He shook that particular thought from his mind. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, here.

As wary as Ron was about going after her, he couldn’t bear the thought of Hermione finding her parents alone. She needed his support just as much as he needed hers, even if she didn’t want to admit it.

Once his rucksack was full—and hopefully of belongings he actually needed—Ron crossed the tiny attic bedroom and picked up the cold metal object. The object that Dumbledore left for him. The deluminator came through for him once before, and Ron hoped beyond measure that it would come through for him again.

“Are you ready?” Harry sounded as though he was anticipating this more than Ron.

His thumb reached for the clicker, but before he could bring himself to pull down on the lever, he paused. “What if it doesn’t work?”

“You won’t know until you try, mate.”

Ron shot Harry a disbelieving look. “You sure you don’t want to come?”

“No. She needs you. You both need each other. It’s about time I stop getting in the way of that.”

Ron stared at Harry in awe for a moment before becoming suspicious. “You’re not just saying that so you can spend alone time with Ginny, are you?”

Harry smiled sheepishly. “Not entirely. But I meant every word I said.”

Without thinking, Ron wrapped Harry in a bear hug. The two didn’t embrace like that often, but after everything they’d gone through, it felt warranted.

“Thanks, mate.”

Ron let go and backed away, eyeing the deluminator nervously. “Well, it‘s now or never, isn’t it?”

Harry nodded, and Ron flicked the lever before he could talk himself out of it. He was expecting the little ball of light to float out and hover over him, Hermione’s voice speaking his name in her just like last time, but nothing happened.

“No,” Harry said disbelievingly. “I thought it would work.”

Ron collapsed on the bed, his rucksack landing on the wooden floor with a decisive thud. 

“Now what do I do?” He asked desperately. 

Harry didn’t answer right away as he mimicked Ron’s actions, flopping on his camp bed. Eventually, he sat back up, breaking the silence with a creak of the mattress springs and his voice.

“We wait, and we listen. She’s bound to say your name eventually, right?”

“Yeah, right.” Ron’s voice sounded hollow. 

If there was one thing Hermione Granger was good at, it was not speaking when she didn’t want to. The hope Ron let in just moments before was plummeting as he felt the woman he loved slipping right through his fingers.

*********************

So, dare I ask? Do you want more? 

[girlgrouptrash101]

MinYul (IZ*ONE) - He’ll Never Be You

Request: naur i just got some minyul feeels and had to get this out of my system yike

Word Count: 4,058

Warnings: there is none all is safe my friends 

A/N: anything randomly in bold is their thoughts cuz,, idk minyul be having inner monologue moments ig

“It was so romantic, Yul! He held my hand and gave me his jacket! I swear I think I might be in love with him!” Minju squealed, kicking her legs up from where she lay on Yuri’s bed. The younger girl sat beside her, deep in thought. What was the difference between her and Hwang Hyunjin? She always held Minju’s hand and gave Minju her jacket when she was cold. Why was it such a special thing when he did it? Yuri huffed.

“Yuri, you good?” Minju asked, turning her head to look at her best friend. 

“Yeah, I’m fine dumbo. Just sick of hearing you sound like a lovesick puppy, that’s all.” Yuri joked, resorting to teasing in order to mask the pain in her chest; jealousy and sadness mixing together to leave harsh thoughts in the younger girl’s mind.  

“Don’t worry Yul, no need to be jealous. I’m sure someone will ask you out soon.” 

Yuri sighed. She sure was jealous, but it certainly wasn’t because she didn’t have anyone like Minju did. It was because Minju had someone that wasn’t her. 

“Cheer up buttercup. Wanna watch a movie?” Minju asked cheerily, unable to detect any of the inner turmoil currently spiralling in Yuri’s mind. The older didn’t even wait for Yuri to reply, grabbing the younger girl’s laptop and opening netflix. Yuri could only sit and watch as Minju picked a cheesy rom-com before snuggling into Yuri’s side. An action that had happened thousands of times before was now making Yuri stiffen like a statue, afraid Minju would hear the thumping of her heart as she nestled into her neck.

‘Friendship gets a lot harder when feelings are involved’, Yuri thinks to herself. 

-

Drip.

Drop.

Drip.

Drop.

Yuri’s eyes flitted over to the kitchen sink, taking a breath as the splashes of water could be heard falling from the spout, the only other noise in the room apart from the steady breathing and occasional page turn from the girl in front of her. She tried her best to let the water distract her, tried to get her mind to focus on anything other than her best friend in front of her.

But they just wouldn’t.

They just couldn’t.

Unfortunately for Yuri, some part of her just couldn’t bear to keep her eyes off Minju for more than a minute. Maybe it was the way her dark locks framed her face as she focused on her homework; maybe it was the way she chewed her lip in concentration; or maybe it was just everything about her that drove Yuri crazy. The younger girl sighed softly as her eyes raked over her friend once more, her unfinished homework a mere memory of the past as her mind became overwhelmed with the same thing it a;ways did these days - Kim Minju.

“You’re going to burn a hole through me soon if you don’t stop staring, Yul.”

Yuri jumped as her best friend finally broke the comfortable silence that had settled between the two of them. She cleared her throat abruptly, muttering out a small apology before looking back down at her half-written essay in an attempt to hide her now flushed cheeks behind her hair. 

“I’m kidding, you dummy. What’s up? Are you stuck on your work or something?” Minju asked, leaning over the table to poke her friend on top of her head.

“U- Um no, I’m okay Min, don’t worry-”

“Yul it’s okay! Let me help.” The older girl said, moving around the kitchen table to sit right next to Yuri. The younger girl’s breath hitched at Minju’s closeness, doing her best to keep composed as Minju read over her page, leaning into her side to get a better look.

“Yuri, this is really good! I don’t understand what’s wrong.” Minju said, turning to look at her friend who was looking everywhere but back at her. Minju sighed before leaning onto the table, propping her head up on her hand as she tried to catch Yuri’s eye.

“Jo Yuri.”

“Uh, yeah?” 

“What’s up with you lately? You’re not acting like the Yul I know, and it’s weirding me out. Is there anything you wanna talk about?” She said, her voice a bit softer now as she brushed a strand of hair behind Yuri’s ear. The smaller girl finally looked up at her, a sad look in her eye as she tried to speak to Minju, but the words just wouldn’t come. 

Minju was right, and Yuri couldn’t deny it. She had stopped teasing the girl, stopped the skinship, just stopped being cuddly old Yuri around Minju. Yuri could tell that the older girl hated these changes and knew something was up, but she just couldn’t tell her. She would never be able to tell her that lately, her every thought, her every worry, her every concern.. It was all about Minju. While she had always loved Minju since they’d become best friends in primary school, it was a different kind of love these days.

Those brown eyes she used to look in were now galaxies that pulled Yuri in and the younger girl never wanted to look away.

Her vanilla scent that had always seemed just too sweet to Yuri was now a flavour she wanted to drown herself in. 

The lips she used to smear ice cream on playfully to annoy the younger girl were now ones she wanted to kiss, over and over, and over again.

But, the fear.

The fear of losing years of friendship, memories, laughter, love… Yuri was way too afraid to say anything for fear she’d lose everything. Though it was hard being around the girl you love every day without being able to have her the way she really wanted, Yuri still kept quiet. She kept quiet around the only girl she was truly ever able to be her loud, bashful self around, and it was so obvious to the both of them that the balance in their friendship was majorly askew. 

'Fear is truly a powerful thing when it wants to be', Yuri thinks to herself as she repeats the same excuse she’s given to Minju for the last few weeks. 

“I can’t talk to you about this one, Min. But I’m alright, I promise.”

Minju nodded softly, a disheartened look on her face. Yuri's heart clenched in pain to see those eyes tinged with sadness, especially knowing it was because of her, but she just couldn't tell her. Not now, not when there was so much at stake.

The older girl sighed out once again, feeling dejected as she moved back to her own seat. Her mind was racing at a mile a minute, wondering what could be bothering Yuri so bad that she couldn't even tell Minju anything about it. The two had never kept secrets from one another before, so it truly hurt Minju to be iced out this way.

The girls worked in a now deeply uncomfortable silence, both of them stuck between an atmosphere of wanting to talk but also wanting to run away from the issue completely. It was clear to anyone that Yuri was the one who wanted to do most of the running.

Once the sun began to set, Yuri used an excuse of her mom calling her home, quickly packing her bag and darting out of the older girl's kitchen. This left Minju alone with her thoughts, which quickly began to spiral.

‘This isn't my Yul, something is seriously wrong here.

She's been iffy for a while now, but today was something more.

There had never been a second of awkwardness between us before, ever, but today...

It was almost hard to breathe, sitting in that horrible silence.

She can't tell me, but why?

The only reason Yuri would keep something from me is if it was about me...?

Is it about me?

Did I hurt Yul?

God. What did I do to make her so uneasy around me...?’

Minju shut her eyes tight in an attempt to block out her inner monologue, her head falling into her palms as she sat at the kitchen table. Yuri was her rock, her partner in crime, her... whatever! Yuri was someone she couldn't live without. The girl she relied so heavily upon was building a wall between them, one she had to break down before the last brick could be placed.

Minju could never last a day without Yuri, her Yul, by her side.

-

While Minju wallowed in her sorrows at home, Yuri fared no better. She said a quick hello to her parents, blurting out some excuse as to why she was skipping dinner and making a beeline for her room.

The young girl threw herself into her bed, letting her covers swallow her up, just as her emotions had been doing to her lately. She closed her eyes and desperately searched for sleep, but it never came.

Just as it had been for every night for the last few months, the same thing ran through her mind.

‘Minju,

Minju,

Minju.’

While she thought keeping her feelings to herself would keep their friendship afloat, it seemed that things were going downhill whether she spoke to Minju about it or not. Just why did these things have to be so complicated?

'Stupid Minju for being so stupidly irressistible', she thought. 

Yuri huffed. Just why did Kim Minju think she could have so much power over her thoughts and emotions anyway? Stupid frog. Stupid Minju and her stupid charming smile, her stupid kissable lips, the stupid way she held Yuri's hand as they walked, the stupid way she cuddled closer to Yuri during sleepovers because she wasn't fond of the dark.

‘Stupid. It's all stupid’, Yuri thinks.

After going through a few more mental battles of anger and sadness, she finally found the sleep she had been chasing. So with one loud yawn and a flutter of her eyes closed, Yuri fell into dream land with only one thought remaining in her mind.

‘God, I'm so fucking in love.’

-

The next day went by, and both girls were left in radio silence. Minju felt the younger needed space, and Yuri didn't know what she was doing at all.

She spent her time mindlessly scrolling through Instagram on her bed, trying to keep her thoughts away from Minju. However, it truly was just her luck when the girl in question popped up on her feed. It was a picture posted by Hwang Hyunjin, and it was a selfie with Minju. She was pressed into his side, a wide smile on her face as he held her close to him. Yuri let her eyes drift down to the caption, her breath hitching as she saw the simple heart emoji on her screen. Her heart dwindled even further when she saw Minju's response; a matching heart emoji.

It was nothing out of the ordinary for the two, no sudden confession of love, but to Yuri, it just shattered her already torn heart once again.

A tear rolled down Yuri's cheek.

A bitter laugh fell from her lips as she pictured herself. 'Jo Yuri, crying over a fucking emoji?' What had become of her?.

She told herself that over and over again, but she knew it was more. It wasn't just an emoji, it was the fact that Hyunjin had a chance with Minju that Yuri could never even dream of having.

Hyunjin was just Minju's type. Tall, athletic, handsome - everything Yuri just about wasn't. She scoffed, cursing the boy in her head, wishing she hadn't seen it. Wishing these overbearing feelings would go away. Wishing Minju was by her side, holding her close and keeping her safe.

But wishing does nothing but remind people of what they don't have.

-

The weekend dragged by for both girls.

Minju spent most of it with Hyunjin, cuddling up and watching movies for hours on end. However, as happy as she thought she should be, it just didn’t feel that way for her. Hyunjin was lovely, he truly was, and he cared for her, he really did. But for Minju, it just didn’t feel right. 

He just wasn’t Yuri.

He didn’t make her feel warm inside like Yuri did. He didn’t make her laugh by making fun of all the characters in the movies they watched like Yuri did. But Minju said nothing. Falling for anyone is scary, but falling deep for your best friend is even scarier. She never felt like Yuri would ever love her back so she did her best to move on and find comfort in others. 

Hyunjin wasn’t Yuri. But if she couldn’t be with Yuri, then he was enough.

Just as it had for Minju, time also ticked despairingly slowly for Yuri who had spent the weekend without Minju for the first time in years.

By the time Monday rolled around, Yuri could barely drag herself out of bed for school. She haphazardly threw on her uniform while mentally preparing a plan for the day that would allow her to avoid Minju. She decided that if she can't be with her, she would have to distance herself. The pain of loving someone so close to you was more suffocating than anything Yuri had ever experienced before, she just couldn't take it.

However, Yuri's plan immediately went awry when she opened her front door and saw her best friend there waiting for her. Minju gave her a small smile, the gesture fading as Yuri didn't reciprocate it.

"Yul-"

"Come on, Min, we'll be late." Yuri said abruptly, speeding last the older girl. Yuri didn't want her to speak, hearing the soft tone in her voice only made her heart clench more for the brunette.

It took only a minute for Minju to catch up, the older girl stopping Yuri by grabbing her by the wrist.

"Yuri, we won't be late. Now will you cut the bullshit and just talk to me?" Minju said, her brows furrowing. Yuri looked away again, trying to find an escape from the situation. Minju grabbed the younger's cheeks, forcing her to look her in the eyes.

For a moment, Yuri's world stops. She almost forgets her predicament when Minju looks at her, her eyes holding a mixture of worry and sadness as she looks down at the younger of the two. In an ideal world, Yuri would have already kissed the pout off her face, pulling her back inside her home to skip school and spend the day wrapped in one another's arms.

But this isn't an ideal world.

"Yul, whatever's going on with you, we need to talk it out. You're my best friend! Who's gonna be there with me every step of the way if it isn't you?" She asked earnestly.

For some reason, the sadness in the pit of Yuri's stomach began to turn to anger at Minju’s words. She just couldn’t help it. 

"I don't know. Hyunjin, maybe?" She asked, a coldness to her voice. Minju's hands dropped back down to her sides. Yuri already missed her warmth.

"What does Hyunjin have to do with anything Yuri? Why are you always like this when it comes to him..." Minju muttered, more to herself than anyone else.

"He has everything to do with this Minju. I'm like this because... because I don't like him. One fucking bit." Yuri continued, the anger bubbling up now. She knew she had no reason to get so pissed at Minju, or even Hyunjin, but sometimes, with love comes jealousy. Once that green monster rises up within her, Yuri finds it almost impossible to suppress it. 

"Yul, he's really nice! He brought me on a lovely date this weekend, I'm sure you'd get along with him just fine! He-"

"Minju, don't you get it? Don't you get it at all?" Yuri's fists clenched with how hard she was trying to keep her tears in right now. Minju shook her head, fear gracing her features as she watched her best friend, the small girl now overcome with anger.

"I- I won't like your stupid boyfriend and I won't ever like him because-"

A hiccuped breath interrupted Yuri's words as a cause of the hot tears that were now streaming down her face, her balled fists not bothering to wipe them away.

"Because?" Minju pressed, needing answers.

But Yuri stayed silent.

"Yuri, jesus fucking christ will you just talk? Whatever you have to say can't be that bad-"

"Because I'm in love with you."

Minju froze. 

‘She was what?’

"I'm in love with you Minju. I know you don't feel the same but I have to tell you because this weight, the fucking weight of being around you, being scared to touch you for fear I might fall even further, being scared to say too much in case I scare you away... it's too much for me Minju."

Yuri inhaled. She said it.

Minju was silent.

Yuri took it as a sign.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I let this come between us. I hope he treats you right." Yuri said finally, her tears falling even harder than before. She took one last look up at her best friend's face and wished desperately that she hadn't, because the look of shock there seemed to tell her everything she needed to know. 

So she turned back to her house, trudging slowly as the consequences of her actions began to dawn on her.

With every step, she hoped, prayed, wished, for Minju to call her back, to hold her tight, to tell her everything would be okay. But she didn't.

So Yuri continued walking away.

Alone.

-

Two weeks had passed.

Yuri was lucky, with midterm rolling around she didn't have to make excuses to stay away from Minju or from school, locking herself up inside her bedroom for the two weeks.

As the days ticked by, Yuri tried to convince herself that this was right, and this was how life was going to be now. She didn't need Minju, she didn't need the pain or the heartbreak in her life.

‘But lying to yourself doesn't always work does it?’

It doesn't, Yuri thinks, as she spends another night staring at her phone. She waits and waits, willing for it to ring. She wants to hear her voice and her laugh, and talk to her about her worries. Minju had always been her safe place to go after something had gone wrong in life.

Where does Yuri go when Minju is the problem that went wrong?

(The phone never rings. Yuri doesn't get to hear her voice.)

-

There were two days of midterm left, and Yuri was dreading going back to school. She'd be obviously alone there, with no comfort of being able to pretend life doesn't exist inside the safe confines of her bedroom walls.

Yuri felt herself about to drift off into another countless nap, until her serenity was broken by a knock at her door. Her mom was there, a look of pity on her features.

"There's someone here for you."

Yuri nodded, heading down to the door. She stepped outside, looking down at her feet until she heard the sound of the other person clearing her throat.

"Yul,"

Followed by a sigh.

"Can you look at me, please?"

Yuri looked up, meeting eyes with the one girl she wanted to run a mile away from right now. Yuri couldn’t help but notice that she looked tired, and more worn out than she'd ever seen her before.

"We need to talk, huh?"

Yuri nodded, following Minju as she moved to sit on the steps of Yuri's porch. They sat in silence for a little while, until finally, Yuri spoke.

"Hi."

It was quiet, said in a voice small enough that would've been missed if Minju wasn't listening to the younger so intently.

"Hi, Yuri." She said with a soft chuckle, taking in the appearance of the younger girl. She had her hair in a messy bun, dressed in sweatpants and a baggy hoodie. Yuri looked straight ahead, feeling nervous as Minju surveyed her.

"You never let me speak, you know." Minju started, puzzling the younger girl.

"Huh?" She asked, turning to meet Minju who had a small smile on her features.

"Well, I know my Yul is dramatic but I didn't think it was this bad." She continued, chucking a small bit. Yuri wasn't impressed.

"Minju, if you've come here just to make fun of me, then you can go right back home." She said sternly, her brows only knitting further as Minju's chuckle turned into a laugh.

"Seriously, Yuri. You might be the stupidest person I've ever met. What kind of person confesses their love to someone then runs away from them before they can even reply?" She says, letting out a disbelieving laugh before scooting closer to Yuri.

"I... I don't know. You just looked shocked and I didn't want to be rejected by you so I just.. left."

"Yuri, what did I tell you about assuming things before they happen?" Minju said, her voice still teasing.

"What do you mean?" Yuri questioned, her eyes locking with Minju’s. She searched the other girl’s dark orbs for answers, but they revealed nothing, her features untelling of what the older girl was about to say next. 

"I love you too, Yuri. You fucking idiot." Minju confessed, the end of her sentence turning to a whisper as she got lost in Yuri’s eyes. Just as the younger girl was about to speak up, Minju silenced her. 

Closing the small gap between her face and Yuri’s, Minju couldn’t help but smile into the kiss as she heard her friend’s gasp of surprise before she began to kiss her back. 

Minju’s stomach filled with butterflies. This was it, the feeling she was looking for. She never felt like this when she kissed Hyunjin, or anyone else. It was always Yuri.

It’ll always be Yuri, she thinks as she pulls away, admiring her best friend’s blushing features. They both stared at one another, neither wanting to be the one to break the serene silence that had enveloped them. It was Yuri who eventually spoke up, her eyes turning to crescents that made Minju’s heart race as she smiled.

"If being called a fucking idiot means I get to kiss you like that again, then don't ever call me anything else." Yuri said, half joking, half deadly serious. Minju couldn't help but start laughing at Yuri's dorkiness, the younger soon joining her. While they had spent so much time together over the years, not a single moment had ever made them feel as complete as they did now. 

-

The two sat on Yuri’s front porch for the next few hours, watching the sunset as their hands were intertwined, Yuri's head resting softly on Minju's shoulder.

"I can't believe you were going to date Hwang Hyunjin instead of me." Yuri said, poking fun at Minju.

"Hey! How the hell was I ever supposed to know you liked me back? You have the emotional capacity of a pebble, there's no way I could've guessed!" Minju said, making the two of them break down into laughter.

"A pebble? That's so rude!"

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sure pebbles express their emotions much better than you do." Minju replied, a teasing lilt to her voice.

You're so annoying. You frog." Yuri said, her actions betraying her words as she nestled closer into Minju's side.

"A frog, maybe. But your frog at least." The older girl replied, pressing a small kiss to the crown of her head, smiling.

"Mm. My frog. My stupid, annoying, beautiful, frog." Yuri said finally, pressing a soft kiss to Minju's neck before closing her eyes and letting herself fall asleep against Minju, the fading sun still keeping her warm as the evening passed by.

Minju took a deep breath as she appreciated her surroundings. She had the girl of her dreams cuddled into her, a beautiful sunset in front of her, and a powerful feeling of warmth and love in her chest that she had never felt before. Her thoughts returned to the girl tucked into her side as she too began to close her eyes, letting her mind wander as she allowed herself to drift off into a peaceful sleep.

‘Jo Yuri.

Stupid Jo Yuri.

My Jo Yuri.’

[mythologymadness]

Headcanons for Hel? What about general children of Loki sibling dynamic headcanons.

vans will take this one

muse vans: hellooo idk when this was from but i saw it yesterday for the first time with my name attached so i’m answering it now :D

okay so i’m thinking Hel is the eldest, then Jormungandr, Fenrir, Sleipnir, Narfi, and finally Nari (the parentage of Vali is unclear, but i think Odin is mentioned as his father more times than Loki, so i’m not counting Vali as his son).

also, i think that Hel, Jormungandr, and Fenrir lived with Angrboda when they were children, until they were sent to Niflheim, Midgard and the River Van, respectively- so these three siblings are particularly close.

as the oldest, i think Hel is a leader-type figure. i like to imagine that she takes pride in directing and ordering her younger siblings around.

she enjoys dark humour i think, and maybe she’s a little morbid!! but i don’t think that she’s evil at all, and she’s not cruel- she’s just.. well, she’s just Hel.

i don’t think that Hel is particularly sentimental, but i do think that she values her siblings, and i’d like to think her half-siblings as well :)

another thing about Hel is that i think she hates being wrong and she hates being undermined.. i think she’s a very intelligent and strong young goddess.

also- although she does appreciate being acknowledged for all her skills and work, she can’t be bought with flattery- i think she has a great respect for the laws of the universe and of fate, as evidenced in her reluctance to let Baldr go when he was sent to her.

related to the Baldr myth, i think that Hel knew that Loki would do something to prevent Baldr from returning for real, which is why she made the promise to bring him back if everything in the world wept for him (because she knew it was impossible to do in the first place!).. if she hadn’t been sure of her father’s intentions, then i honestly don’t think she’d have made that kind of promise because she knows that all things have their appointed time.

next is Jormungandr :D i think Jormungandr is generally a pretty quiet kid.

i don’t think he really likes causing too much trouble, and for the most part, is probably the least like Loki.

i think he enjoys jokes and pranks (but not dark ones, the way Hel likes).

one thing that does make him pretty irritated though is... Thor! there are three distinct myths that Jormungandr appears in, and all three of them involve some encounter with Thor.

in the first one- Thor’s strength is tested by some dude who challenges him to lift up Jormungandr.. of course, physically speaking, Jormungandr would never be able to be lifted completely off the ground, so Jorumgandr gets turned into a cat instead, which Thor lifts a lot more easy.

i think after this incident, Jormungandr was really annoyed by Thor, and also he hates cats.

the second incident is when Thor goes fishing and Jormungandr gets caught on the fishing line. 

i’d like to imagine when Jormungandr realised it was Thor who caught him, he was just like, “YOU?? AGAIN?!!” poor boy.. he can’t catch a break T-T

the third one and final incident is their meeting at Ragnarok, and i think Jormungandr is probably pretty keen on getting even with Thor after being traumatised countless times by him.

okay then Fenrir! contrary to the rest of his siblings, i think Fenrir originally had really good relations with the Asgardians.

when they were first brought to Asgard, i think Tyr and Fenrir immediately bonded. i’d like to imagine Tyr playing with Fenrir as a little pup and playing frisbee or something,,

i say this because, if Tyr and Fenrir actually had a bond before Fenrir was bounded, it would make sense why Tyr was willing to place his hand in Fenrir’s mouth, and why Fenrir asks Tyr of all the Asgardians to do it- because if Tyr was lying, then the betrayal is just so much more bitter and tragic because the trust and friendship that they had is broken </3

so before Fenrir was bonded, i think he was very playful and fun and lighthearted,, but after he gets chained up, i think he becomes very bitter and angry,, and he probably has trust issues :/

in saying this, i don’t think Tyr really wanted to chain Fenrir up either, but the prophecies about Ragnarok kinda spooked out everyone, so Tyr didn’t have much of a choice.. but he didn’t have the opportunity to explain that to Fenrir, and i think even if he could, it would be too little, too late :/

Sleipnir is the outlier child,, i don’t think he had much time with the rest of his siblings because he was raised within Odin’s palace.. if he did have a relationship with his siblings though, i think that they’d definitely all get along. 

i think Sleipnir would be really fun to be around- i’d imagine he’d have gotten along with Fenrir the best ^-^

okiee and now for Narfi and Nari. as Sigyn’s children, i think they’re definitely more sheltered than Angrboda’s children.

they have, for the most part, a much more comfortable and happy life,, and i think that the first time that Narfi and Nari met their half-siblings, it would be very evident from the beginning how different their lives are.

even so, Sigyn has always been a very friendly and kind soul in my head, and i can’t imagine her being malicious or mean to any of Loki’s other children.. in fact, i think she’d be moved with compassion for these children who were forcibly taken from their mother in Jotunheim and moved to a strange new land just so that they can be observed like criminals just because of some prophecy.

i think Sigyn would make sure that Narfi and Nari did their best to get along, and i think this makes all the difference- there is never any need to compare Angrboda’s children’s lifestyles with Sigyn’s children’s. 

at first, i think Narfi and Nari are both pretty shy.. but Hel (before she moves to Niflheim) teaches them to be more confident in themselves, because she’s the big sister and she’s happy to take them under her wing.

Hel isn’t overtly sentimental though, so i think she likes to pretend that the family picture Nari drew of Hel, Fenrir, Jormungandr, Sleipnir, Narfi and himself together under a rainbow didn’t affect her.. but secretly she was crying on the inside :)

anyways, this leads me to my final hc which concerns Ragnarok.

i don’t think that Hel, Jormungandr and Fenrir fight on Loki’s side because they particularly care about their father’s feelings. i honestly don’t. that’s not to say that Loki was a bad father or they didn’t look up to him as a father, that kinda doesn’t matter. i think they fight on Loki’s side because they fight for the family that was broken by the Asgardians (as opposed to the idea that they fight just for the sake of fighting and/or bringing chaos to the world).

so, there isn’t really one “real” villain during Ragnarok- it’s really just a culmination of different perspectives and mistakes and misunderstandings.. which, i guess, is what makes the whole thing so terribly sad :///

[sparklingpax]

Sweet Bother, That’s What You Are

A.N: 

(starring my two TFP OCs, Paxie and Sharpflint, who will be getting sketch posts um.........eventually o///o’’)

-HIIIIII So. Potentially the first of many drabbles with these two <3 There’s no official story story, really....just whatever comes to mind if I feel like writing it! ^w^

-I actually managed to find the first time I did a drabble for them, idk, kinda dumb, but thought I’d link in case you were interested ^^’’ 

-This one’s kinda dumb too I apologize but I wanted to write it so

-Sorry for grammar, punctuation, word usage, spelling, etc mistakes......it’s late and I’m falling asleep and my brain is on Full Sunshine Happy Things mode so I’m just trying to dump all that into this story >:3 

-What planet are they on that has metallic trees and rocks?? uM?? uh--ok well,,,,,,same planet as the last one sorry I’m not very creative idk why I need so many trees for my writing anyway lmfao akjdjsd

-So when is this set then?? Ok so. After the war; in this universe here, which is not an au btw (or is it?? idk?? the events are assumed to be exactly the same as prime and other aligned continuity stuff just with these two inserted in the background if that makes any sense at all,,,,) Paxie was from one of the first generations after the war; Sharpflint fought in the war as an Autobot so,,,theres that. 

-May I just note for the record so no one asks or makes assumptions, their relationship is fully inteded to be really good friendship & it’s Not romantic. Sorry if I made it confusing in the writing sdjsdj basically I love writing romantic stuff but for once I want to write a Good Friends dynamic ^w^ hope thats okie!

-Also no Sharpflint is not actually old, he’d be more like a 35-year old and Paxie’s might be 25-ish. If you wanted to visualize it in human years I guess because we’re all........human..? She’s just fooling around 😹✨

-SHOUTOUT TO Y’ALL WHO ENCOURAGED ME TO START POSTING MY DRABBLE IDEAS!! I hope I do not disappoint too much ^^’’ 

-hhhhh & it be Short™ o///o but I hope you like it!!! thanks for reading!!! :)

///

Paxie kicked a stray rock back into its place on the side of the road and pouted. Arms folded behind her back, she did her best to tune out whatever Sharpflint was on about. Why?

“—and Primus fragging heck, Paxie, you know that as your friend—no, respected elder and mentor—I do not want to find your corpse on the side of the highway because you refuse to learn that—”

Yes. That. Because he was lecturing her about how strongly he disagreed with her personal stance in the Natural Form movement. However, she was not truly annoyed at all. It was a peaceful afternoon and she’d managed to convince Sharpflint to ditch patrol to walk with her. 

I’m going to have some fun here--after all, I’m giving up my free day, the one day I don’t have classes!!

Suddenly, one of his words registered in her mind and she got an idea. 

Paxie tapped his arm. He came to a halt alongside her, breaking off abruptly to give her a scathing ‘WHAT.’ However he swallowed that, too when he saw her face.

“You got one thing right, salty engines,” Paxie started, feigning frustration.

Sharpflint narrowed his yellow optics—he absolutely detested that ridiculous nickname.

“Oh?” He muttered back, half annoyed. “Enlighten me.”

Paxie shook her head, heaving a dramatic sigh. “Well, you’re old. But you’re not my mentor—you’re too old to be my mentor. I’d need a spry, young, whippersnapper like myself! In fact—wait—”

She did a shushing motion and looked around. Sharpflint moaned quietly, rolling his eyes hard. He waited for her to continue roasting him.

“Yes…yes, I can hear it!”

He decided to play along, folding his arms as he towered over her. “Hear what, Paxie?”

“Listen!! I can hear the high concentration of salt in your attitude rusting your rotor blades!!”

Frag me, Primus why.

“I can hear it from a mile—”

Sharpflint picked her up, smirking as her words melted into surprised yelping. He hoisted her over his shoulder, gripping her legs as the rest of her body hung over his back, and eyed the tree a small ways ahead of them. His grin grew wider.

“Old, huh?”

“Yes!!” Paxie was laughing now, gasping for air.

“Well, then, I’ll just show you how us elderly were taught to run!”

“FLINT!!!”

He swung her in a circle before racing ahead to the tree, prompting more giggled cries. His eyes glinted while his shorter friend shouted, playfully indignant, and demanded to be put down.

“I’ll snap you in two, you robot stick!!”

“Try it, tiny!! You’d barely leave a scratch!”

“OH—” Paxie narrowed her optics and whacked his green plating, still laughing. “SO SAYS ‘MR. INSULTS ARE RUDE’!! WOW!!”

Sharpflint let out a laugh himself, reaching the tree. Sure I said that, but I never said I couldn’t joke around…

“Hey, what are y—WAHHAHHHHHNOONONO—”

The two mechs had made it to the tree, so Sharpflint naturally tossed Paxie just high enough for her to land in one of the branches. As he’d hoped, she latched on and balled up against the metallic surface, optics wide with shock.

Take that, you adorable little scrap. Sharpflint nodded to himself, placing his hands on his hips and tilting his head back to take in the view. Paxie started giggling again, wailing down at him to help her off the branch .

“I’m only as old as the middle of the Great War!”

“You’re a salty, rusty sack of bolts!!”

Sharpflint sighed, turning away. “You and Mr. Tree can keep each other company until I come back here for patrol….” He pretended to think deeply, then calmly finished, “Four days from now.”

“Fine! You’re only as old as the youngest old bot from the war!!”

“Three days.”

“You’re a not-so-old dork!”

“Hmmm….” Sharpflint let the silence sink in, as if he were actually deeply considering her words. Paxie sighed audibly.

“You’re my favorite old dork--the best friend I could ask for!”

At this, Sharpflint turned and regarded her, beaming down at him. He unfolded his arms, chuckling lightly.

“I was going to let you down anyway, you know..” he said a little more quietly, feeling a little warm after her previous comment. The purple-white mech grinned back down at him.

“I know! I just wanted to say!”

Paxie was his closest friend, even if she was young, and didn’t know how bleak life could be—which was half the reason they ever got into fights in the first place anyway. Sometimes it’s hard to see eye-to-eye with someone who’s led a completely different life than your own. Both Sharpflint and Paxie were aware of that.

All that same, she was sunshine and openness.

Paxie was…simply put, a great friend.

Sharpflint cracked a small smile—not a smirk, but a real smile.

“You want to meet again at Silicon’s tonight?”

“Only if you’re paying!”

Sharpflint heaved another sigh, slumping over. Well, what else was to be expected? After all, the helicopter mech had thrown his friend into a tree. He couldn’t say no.

Well, no, he could, really should...but it would be rude—

“Oh, dear Primus,” he murmured under his breath, continuing to gaze up at Paxie, still hugging the tree branch for her dear life.

“Yay!! Silicon’s!!” Paxie cheered like a young sparkling, then cut herself off as her celebratory motions caused the branch to sway a bit too much. 

“Thank goodness for frequent paychecks…”

But above all, thank goodness for friends. Especially the ones that drive a bot nuts. Paxie, I’d give my life for you. 

[aphrodite-would-be-proud]

abt the historia and zeke are technically related, it got me thinking. We get a lot of yeager bros content and im sure there’s content of frieda being hostoria’s older sister but... where’s the content of zeke being a protective big bro to historia? Feel like they can bond well since they both got dick dads

historia taking the first few steps to breaking away from the nice, submissive type everyone knows her to be. she’s not perfect and there would be times that she’d doubt herself and go back to being insecure and playing herself down. in comes zeke who met her through his mother’s side of the family and is all for that personal growth. he relates to her wanting to stick it to her father, having gone through something like that in the past. he says stuff like, “like hell they can get away talking to you like that, tell me who they are and ill give them a piece of my mind.” and “your dad can go fuck himself, you can stay with me and mom if you need somehwere to stay. mom doesnt like rod either so you’re more than welcome.”

idk idk hahah :p

...i hope you don't mind me just wirting some headcannons and scenrios real quick, because wow anon you just opened my third eye for all this potential.

Historia and Zeke family bonding modern au below cut

They probably met for the first time at large family gathering when Dina took teen Zeke to meet his relatives and one of his uncles mentioned that his daughter from his ex-wife just started living with him after moving from the country side.

He was 17 at the time, and so while the adults were busy with each other as the topic of his mother's divorce came up again, he felt too uncomfortable to stay in the room so he just excused himself to the bathroom.

Only to sneak outside the house instead, knowing all the rooms in his uncle's big mansion were probably filled with maids or other relatives and he didn't want to risk getting caught.

The back garden was beautiful, the grass overgrown and not as bright as the front yard fake lawn, it was clearly an overlooked part of the house that the gardener seemed to forget from dried crunchy leaves collecting at the bottom of the old tree.

Zeke took a breath of fresh air, before reaching into the hidden pocket of his jacket and pulling a cigarette.

He knew if his mother found out she'd kill him, not to mention his concerned grandparents, but what they don't know can't harm them.

Getting out his lighter, he was too focused on covering the flame so the wind won't snuff it out before lighting the cigarette

"You shouldn't do that, it's not good for you." Came a high pitched voice that took him off guard, almost making him drop the lighter and cause a fire hazard.

Looking in front of him, a seven year old girl stood with messy blonde hair with some leaves stuck to it, she was clutching a patch of dandelions and weeds pulled from the ground.

Putting the lighter back in his pocket, Zeke took a deep breath before slowly letting the smoke out, pushing what she said aside, he said "And what exactly are you doing with those?"

She gave a big toothy smile before explaining how she's cleaning the garden, she said "they keep stealing the other plants' food, most plants here are dead and i wanted to help."

Zeke stepped closer before leaning down to be on eye level with her, judging by the dirt staining her white dress and between her fingernails, she must have been doing this for a while. He chuckled at the way she crunched her nose at the smell of smoke, before attempting to mask her features.

Wanting to mess with her, he held the cigarette with two fingers before offering it to her, "wanna try? i won't tell your parents, pinky promise."

Audibly gasping, she clutched the dandelions to her chest protectively before stumbling to politely reject it in a way that was clearly meant not to offend him, her eyes glancing at the garden fence door like she's considering running.

Deciding to end the joke before she would yell stranger danger, Zeke put out the cigarette with an amused smile before offering his empty hand to her.

"I'm sorry for the awful joke, please don't tell my mom, will you forgive me? Pretty please?" Putting on his best pout, Zeke almost couldn't hold back chuckling when the kid in front of him seemed actually moved by his act.

She reluctantly took his hand, tangling their pinkies together before nodding, with the most serious expression she said "okay...i won't, but you have to stop okay! My dad does it and he coughs a lot."

"Your dad huh..." Zeke stared into her eyes, "so you must be Historia."

"Mhm! Do you know my dad? He said some people will be visiting today and i should stay somewhere they can't see..."

"Hmm, well Historia " standing up, Zeke pushed his glasses back, "I'm Zeke, what do you say we become friends?"

Looking up at the tall boy with stars in her eyes, Historia enthusiastically noded, too happy to dwell on the fact that her first ever friend had offered her a smoke some minutes ago.

"That's the spirit, now" taking off his jacket, Zeke folded it before putting it aside on the fence, "what do you say we finish pulling these weeds so i can teach you a really fun game called catch."

That day, Zeke dragged dirt and mud into his mother's new car with his now ruined suit, Dina was too busy scolding him that she forgot the fact he never came back from the bathroom after leaving the room.

And after that, each year at Christmas and family gatherings, Zeke and Historia would see each other for a single day.

He slowly saw her confidence grow more and more, each time she held her head a little higher, smile more genuine than the fake polite one.

At age 15, She told him about her first girlfriend, he bought her alcohol with His ID and of course she was quick to refuse it and scold him, Zeke started worrying she's starting to resemble his mother more and more.

At 16, when her father found out and threatened to kick her out, Zeke was the person she first called even before Ymir, not wanting to worry her.

To his surprise was the fact she didn't shed a single tear as she packed her bags before getting in his car, not giving a single glance to her father staring with a horrified expression from the front gate.

No, she smiled instead as both of them went to grab some food.

He asked if she knows where she's staying, she said she knows some friends but still haven't asked anyone yet.

After arriving at his grandparents house, Dina was the first to pull her into a hug before saying how sorry she is and how she just ended a call with Riess after giving him a piece of his mind.

Zeke, knowing very well how his mother is like when she's angry, he smiled knowing the guy now definitely has a headache from all the yelling, his mother has great lungs after all.

Zeke was almost 26 at the time, and so he offered her his old room while he's away in college.

They definitely grew closer after that, although Zeke never mentioned a word to his friends neither did Historia tell anyone beside Ymir.

They just never mentioned their personal life while hanging out on the days Zeke came to visit from college.

His grandparents adored her and treated her like their granddaughter after his mother moved to another country, they even met Ymir a couple times.

Zeke never talked with Ymir but he met her on the times Historia brought her over at christmas, his grandparents were quick to praise her for landing such a beautiful girlfriend before side eyeing Zeke and asking if he will ever give bring someone home.

Zeke was there for her to see her actual sad side that she hid from everyone, both of them bonded over the burden they hold on their shoulders for having to be the "perfect reliable" person all the time.

She rarely cried, but whenever she did it was either with Zeke or Ymir.

While Zeke would vent to her about Grisha and how much the fear of turning like him is what prevents him from being in a commited relationship, while Historia listens to him before sharing her own experience with both her dad and mother and how both of them just abandoned her.

After that they just go out to get ice cream.

Fun fact, Historia can handle spicey food and like it's nothing, meanwhile Zeke will choke if he even smelled peppers.

At age 20, Historia moved with Ymir in an apartment after high school and Zeke moved back home to a house near his grandparents after finishing college and opening his own clinc.

She still sends them cards each Christmas and even visits at times, Zeke picks up each time she calls no matter what he's currently doing.

[hesther-mcg]

wishful thinking

request: Anonymous said:Hi! I saw your mai x reader and it was amazinf!! so could I request a Mai x waterbender!reader hc/ one shot (whichever you wanna do!!) The way you write her is amazing!!☺️

pairing: mai x waterbender!reader

warnings: idk how to feel abt this :/// if it’s not what u were wanting i’m sorry i can always do another part 

a/n: super long! maybe not good, who knows! i tried my best, but maybe this could be continued? waterbender!reader goes to the boiling rock prison break party?? some more pining, maybe some words exchanged between reader and mai?? 

creds to owner, i couldn't find them :(

“Aang and Sokka, I wish you a good journey,” Earth King Kui bid farewell. “Ba Sing Se owes you it’s thanks, and we look forward to your safe return.” 

Your group of friends bowed to him, small smiles on all of your faces. You had finally managed to get to him and tell him about the war, and expose Long Feng, and now each of you had specific tasks to complete. It made you slightly uncomfortable to split up, but things were never easy in times of war. 

You had decided to stay behind in the city with Katara so she wouldn’t be alone. Sokka deserved to see his father, so she had so kindly opted out of the journey, and upon realizing you had no business at the Eastern Temple with Aang you chose to stay with her. 

“Your Majesty,” a guard came up, alerting everyone. “There are three female warriors here to see you. They’re from the island of Kyoshi.” 

“That’s Suki!” Sokka yelled as he fell to the ground from Appa’s side. He groaned dramatically as he squirmed around, and you reached a hand out to help him. 

“You know these warriors?” The Earth King questioned, taking a few steps forward. 

“Oh yeah,” Sokka replied as he stood up straight. “The Kyoshi Warriors are a skilled group of fighters. Trustworthy, too.” He smiled. “They’re good friends of ours.”

The Earth King nodded his head. “Then we shall welcome them as honored guests.”

--------------------

The sun was high in they sky as the Kyoshi Warriors made their way down the path before them, lined with Earth Kingdom guards on either side. The three girls, in matching makeup and uniform, wore stoic expressions as they inched closer to the King. 

“In our hour of need, it is with the highest honor that I welcome our esteemed allies,” he extended his hands, and the girls kneeled before him, resting their painted foreheads against their hands. “The Kyoshi Warriors.” 

Slowly, they rose back up, revealing their faces to the very man they were there to overthrow. “We are the Earth King’s humble servants,” the girl in front mused, eyes sharp. 

--------------------

You sighed. You knew that this was what you’d signed up for when you stayed behind with Katara, but that didn’t mean you enjoyed the things you had to do. You sat on the ground beside your friend, Momo resting on your shoulder, and a large map of the four nations separated the both you from the row of Generals you were speaking with. They were so far away you couldn't even make out their features, and you were sure that the both of you looked like two specks of blue rather than kids. 

“General Fong’s base will serve as the launching point for the attack. In exactly two months, the Army and Navy will invade the Fire Nation on The Day of Black Sun,” he moved his arms about, and the clay pieces on the map that represented Earth King forces moved. They glided towards the Fire Nation Capital, and Momo flew from your shoulder and landed with a small crash, and all the pieces fell over. 

“Or we could send in Momo to do some damage,” Katara joked with a laughed as the lemur moved around and knocked more things over. “Cause the...” when she was met with a stern silence, you nudged her with your elbow. “Sorry,” she quietened down and you rubbed her arm a few times.

General How closed his fist and all the pieces erected themselves, causing Momo to jump with a screech and retreat to the comfort of your shoulder. “All we need is the Earth King’s seal in order to execute the plan,” he placed down a scroll, and it glided towards the pair of you on a block of stone. 

Katara picked up the scroll as you both rose up from the ground. “We’ll get these scrolls to him right away. Thank you, General How.” You bowed and turned away from the men, and together you and Katara took off down the corridor. 

The walk through the Upper Ring was nice, Ba Sing Se truly was a beautiful place. It was nothing like what you and Katara were used to, which was snow, ice, and water. The North and the South had their differences but one thing rang true for both places; it was cold and wet and blue, but it was home. The city was different, hues of green and yellow filling the streets, gold trinkets lining the windows of some shops, expensive clothes on racks in others. 

But the nice tea shop that caught your eye was probably the nicest thing you’d seen. It was beautiful and shiny, and evidently very popular. “Hey, Katara, let’s get some tea!” You pointed towards the building. “Come on, it’ll be nice,” you smiled and batted your eyelashes, giving her your best pleading expression. 

“Hmm, alright,” she agreed. “What do you say, Momo? A cup of tea before we get back to the  Earth King?” She asked the lemur on your shoulder. He chattered in response, looking between the both of you with his large eyes. It was all you needed to start heading towards the shop. 

You were greeted at the entrance after trekking up the steps. “Table for three, please.” Katara spoke to the pretty woman while your eyes scanned the surrounding area. 

“Uncle!” A familiar voice shouted. “I need two jasmine, one green, and one lychee.” None other than Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, the very boy who’d been hunting you and your friends for so long, wore a uniform and flitted around the shop. You nudged the girl beside you, and she gasped. 

“I’m brewing as fast as I can,” the old man you recognized as Zuko’s uncle assured with a small smile, standing in the kitchen area of the tea shop. It was as if time had stopped, and everything in the world went out of whack. Nothing made sense, this didn’t make sense. 

Nothing needed to be said, no look needed to be shared; you and Katara had the same thought in mind. 

We need to tell the Earth King. 

The both of you bolted down the stairs and ran away, flashes of blue heading towards to King. You were panting by the time you got there, but the relief of seeing Suki resting on the ground in front of the throne, her gold headband and oil makeup familiar and comforting, was sweet. 

“Thank goodness you’re here, Suki,” Katara rushed. “Something terrible is going on. The Fire Nation has infiltrated the city. I just saw Prince Zuko and his uncle!” 

Suki’s eyes widened a fraction before a sly grin grew on her lips. It was then you realized that this wasn’t your friend, and the two girls resting behind her weren’t Kyoshi Warriors either. You don’t know why it had taken you so long to figure out, or why Katara still hadn’t figured it out herself. This girl was acting nothing like Suki, and it was so painfully obvious now. 

“We have to tell the Earth King right away!” Katara urged, and your eyes cut to her. Something was wrong, and when the girl wearing your friend’s headband, and your friend’s uniform stood up, the female waterbender finally figured it out. 

“Oh don’t worry.” The mystery girl assured, slowly stepping forward into the light, and her golden eyes shined. “I’ll be sure to let him know.”

Momo screeched and flew from your shoulder, fleeing to who knows where; but you didn’t mind, he was safer elsewhere. Suddenly, the Chi blocker you’d fought on several occasions leapt forward, a flurry of flips and handstands and acrobatics. Her hand landed on Katara’s shoulder as she flew over her, and the your friend dropped to the floor. The water she had pulled from her pouch sloshed to the ground, and you pulled it up and combined it with your own water. 

Before you could do anything, however, the girl grabbed you in the same spot she ahd grabbed your friend, and she pulled you backwards. You lost the sensation in your limbs, and you dropped and landed in a puddle of water. 

“So, Zu Zu’s in the city, too.” Azula mused, walking closer to the both of you. You could only see above you, and the girl with the knives you’d been thinking about since Omashu entered your line of sight. The edges were blurry, and steadily growing more fuzzy, but you’d recognize her any day-- even with the makeup. 

“I think it’s time for a family reunion.” 

--------------------

“How’d you learn that?” You asked, and the girl beside you chuckled. You were sitting so close together that your’re arms brushed every so often. 

“I was bored in my room, so I taught myself a trick,” she shrugged, throwing another knife at the wall. It stuck an inch away from the one she’d thrown just before, not any higher or lower. 

“Well, you’re really good,” you complimented, and your cheeks reddened. “You think you could teach me?”

She looked at you, her dark hair shining in the light. She grinned at you, small but sweet nonetheless. “Sure,” she drawled. “Someday.” 

You couldn’t take your eyes off of her. She was so pretty, and she looked so cool and collected. She was a complete mystery, one you wanted so desperately to solve. 

--------------------

That was wishful thinking. 

You wouldn’t get to see her that close, or brush your arm against hers, or have her smile at you. She was on Azula’s side, and you were on Aang’s. It was as simple as that. None of the other factors needed to be mentioned; like how you didn’t know her name, or her age, or how she got mixed up in the schemes of the Royal family. 

You wouldn’t get to learn how to throw knives, or just what to do to make the Fire Nation girl smile like she did whenever you dreamt of her. That’s all you would ever have, dreams and wishful thinking. 

[theonetheycallhannah]

The Treatment of Captain Syverson-Chapter 13: SNAFU

Characters: Captain Syverson, various original minor/supporting characters.

Summary: Sy has some time to think about his past, present, and future while roughing it in the Virginia wilderness which leads him to a revelation about what he really wants…but is it too late?

Need to start from the beginning? Miss an update because Tumblr? Click me!

Word Count: 4.7k

Warnings:  Mild language, mature themes, military and weapon terminology, discussion, and use. (For those who don’t know, SNAFU is a term coined in the military. It’s an acronym for “Situation Normal, All Fucked Up.” And since this is from Sy’s perspective, I thought a military term, as opposed to a therapy term would be appropriate.)

Author’s Note: Despite this being the longest chapter, clocking in at almost 5k, it was one of the easiest to write, and came the quickest. I love writing from Sy’s perspective, and the pure love he has for Shane. I’m hoping to be able to write a bit more of his POV before the story is complete. We’ll see. I apologize if it seems like one long rant about Sy’s feelings…I guess that’s what it is, with various activities peppered in. He can be a sensitive guy, and I wanted to show that. 

Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, Henry is not mine, le sigh, and all mention of him, his characters, any characters from his films, or his precious doggy, Kal, are strictly for transformative and recreational use. I neither ask for, nor accept payment for the work I post on Tumblr or AO3. Unbeta’d because this is for fun and escapism.

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Hope I’m not forgetting anyone! If you want to be notified when I post a new chapter or work, I’ll be happy to add you to my tag list! Stricken blogs are getting personal messages from me when a new chapter is uploaded because Tumblr’s faulty tagging system will not stand in the way of me delivering what the people want!(?) lol! (Although…their lackadaisical notification system might…sorry for that. I have no control. lol!)

X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X@

Sy was no whimp. That much was certain. Missouri winters had toughened him up more than most men in his battalion and most of the participants in the training he was currently undertaking.

But it was more than that. Sy was uniquely prepared for the elements. He remembered a particularly harsh December night during Christmas break, before he joined the service when he was home alone and had to let the dog out. Fool that he was, he wore no shoes. Greater fool, he'd allowed the door to the back yard to close…and unfortunately, it had a tendency to lock. Which it did. He tried fruitlessly for a while to break back in, but being without a cell phone, he knew he'd have to walk a good distance for help with the lock.

He slipped out the gate and started up to the road, to follow it  to his grandparents a few miles away. The county road wasn't the best kind for walking, particularly barefoot in the late fall, but his feet were soon too numb to feel the gravel and whatever else was lacerating the soles of his feet. After about an hour, he made it there, shivering, knocking frantically and waking his frail old grandparents up to rescue him from his own negligence. He'd regret that until the day he died. Not that they were angry about it. They shrugged it off. His grandma cleaned the blood and dirt from his feet and bandaged the shallowed abrasions. They didn't look too bad, considering the area they lived in and the trash that could have been waiting to carve him up. Then she set about cleaning up Sy's messy footprints from her normally immaculate floor. Grandpa looked all over for their spare keys to Sy's and his mom's house, and finally found them. He lent him a pair of shoes, drove him back home, and let him in the house. After that, Sy found himself eager to spend time outdoors during colder weather. As if determined to build up a tolerance to it in case he ever found himself in such a situation again.

Now, despite the time of year being only late August, it was unseasonably cool, especially at night, as if Christmas was right around the corner, and Sy was wishing more and more that he had someone to cuddle with during the nights he'd be doing cross country training here at the beautiful Shenandoah National Park. He had packed only the essentials for the expedition, a mess kit, bed roll, canteen, modest rations, first aid supplies, et cetera, plus a rope and a tarp for building a shelter. On his person, he had a compass, a topographical map of the park with checkpoints indicated, waterproof, strike-anywhere matches, a hunting knife, a tactical knife, an M17 pistol, and three .9mm clips. He was also given a flare gun to use in case he got stuck for any reason and needed extraction.

On his first night in the wilderness, he'd taken a lot of time falling asleep. Thinking.

He thought about his last week at home. He wondered how Mr. and Mrs. Stevens were doing with Aika. Shane had offered to watch her, and he considered it. He had appreciated her eagerness to help after her…less than enthusiastic response to hearing about this trip. But he decided since Aika had a close relationship already with Fred and Caroline, and she was still getting to know Shane, they'd better be the ones to take her. She understood, and had offered the second reason that since she worked so much, she wouldn't be able to give her the kind of attention she was used to. That had made a lot of sense. He felt like kind of a bad dog parent for not thinking of it, himself.

He thought about the week he'd been here already at the compound. His first day filling out paperwork, he was asked for an emergency contact. He was used to putting his mom…but she wasn't in the best of health, herself. He had nobody. Nobody but Shane. He put her down, instead of his mom. He thought about the seminars on company approved methods of subduing and detaining targets and combatants. He should have taught Shane some self-defense moves before he left. She could handle herself, and she'd proven so, but still. A refresher, or an advancement on one's skills was always a good idea. But he was sure she'd be fine. He thought about her the most in the torturous policy and procedure lecture. What he wouldn't'a given to have her here with him. She would have made everything fun. And she would have been a way better study partner than Keith. Keith, a Navy vet from Little Rock was a good guy…he just…didn't get Sy's jokes. He was a very literal kind of thinker, and it took extra effort for Sy to communicate with folks like that.

Shane, though…he and Shane wouldn't have gotten too much done, study-wise. They would have been…distracted.

As he hiked along the trails to his first checkpoint, he breathed in the clean, crisp air and stopped at the odd overlook here and there. The park was nestled on the outer edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and they were too gorgeous not to appreciate while he was here. He found himself…uniquely emotional. He didn't feel lonely often, but since he'd met Shane, he'd hardly gone two days without seeing her, even if it was for just an hour. She'd love all of this. She'd probably want a tent, and coffee in the mornings, so they wouldn't be able to travel quite as light, but they'd make it work. Maybe one day they'd take a trip like this. Just for fun. No checkpoints. No deadlines. No semi-automatic weapons…well, honestly, he'd probably still bring a gun, anyway. You never did know about people these days, he thought. Of course, that's probably what people think of me carrying a pistol, he also thought…anyway, he was almost to the checkpoint.

Said checkpoint was a big tent, like the ones they sold fireworks out of leading up to Fourth of July. Inside there was a single lane shooting range set up down one half of the tent. On the other half, there were stations set up with dismantled weapons that you had to assemble in a certain amount of time. Someone had beaten him to the range, so he started with the guns. No problems whatsoever. He was familiar more or less with all of the models, or some version of them. When the previous participant, a small blonde woman, had finished on the range, Sy stepped up to the counter.

The attendant reset the target for Sy so he could do a close range shot, then again for mid and long range ones. He shot well, although he still wasn't used to the lighter weight of the SIG Sauer M17s the armed forces switched to back in 2017. They'd offered him an M18 at the compound, but he favored the heaver pistol, instead. Maybe the M18 was more packable, but Sy just didn't feel right firing a weapon that felt like a feather in his hand. If it was up to him, he'd take a Colt Python .357 Magnum Revolver. That, however, was more than just a question of how the firearm felt in his hand. Being out in the wilderness like this made him think back to how it must have been before these lands became civilized and gentrified. Back to the days of the cowboy, Wyatt Earp and the OK Corral. Back when it was just the wild and free land he could pretend it was now. He thanked the attendant, who was writing his name on his targets to take back to the compound along with his graded weapon assembly timesheets, and then was back on his way.

There was an eerie beauty about this unsullied land, he thought, as the dusk fell the second night of the excursion and he began setting up his camp about halfway between the first and second checkpoints, by his estimation. With his fire built and his shelter up, Sy took out some of his rations, cured meat, hard cheese, and some walnuts, and had a light supper before cleaning his gun and turning in while the ground still held some heat from the waning sun, wishing again as the cold set in that his woman was there to warm him.

His sleep was fitful. And he awoke before dawn, from dreams he couldn't remember but which still left him feeling empty. They must have been about her. He was starting to feel regret. The last time he'd seen Shane, he'd said some things that he meant to be selfless. But he didn't mean them. He meant the parts about loving her, of course. But the last thing he wanted was to come home and find her moved on with someone else. He couldn't stand to think about it. As he walked into the next checkpoint area, the range was already set up for close range firing. He riddled the target with .9mm holes and could barely wait until the attendant got the fresh sheet set to mid range before he began firing.

"How about you let me fully clear the lane before you start on the long range target, okay, Syverson?"

"Sorry, man. I'm a little…on edge today. Won't happen again."

The short, sandy-haired buck trotted out to replace the riddled sheet with one more for the long range leg, pulled it down and lacked it in to long range position, then hoofed it back up to safety, sensing the captain's impatience. Sy shot cleanly, but with cold anger, as if the silhouette on the page out there was trying to take Shane away from him. He put two square in the chest, and two in the head without hesitating.

"Man, I've never seen a long range shoot like that! What's the deal, you pissed at an ex, or something?" Sy checked the man's lapel for a name tag.

"Not exactly, Mister…Daniels."

"Call me Jack." they shook hands, and Sy chuckled, questioning.

"I'm Sy. You're name is Jack…Daniels?"

"Yes sir. No relation to the Lynchburg Daniels, unfortunately. Momma wanted to name me after her granddad, and my old man, well, he had no problem with it given his affinity for the spirit."

"A wise man, your dad. Some of my best nights have included Tennessee Number 7." He didn't elaborate, but he was getting very specific flashbacks of drinking games in his kitchen with Shane. And he was gonna have to shake it off before the weapons assembly drill, or else he'd end up putting together an assault rifle backward.

He made it through without any trouble, thank the good Lord. But that didn't mean that his mind wasn't still reeling. He was thinking of Shane and the possibility that she was being courted by Chris Evans look-alikes and young Harrison Ford doppelgangers, and it was making him furious. He was pretty sure that she was about as interested in taking a break as he was, but he couldn't help himself from making the offer under the circumstances. He kicked himself as he made his camp for the evening, not very far away from the third checkpoint, but too far away to get there by dusk when the daily deadline was. He was a shoe in to get there first in the morning, though, if he was reading his map correctly, and he was damn good at maps, if he did say so, himself. And who would bitch at him for bragging out here, anyway. The odd cricket or squirrel? He didn't think so.

It was colder tonight, and he was thankful that he thought to boil some water for his canteen and put it at his feet. He curled his surly, burly body up under the layers of blanket and thermal sheeting. He was almost warm enough…but he still needed something.

His sleep was plagued by strange dreams that he unfortunately remembered tonight. The scene began with Shane in a bright pink dress and matching gloves, dripping with diamonds, like Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She looked so glamourous and beautiful, but she was getting passed from man to man to the tune of Madonna's Material Girl, which was not the correct song, and he knew it in that moment, but couldn't correct anyone, because it was all playing out on the big screen TV in his basement. When he realized this he turned it off and noticed a familiar head of hair on his lap and stroked it, about to say "Hey, sunshine." until the figure sat up and looked at him, and it was Jordan, the PTA, batting his eyelashes at him, and asking, "You ready for bed, babe?"  The therapist leaned in for a kiss, but Sy leaned back, tumbled off the couch and landed on those crutches again, standing right in front of Shane in the lobby of the therapy clinic.

"Hey sunshine." he said warmly. She looked confused.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Well…I should hope so…it's me. Sy."

"Sorry, not ringing any bells. I'll look you us and see who you're with, though. Usually Heather tells the new patients which therapists they get their first day. What's your last name?"

He felt like he was getting kicked in the gut with a soccer cleat worn by the Incredible Hulk. He answered with defeat.

"Sy's a nickname. Last name Syverson, first name Logan."

"Oh, there you are. Looks like Cory gets to take care of you today. I'll let him know you're ready. As long as you're all done with the secretaries?"

Sy nodded and collapsed to the floor blacking out. When he woke up, his neighbor, Mr. Stevens was standing over him, insisting it was time for him to get ready. He kept handing him things to put on. Pants, a nice shirt, a vest, a light blue tie, a jacket, nice shoes. The whole enchilada. They got out of Fred's car at a little white chapel outside which, his neighbor pinned a small boutonniere of powder blue hydrangeas to his lapel and walked in with him.

"Come on, boy. She'll be here any minute."

Sy was nervous, but excited. He was obviously marrying Shane. But he couldn't remember proposing, or planning the wedding, or an engagement party, or bachelor party, or rehearsal dinner, nothing…but none of that mattered. He heard the first notes of "Here Comes the Bride" and everything faded away, anyway. He began to cry as she got closer. She was moving slowly, he presumed out of nerves. Or perhaps she'd chosen the wrong shoes. It didn't matter. They'd dance the night away barefoot, and make love until dawn. He wished her veil wasn't so thick. He couldn't even see her bouquet. Let alone her stunning face, no doubt smiling as she cried with him. When she stood in front of him, he broke protocol and removed the veil to find Aika in a white dress on her hind legs panting, tongue lolling happily to one side.

"You may now kiss the bride." said the wizened old minister, causing Aika to knock Sy to the ground licking his face until he blacked out again.

This time, he woke to the chirping birds of a mountain morning in Virginia. His campfire long snuffed, his canteen now chilled as his blood. Those dreams…those were traumatic. He didn't want Shane to see anyone else. The thought of seeing anyone else himself repulsed him. Thinking about what his life would have been like if they'd never gotten to work together made him physically ill, and he was terrified that if he didn't act on these feelings, he'd end up with no one but his dog. Why did it take a trip out of state and all these nights of solitude to figure this out? She was all that mattered. He could dig ditches, flip burgers, get a teaching certificate and coach, or teach gym. Whatever. He also liked history. He could think of something if the people at Secure Source couldn't keep him in consistent work. It would be fine. He understood his purpose now. And it wasn't just to do his duty to his country. He'd served proudly for years. He had a new purpose now. And it was her.

He packed up camp in what he was sure was record time and hauled ass to the last checkpoint where the brass should be waiting for finishers. He was the first one there this morning, but he wasn't sure if anyone had made it yesterday. He didn't try to make small talk with the attendant today. He was on a legit mission to get back to his locker at the compound, turn his phone on and call Shane. He fired four shots, but only made two holes on the long range target. One in the chest, one in the head. The attendant was impressed, giving the highest possible grade.

"Man, Syverson. I pray I never do anything to piss you off."

Sy nodded in acknowledgement and went on to the weapons drill booths. Today, there were distracting sound effects playing on a speaker in each booth, and each one was different. Sy ignored the cacophony, pretending it was white noise, and focused on the puzzles at hand, breezing through the new weapons in better time than ever.

As his cards were being scored and turned in for review to Jane Freitag, the administrator over acquisitions and training, he got himself a cup of coffee and a doughnut, and just observed her, tactically, and objectively. She was a redhead with sharp features, freckles, and light eyes. She was slender, but dressed simply, and modestly. The consummate professional. Sy had honestly barely registered her gender, and it wasn't because she wasn't beautiful. She was. Full red lips, lashes for days, and although her clothes didn't exactly accentuate her shape, he could tell he had a decent figure. He just wasn't interested. And would never be interested in anyone but Shane again. Miss Freitag startled him out of his thoughts.

"Mr. Syverson." She beckoned him to the entrance to the tent near her vehicle.

He picked up his gear and coffee and trotted over to her.

"Ma'am?"

"Jane, please."

"Sy, then, for me. What's next on the agenda?"

"Well, you're the first participant across the finish line. I'm very impressed. It seems as though you almost could have finished last night."

"Yes, ma'am, if I hadn't taken a little extra time for sightseeing, I might have made it here by dusk last night. I just haven't had the hustle I had today."

"Well, that's nothing to sneer at. Normally, the deprivation of food, regular water supply, and proper sleeping conditions make participants sloppy. The opposite seems to be true for you, as you've done better at each checkpoint than the one before. Now, let's get back to the compound and get you a proper meal, and a shower, and talk about what's next for you here at Secure Source."

"Yeah, about that. Before we go much further with this, I need to know one thing."

"What's that?"

"I need to know if you'll be able to find me work near enough to St. Robert and the base there so that I don't have to relocate and travel all the time.  I've got a life there, and…it's not something I can just pick up and move on a whim, and I don't want to be away for weeks and months at a time. I know I made this trip work, but I'm praying it didn't already ruin everything." He wasn't going to waste time mincing words. He needed to know right away or else this wouldn't work.

"Sy, with your talent…they're gonna want to put you on the high profile cases. Celebrity security. Concerts, movie premiers, things like that. You'll be wasted as a small town rent-a-cop." there was true concern in her face and her voice as she drove them out of the park and onto the main road to Secure Source's compound.

"If there's a need I can fill, how is that a waste? There's lots of talent in this program. Just 'cause I finished first don't mean I did it the best. And I'm sure most of these folks have the people skills to take them farther'n me. And if you wanna gimme first crack at those, I'll hear ya out. Just…let me reserve the right to turn down the out of town jobs. Especially if they're short notice. And if it takes me away from another security job, I want you to send me a replacement a few days in advance so I can meet 'em, train 'em, and introduce 'em around."

"Seems reasonable." Jane said.

"Well, alright, then. I think we got ourselves a deal. I'll shower up in the locker room real quick, then meet ya in the commissary for a sandwich so we can handle the particulars?"

"Sure, Sy." she agreed as they pulled into the parking structure.

They went their separate ways, Jane to her office, and Sy to the quartermaster to return his supplies and get the key to his locker. He practically danced there, he was so giddy to get to call Shane. He did need a quick shower first, though. Which he took, grabbing some shampoo and soap out of his travel bag. When he got back to his locker, towel around his waist, he replaced the products and grabbed his phone. He sat on the bench between the rows of lockers as it booted up.

When it did, it began alerting him as if it's life depended on it. Three text messages, three voicemails, … and twenty four missed calls. That was odd. Maybe a telemarketer had gotten his number.

He checked the texts first. One was a picture of Aika from Fred, his neighbor, the other two were from Shane…two days ago. The day he went into the park.

Hey, hope you have a great first day of Survivor: Virginia! Lol! Be safe! I love you!

OMG, nutty day today! I'm gonna be doing notes for hours! I'll text you in the morning! <3

And then nothing…he chuckled at Survivor: Virginia, but was a bit concerned. Maybe she'd decided not to waste time texting him if he wasn't going to respond? He didn't know. Maybe some of the calls or voicemails were from her. He'd check before calling.

One from his mom, one from the Stephen's house phone, and the rest were from Fort Wood Therapy. That was weird. He was discharged and didn't have any appointments…surely he wasn't missing any…Shane would have said something. He listened to the voicemails. The first one was from Heather.

"Hey, Sy, it's Heather, Shane's friend here at therapy. Hey, give me a call when you get this. Thanks."

Weird…the next one was from Susan, Shane's boss. In the same tone.

"Captain Syverson, it's Susan DeForrest here at Fort Wood Therapy Clinic. Please give us a call when you get this. Thank you."

Again, weird. The last one was Susan again and far less friendly and measured.

"Mr. Syverson. I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but you need to bring Shane back to work and stop screwing around. One or both of you is in serious trouble. Either you're being hot-lined for abduction or she's fired for not showing up for work. The choice will be hers." and the line went dead.

Sy felt his stomach twist into nauseated knots at Susan's words. Shane hadn't been to work. For how long? He had to call them. He didn't want to think about the horror that might have befallen Shane while he'd been away.

"Fort Wood Therapy Clinic, this is Heather, how may I help you?" Heather said, trying to hide the obvious worry beneath the cordial demeanor.

"Heather, it's Sy, what the hell's going on with Shane? What do you mean, she hasn't been to work, I don't…"

"Let me give you to Susan, Sy. I'm sorry." She added the last two words in a whisper. After a brief moment on hold, Susan picked up.

"So, Mr. Syverson. Finally decided to call us back?"

"Cut it out, Susan." He let her blatant ignorance of his rank slide in favor of getting to the point. "Tell me what's going on."

"Shane left work Monday and hasn't been back since. No one has seen her. Apart from you, I presume. I knew letting her date a patient would come back to bite me. I should never have--"

"Shut up! This isn't about you, and it isn't because of you. And you had no right to tell Shane who she could and couldn't date, anyway. I haven't seen her in about a week and a half. I'm training out of state for a job. I've been away from my phone since Monday, and I just got back to it now."

"She isn't…with you? I assumed…"

"Well, you know what they say, Susan. I'm coming back early if I can manage it. See if I can do something to help find her. Thanks for calling me. I know your intentions weren't the best when you did, but ultimately, it worked out. I may not have found out otherwise, at least until… much later."

He hung up before she could respond. He had to talk to Jane about cutting his training short. This was all his fault. If he had just come to the realization of just how important, how vital Shane really was to him before he left…well he never would have gone in the first place. She was his life now. His world. His future, and his whole heart. Tears stung his eyes as he dressed to meet Jane in the commissary. She'd have to be okay with this. She'd have to understand.

As he got closer to the smell of fry oil, seasonings, and sizzling meat on a griddle, aromas that usually made his stomach grumble with hunger, he had to swallow back the bile that crept up his throat. He found her seated at a small round four-top, already eating a salad. He sat across from her, startling her from whatever she was reading on her phone, and again when she looked at his expression and complexion.

"Sy, what's wrong? You look downright green!"

"Listen, Jane, I'm going to have to leave training early." She scowled at him, but he was more concerned with the putrid smells of boiled egg and onion coming off her chef salad. He had to get this over with quick before he wretched in the middle of the mess hall.

"That's a big ask, Sy. Gonna have to have a reason."

"I just got a call that my girlfriend is missing. I need to go home and help find her."

"Oh…yeah, that's…that's some reason. I'm really sorry to hear that. Any leads so far?"

"No, I just got off the phone with her useless boss and all she told me was that she hasn't been to work since Monday and can't be reached on her phone. I have my suspicions, but I wanna talk to the authorities."

"Okay, well. Maybe when things calm down at home, we can set you up with some online courses like we do for our assets who need refreshers, but are on assignment. I'll approve that for you."

"Thanks," he said, gratefully, "I'm also wondering if the company has any…transportation solutions for me…of an immediate nature?"

"Man, what were your letters to Santa like as a child?"

"Oh, you know, a little red wagon, end of poverty, world peace…that kind of stuff." he grinned his most charming grin.

"Why am I not surprised? Okay, but you have to return the favor somehow, Sy."

"How about, one assignments of your choosing, no questions asked?"

"Hmmm, what about five assignments?"

"Three?" he countered.

"Done." they shook hands across the table. "I would have settled at two." she smirked.

"I would have done ten." he winked at her as he turned to retrieve his belongings from his bunk and locker. He had a plane…or perhaps a chopper to catch.

Up Next: Chapter 14: No Call No Show