#if you guessed that i feel like i have something in this goddam left eye of mine youd be right

[a-sleepy-ginger]

12/5/24

✿❈✿❈✿

Got my psychology practice essay done

It started raining when I went to take my dog out so I waited for it to stop and it did after like 10 mins so I was like cool I'll take him out now. As soon as we get out it starts bucketing it down and like a minute later there's a real loud bit of thunder. So the dog and I are just walking through this storm and apparently there was lightning that I didn't see cus I had my head down the entire time. There was three really loud bits of thunder which was fun. Got back and my dad was waiting in the close with a towel and we laughed about the timing of it. But the best part is that as soon as I got in the house the rain stopped and the storm was over like what are the chances that I managed to perfectly time the walk so it would happen and last the same time as a storm... It was fun

Ice cream

[cateyesinlove]

To my secret Santa, Merry Christmas @sirenarts , haven meeting you is one of the best things this year and I will forever be grateful I get to call you my friend!

AO3

“No” Azriel simply answered while cheeking some paper from a folder, leaning into his desk with ease as if he didn’t have the fiercest of lawyers in the whole New York area in front of him murdering him with her sight, Lady Death herself, Nesta Archeron.

“What do you mean no” she growled, arms crossed and fuming.

Azriel let a sigh out and dragged his hand down his face, “ It means I am not taking time off from my job to go around asking who wants to come with me on an adventure where I follow some influencer girls around like a lost puppy for a beauty brand launch party.” He answered harshly, “ I’ll lose all credibility, Nesta”

Azriel has only felt fear three times in his life, his line of work didn’t necessarily allow him to feel it more often

When his hands were burned

When he almost died

And now watching Nesta smile like the devil herself standing in front of him.

“ Well good thing you need to do neither of those things,” Nesta said smiling scarily chipper, she uncrossed her arms and put them in her waist. “ Emerie has already agreed and Cassian told me you had already taken the week off so you can do your usual brooding in the mountain.”

Azriel was left speechless.

Then he frowned, “ How did you get Berdara to do it, she is worse than me with time off and that is something.” he asked.

Nesta shrugged smirking, putting her hands in her pockets.

“I guess it’s just one of the many perks of being an awesome lawyer who saves your fucking asses all the goddam time.”

Azirel rolled his eyes, being a bodyguard was a great job and it paid well whoever you were also sued a lot depending on the clients you worked with and how much of an assholes they were

“ Well I might still refuse Nesta,” he said defensively

Nesta smile somehow grew bigger and she pulled her phone out showing it to Azriel. “ Oh have I forgotten to tell you the person I need you to take care of is Elain?” she asked, in her phone a photo from the photoshoot of Elain’s new brand; Elain was dressed in a flower gown surrounded by all types of plants and holding some of her products.

He was left breathless.

Azriel’s first thought, as it always was whenever he saw Elain, was that she looked beautiful. There was a shine to Elain that Azriel had only been able to find in the stars in the night. Her glow was incomparable.

He felt his ears and face grow hot and a blush took over his face.

Fuck.

Nesta laid the trap for him and he fell like the idiot he was.

He cleared his throat and scratched his neck with the other, “ Yes, you forgot that very important detail, Nesta,” he scowled

Nesta laughed, “ Well what can I say, it is fun to toy around with you when it comes to Elain,” she said examining her engagement ring.

“ You don’t have to gloat on my misery Nesta,” he said, a sigh of exhaustion scaping him as he let himself fall on his chair.

“ You can always call her Azirel,” Netsa said rolling her eyes at the stupidity of her future brother-in-law.

“Nesta,” he warned with a serious tone.

“Fuck off,” she responded irritated, “ She broke up with that loser months ago Azriel, you could have easily called her and asked her out and-”

“Nesta respectfully fuck off, it’s none of your business.” he cut her off tired of hearing the same thing from the same people.

His brothers.

His sisters-in-law.

And his three-year-old nephew.

‘So, will you do it yes or no?” Nesta asked irked.

“Of course, I’ll do it, Nesta,” he said exhausted putting his hands on his face.

“ I’ll see you tomorrow then,” she said walking out of his office with a smile.

_____________________

“ So what exactly does Nesta have on you to convince you to be doing this?” Azriel asked Emerie as they examined the surrounding area where they were waiting for the car with Elain and her friends for the launch party.

“Not necessarily what but who” she grumbled fixing her glasses and walking towards the car that had arrived, opening the door.

“SUNSHINE!” a small ginger woman exclaimed as she walked out of the car, dressed in a modest teal dress and her straight pin hair loose, a small broach with a moon holding it out of her face. The woman threw herself at Emerie kissing her cheek.

Azriel didn’t know what to do, he froze for a moment and when he was ready to tackle the girl he saw Emerie laugh and hold her by the waist hugging her, she kissed the woman and separated from her turning a more professional stand as she could probably see photographers appear, keeping a discrete hang on the back of her wife

“Azriel, this is my wife, Gwyn Berdara.” Emerie introduced with a smile.

Azriel couldn’t help but smile, “ Oh so this is why you accepted the job?” he asked laughing

“ Oh like the reason you accepted was any better?” Asked Feyre as she climbed out of the car with Nesta.

All the girls laughed as Azriel went red, then panicked flooding him as he looked over at the car but the door was closed, he started to look everywhere for another car, Elain’s car.

“Don’t panic,” Nesta said putting the poor boy out of his misery, Elain and the twins are coming in another car.

Ease flooded his body until he saw a white car approaching and off the car came out Elain.

Beautiful, wonderful, splendid Elain, in a beautiful dress adorned with flowers of all types, but all of a pink and white scheme along side with some vines.

As Elain climbed out of the car, the first person she saw was Azriel, extending a hand to her, Like all those years ago.

“Az,” she said his name in surprise, a whisper only for him to hear but with a huge smile on her face.

He took her hand and smiled back at her, “ Elain” he greeted with the same huge smile.

“I- wha- what are you doing here?” she said still smiling and hugged him, she couldn’t keep her excitement, the last time he had seen him was months ago, and she missed him too much.

Which was a mistake, especially with all the cameras around them.

NEWS FLASH!

Icon Elain Archeron seen at her launch debut with new beau?

Who is this handsome mysterious man?

3276 Likes 298Comments Shares

Purpleunicornc

Okay but the sunshine x sunshine protector tropes

Starwhogazes

It’s the pink-and-black aesthetic for me

Jediemma

Okay but Elain the lovely fawn and a man who looks like her protector? Iconic

Nikethestatue to Jediemma

Like death itself?

Jasmineandshadows

OMG death and the lovely fawn? Iconic

Siren.arts

OKAY they are my new favorite couple!

“Let’s go” he whispered holding her waist and shielding her as much as he could from the flashes to the building. “ Oh and,” he started chuckling a bit. “Nesta asked me to keep you safe.” he answered, “ and I will always look out for you.”

Elain went red to the face but gave him a huge smile. “ I know,” she answered as they entered the building.

Cerridwen and Nuala came out of the car and gathered with the rest of the girls as they saw the scene play before them.

“Ugh he is such an idiot,” said Nesta crossing her arms and looking at them.

“Leave them alone Nesta,” Feyre answered laughing, “ They need time.”

“They are both idiots,” answered Nuala rolling her eyes, “They are the only ones who don’t know they are madly in love with each other.”

“It’s going to be a long week,” Cerridwen answered holding her sister by the shoulders and directing her to the building.

“Yes, it will” Answered Nesta walking with arms intertwined with Gwyn who was giggling.

Emerie shakes her head with a small chuckle and follows everyone inside

[leffee]

I've been thinking about those deadly sins poll you did awhile back and I decided to put my two cents into who I would say is each sin

Pride - Russell - my interpretation of him is that while he is very prideful in his organization skills, he does tend to be a know-it-all and even flat out condescending, which annoys the others to no end. He also likes being the "leader" of the group and being the one everyone turns to, if someone is shown to be more organized/smarter than Russell he would definitely feel threatened. But he's not just prideful of what he does, he's also very proud of his friends and tends to brag about them in conversations sometimes "Yeah, my friend is a model AND singer. Why do you ask?" "Oh, you're the parent of that one kid with the magician at his birthday party? Yeah, that's my friend. Pretty impressive stuff, huh?"

Greed - Minka - I mean... yeah. Have you seen how she is with shiny stuff? I kind of have nothing to add here tbh :/

Lust - Zoe - I think some people missed the assignment of that poll. Guys, she gets heart eyes at some unfortunate guy that crossed paths with her and now she declares that they're soul mates, she is literally MADE for lust :(

Gluttony - Penny - ehhhhhh I really didn't want to put Penny for gluttony but I kinda had no choice. Gluttony doesn't really fit her, but it doesn't really fit any of the other pets either. It just feels... fatphobic to place the chubby one as gluttony. I'm sorry girl 😔

Envy - Pepper - >:) hehehehe. Pepper just screams envy to me. And she has been canonically jealous in the show. It's something, okay??? And I headcanon that she has a MAJOR problem with comparing herself to others. Why can't she be as smart as Russell, as attractive as Sunil and Zoe, as kind as Vinnie and Penny, or as creative as Minka. She'd be lucky if Mitzi and Clement even look her in the eye, they could turn around and date any of her friends, and she wouldn't even even blame them. Every person she comes across, she always finds some way to compare herself to them. Why wouldn't she? Literally every single person in the goddam universe is better than her in some way while Pepper is a selfish asshole that no one wants to look at for more than two seconds

Wrath - Vinnie - Anger issues for the king. I think that during one of his outbursts, he ended up accidentally hurting one of his friends. And he has never forgiven himself, no matter how many times his friends assure him it's fine and nothing a little rest can't fix. And Vinnie brings the person he hurt all kinds of gifts, their favorite things, favorite food, etc. It legitimately scares Vinnie because his outbursts are uncontrollable, and he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he hurt someone again, or worse

Sloth - Sunil - sorry bestie this is all I had left, although it kinda fits since he was in a very sleepy mood when his best friend was missing :/

Oh yaaay, thanks :D.

Yes, I absolutely think some people missed the assignment on that pride poll but oh well. There's always the chance they didn't, I guess. Still, Zoe is absolutely the most obvious to me, lust all the way, cause come on. Everyone up to Penny I gave the same reasoning pretty much so yeah, I agree.

My other conclusion is that you and I just really like when characters are envious of other cause angst material so naturally we want to give it to our favourites xD. I'll be honest though, I don't know if Vinnie was envious once caononically, Pepper though was. Part of me thinks maybe they didn't give that to him cause "haha, stupid and has no emotional range" but I might be very much wrong. Still, I agree with wrath as well. The man is Satan himself. And no, I don't know Helluva Boss lore, I just know bible lore :].

And let me talk about the gluttony one, I mean, none of the sins really 100% match anyone cause you know, they're from children's show, it's not like they ever did anything that wrong really. Gluttony means overindulgence in food and drinks, as in you consume those when others need them more but you take it all for yourself. Penny never did that of course but like, they've never been in a situation like that. Still, she's the one whose thing is eating a lot, so she naturally fits the best even if she doesn't exactly fit on her own.

And another conclusion is that sloth is just assigned at random to whoever is left cause it just fits nobody lol which I agree with btw. Like, someone has to have it, but no one really fits. Some fit better, some fit worse, but no one really fits. And yeah, Sunil might have been sleepy when his literal besite went missing, but let's be honest, no one did much to find him :/ (still salty). Plus, I'm sure if you tried hard enough you could find at least one moment for each of them when they could be considered lazy cause that's just something all people or in this case pets do.

Next time we're voting who has the sluttiest waist btw.

[sempredicattivoumore]

Rage

There are different kinds of anger that sleep in me. You really need to be good at guessing when it comes down to me.

The normal kind, the first step if you will, is the anger that screams. That's when you make me upset, and I get angry at you, and I scream at you cause I feel like you're not listening to me. You are so far away from where I am that I can't touch you. And more you're also not trying to see things from my prospective at all, even when I put the effort to try to explain myself the best I can, but still you're so firm on your opinion that you literally reject mine. So I get angry and scream at you at the top of my lungs.

But that's all right.

The kind of anger you should worry about is the anger that cries. This point, the second stage, is when I slowly start to realise that you won't change, not even a little, cause you don't feel like something needs to change. You are absolutely, undoubtedly, completely not trying to meet me halfway. Your opinion is all that matters. You wouldn't understand me even it you tried. And so I cry. I cry because I feel like I have nothing left to say. I cry because I know that in that moment it's all up to me. And my head is telling me that if I say no now and stay stubborn like you, tomorrow there won't be an us for me to get upset about anymore.

And that leads to the third kind of anger, the silent one. That's the real moster in me. It doesn't make a sound, but that anger.. it fills the entire room. At that stage, I am actually bottled up with rage, but I will not even once get mad at you. It's more like I'm just sitted in a waiting room inside my head. And I guess what I'm waiting for is either for you to understand my words or for me to give up on our relationship. But sometimes I'm not sure which one is the one I am actually awaiting. On the t will just go on showing you the same honey-faked smile, saying the same things without intonation, doing the same stuff like yesterday or the day before, completely dangerously calm. But I swear to god, my anger it grows every damn second until it's intoxicating the all house.

So that's what happened when I asked you for the ntime to do the laundry. I told you that it only takes five minutes and you answered that if it only takes five minutes of my time, like for real, why I am always spending more and more of that fucking time nagging at you instead of actually doing the goddam laundry. I said nothing, nothing at all, not a single word left my lips, they were sealed. I just looked at you with the same tired eyes as always, the ones that I do when the sadness from my past knocks on my door, and something in me snapped. That was the very moment I gave up on you without any remorse. I dumped you faire and square in like ten seconds, and I feel like I did the right thing.

[magickhajiit]

Mayan War (Chapter 1)

Rating- Teen and up Audiences

Warning- No warnings apply

Any suggestions for a better title would be appreciated. It's 11pm here and that's all I have in me at this point.

Other SOA stories here

Chibs had left the bedroom window open again, that’s the first thing Juice notices when he wakes. Cold air has crept into the room through the small gap, tendrils of it reaching for Juice under the thick blanket. Trying to insulate himself he tucks the edges under him, contemplating whether he should wait for Chibs to return or close the window himself.     

In the end, he slips out from under the covers, moving to the window the glare of a street light bouncing off metal catches his attention. It's reflecting off a bike in the front garden, not Chibs or his own he knows both of theirs are locked in the garage at night. Leaning closer Juice can just make out letters adorning the left flank, SOA before his breath fogs the clear glass and the sight vanishes. Those letters mark it as Tig’s bike though why he’s visiting at 3AM is anyone's guess.    

Creeping closer to the bedroom door he eases it open slowly, voices filter up the stairs, stemming from the kitchen. Chibs’ Glaswegian drawl is familiar and easy to recognise and after a few moments, Tig’s voice accompanies it. Just the two of them it sounds like. Padding out onto the stairway he grips the wooden banister, the cold seeping into his palms. Leaning over it the bodiless voices are clearer, and yet, still indistinguishable.   

The foyer lights are off, leaving the lower floor cast in shadows, the glow of the moonlight outside only allowing him to see the outline of the furniture within. With curiosity fuelling him and the conversation getting no easier to make out he decides to risk moving further down. Taking the stairs one step at a time, it’s fortunate he has the carpet’s thread count to muffle his footfall. Nearing the bottom, his eyes begin to adjust to the dimness. Adjacent to the back door there’s a hook nailed into the wall, a kutte hanging from it. The reaper printed onto the leather grimly smiles outwards, its eyes emotionless craters, its bones faded to grey by the sun and covered in road dust. Its scythe is frozen, forever caught in the action of slicing down. Juice knows the weapon is made, not from solid steel, but from cotton and thread but still, dark memories flash across his mind, so vivid it feels as though a phantom blade is sinking into his skin once more. On the left a patch with VP is stitched, the edge tinged with an ominous red stain.  

With no other kuttes in sight, he assumes their VP came alone tonight. Angling himself to the side he can peer through the doorway left ajar, he can see Tig Trager. The older man’s sat by the table, a coffee mug laying untouched before him, new enough that steam still streams from it. His curly hair is made wilder as he runs his hands through it restlessly, the blackness of it interrupted by greying strands near the root.   

‘’What did they say?’’ Chibs has gone for something stronger than coffee, a bottle of Jack Daniels sits upon the tabletop, its cap removed and a glass forgone.   

‘’It's bad Chibs, they want you to greenlight it.’’    

‘’We’ve had a truce for years now.’’ Even without seeing him Juice knows he’s doing that thing where he pinches the bridge of his nose, with his eyes closed and his eyebrows drooping down. It’s the same face he pulls every time a prospect screws up.  

‘’I get why they want it. That girl found him in a goddam barrel.’’   

Now Juice sees why he wasn’t invited to the meeting. Ever since Stockton, he hasn’t been involved in the darker elements of the club. Any information that’s deemed triggering or upsetting is kept far away from him. He exists in a bubble, not part of the rest of the world but still different from his brothers, left to observe from the periphery of the outlaw life. His working days are filled with signing papers and fixing engines, the monotony occasionally broken up by a hacking job usually courtesy of Happy and his murderous antics. Juice never has the stomach to ask what happened to the people he’s asked to find, though he’s sure a quick google search will bring up that they disappeared at night under mysterious circumstances.    

From little titbits of information Juice has managed to scrape together in recent months he knows Montez's cousin had gone missing, a couple of days after Chibs had led a small trip to Santra Padre. His disappearance was closely followed by Montez himself, vanishing in the middle of the night like an apparition.  With that context in mind, he tries to piece the conversation together, evidently either Montez or Tommy had been found.   

His stomach sinks down to his feet as these dark thoughts swirl around his head and the imagery of Montez’s bloody corpse flashes across his mind, riddled with bullet holes. On impulse, Juice moves forward, in his concentration failing to notice the cat bowl sitting on the last step. As the fish-shaped biscuits sail, the metal bowl hits the ceramic with a clatter, the noise echoing loudly in the quiet. The scrapping of chairs across tiled flooring follows it. The door is quickly flung open and light streams into the foyer, two humanoid shadows appearing within the bright square cutting through the dark. When Juice’s eyes adjust the forms take shape. Chibs is standing there in an off-white vest and a loose pair of worn jeans, his usually neat beard has taken an unkept look and his hair’s been pulled back into a short, rushed ponytail. Tig’s still on the further side of the table, both hands clutching his drawn gun, it’s body remains sleek and shiny in the light whilst the trigger his finger is rubbing is matte, worn down from overuse. The weapon is holstered it as soon as he realizes it's Juice standing in the doorway.     

Juice breaks the oppressive silence, ‘’Hey Tig.’’    

‘’Why are you creeping around, Lad?‘’    

‘’Just coming down for some water?’’ The lie might have come off as more believable if Juice hadn’t posed it as a question.     

The commotion had woken up the cat sleeping on the counter and she chooses now to jump down, landing with a thud she weaves through Chibs’ legs plodding to the biscuits scattered across the floor.    

Waving him in with a sigh Chibs pulls out a chair for him before grabbing a clean cup from the rack. The faucet squeaks as he turns it and as the glass fills Juice takes a moment to observe Tig across the table. The last few days have been scorching in California, and the heat has taken its toll. Tig’s arms are painfully fried below the elbow whilst his nose is a dash of brilliant red amidst his tanned leather-like face, dried skin peeling from the tip of it. Dark glasses cover his eyes but he still looks tired, beaten down. Whilst his appearance has barely altered in the last few years, sitting under the bleak kitchen lights he looks older, like he’s aged a decade this evening alone.     

Sensing the attention Tig meets his gaze, grinning when Chibs sits the drink in front of Juice, kissing his cheek on the way up. They make up a domestic scene that they rarely allow themselves to show. Their Redwood brothers had fortunately never judged their relationship that they couldn’t manage to hide. Chibs was their president and they weren’t going to turn their back on him. It was a refreshing change from Teller’s era when half the table’s loyalty was assured through the use of blackmail and the promise of a drawn-out death if they ever stepped out of line.    

‘’How much did you hear?’’ Tig questions, his gaze unwavering, burning into Juice’s. His ability to pry out information was astounding and had only gotten better with his experience as VP. Chibs had previously been staring off absently across the room but now his attention is locked onto Juice, like a sighthound on a sent. Waiting for him to speak his hand finds the back of Juice’s shoulder, comfortingly rubbing the inked crow residing there.   

‘’Nothing... Something about greenlighting.”    

Chibs looks over at that, and even after all the years when Chibs stands over him like he is now Juice still feels like a prospect being lectured over his idiotic antics.    

‘’It’s nothing to worry about, Juicy.’’ Any following consolation is cut off by the sound of his phone ringing, glancing over he shares a look with Tig that Juice can’t manage to decipher in the short span of time it's there. Whilst Chibs answers the call trying not to convey the exhaustion in his voice, Tig rises up. Progressing around the dining table an arm’s snaked around the youngest man’s shoulders, as he gets to his feet he’s shepherd gently out of the kitchen. Juice cranes his head back as they walk out, only to stop when Tig kicks the door on their way out leaving it to slam with a solid thud.   

‘’Let’s get you back to bed,’’ Tig says, steering them towards the stairway.  

‘’No.’’ The man in front of him had seen him in various lows but Juice had never reached the point where he’s willing to be put to bed like a child up past bedtime. ‘’You’re not done explaining whatever the hell’s happening. Who’s been found?’’ Juice just hopes the other man doesn’t acknowledge the way his voice breaks at the last question.  

‘’No? You’re telling me no? You know what- Juicy can’t this wait until morning?’’  

‘’No.’’ Tig’s temperament has changed drastically in the last few years. He’s matured now he’s not engaged in a daily pissing contest with Jax. Juice knows that if this had happened a few years ago Tig would have dragged him upstairs regardless of his protests. This new change just serves as proof Tig had finally grown up, forty years late but it's better late than never.  

‘’You know if Chibs had just married a croweater, like any other outlaw, I wouldn’t have to do this much arguing.’’  

So rather than dragging him along he adjusts his direction toward the living room instead. Tig lets him go of him as they walk in, confident he’ll stay put. Pulling some blankets from the cupboard he piles them onto the sofa forming a makeshift bed, before he stands back to full height, content to watch Juice stand awkwardly in his own living room.   

Under the weight of the older man’s analysing stare, Juice is uncomfortably reminded of his own attire. Whilst Tig is still wearing his day clothing, a leather kutte covering a black long sleeve shirt, there’s just underwear and one of Chibs’ old hoodies covering Juice, and he’s sure it isn’t covering the hickeys Chibs had painted onto his skin the previous night, scattered around his collar bone. Feeling exposed he futilely tugs at the bottom of his hoodie, ignoring Tig’s smirk at the minor action. 

Breaking the standoff Tig plops himself down on the edge of the sofa, confident Juice would soon follow suit. And he’s right, after a second's hesitation Juice places himself next to him, wrapping the covers around himself in an attempt to restore some modesty.  

‘’It’s nothing I haven’t seen before kid.’’ 

He’s pulled out a pack of smokes and looks on the verge of lighting it but thinks better of it at the last second. Juice knows that must mean shit is hitting the fan again, as it always seemed to do, Tig had been trying to quit for a year, after one of his old military buddies was diagnosed with lung cancer. Even if there wasn’t a packet being fiddled with in the man’s hands Juice would still have known, Tig was a man he’s gotten closer to in the last year, close enough that some days he could read him better than he could Chibs.    

When he first started to prospect neither of them would have thought they’d ever be close. But a bond had since grown. Tig had looked after him when Chibs was on a run, had consoled him when he woke up shaking from dreams of pale hands with Nazi hooks and of icy blue eyes sentencing him to death, he’d even dragged him back to the clubhouse the couple of times Juice had tried to run when the Chinese threat was still immanent. They still bickered like brothers but Tig’s most brutal taunting was now reserved for when prospects were around. He settled for occasionally throwing half-hearted jabs at Juice, always out of earshot of Chibs of course, the Scot had frustratedly babied him ever since Stockton.  

When Tig holds one arm out Juice can’t resist leaning into him, it's nothing like cuddling Chibs where there’s a soft bulk to burrow into but still, he craves the comfort this kind of touch elicits. ‘’Who did they find?’’, Juice asks, only to be shushed for his troubles.  

With answers being withheld and Chibs' voice cut off, it’s easy to let the troubles of the club fade to the back of his mind. As his eyes start to close he pulls the covers a little tighter around him, the blankets are a reminder of how this house no longer feels like it belongs to an outlaw, not since Juice moved in. The blankets and cushions were bought after Juice kept falling asleep on the sofa waiting for Chibs to get back after a run. The kitchen cupboards are now full, whereas before they remained bare and Chibs’ heart was about to explode thanks to the infinite number of Chinese takeout fuelling him. Even for Chibs to consider this house home was abnormal, before, it was used as a storage unit or a place to crash when a clubhouse party got too rowdy. Now it’s full of life when it was once bleak and bare.   

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  

When Chibs finally manages to end the call Juice has fallen asleep, his head lolling against the leather of Tig’s kutte. The cat walks into the room first, butting the door open enough to fit its vast form through, they can’t get her to drop a few pounds no matter how many diets they put her on. Having stuffed her face she tries to hop onto the sofa, claws rake across the fabric as she scrabbles to get her fat posterior up, succeeding she curls into a tight ball, nose smashed where the sun doesn’t shine, forming a mass ball of dreary orange next to Juice, he stirs but doesn’t yet open his eyes.  

Chibs follows her into the room and without him speaking Tig knows it’s not good news. ‘’You greenlit it.’’  

‘’Aye,’’ before saying anything else he leans forward to scratch behind the cat’s ear, only to pull back swiftly when she recoils and hisses, lengthy teeth on show, the same colour as a rotting lemon. ‘’It was Doc on the phone. He doesn’t want war either.’’  

‘’It’s still Terry pushing it forward?’’ Tig asks.  

‘’He’s got a few of the other lads backing him now.’’   

‘’Terry Drakes?’’ Neither man had noticed Juice waking up till he spoke.  

‘’That’s the one. I sponsored the stupid shit a few years before you rolled up.’’ Tig says.   

Even whilst he’s still grotty with sleep Juice recognizes the name. A couple of months after he was welcomed back he had met Terry Drakes; they’d been invited to a SAMDINO party, Chibs had thought it a great opportunity to restore trust, both in the chapter’s and in Juice’s loyalty.   

The outside of the building was all shiny mental and grey brick, barbed wire lining the fences and reinforced panels on the front gate, a clubhouse designed for war. When they’d rolled up, a prospect, who’d previously been sweeping the courtyard, pulled open the gate for them to ride through. The other few presidents, from the surrounding states, had been waiting by the front door, clearly willing to put the past behind them for the sake of unity. Whilst the other guys had been fondly greeted and Chibs was embraced like a brother by Packer, Juice had been pointedly ignored.  

Part of him had wondered if it was paranoia that was fuelling that idea. Walking into the clubhouse had proved him wrong.  The building was just a single floor but a variety of rooms were stuffed within. The double doors opened to a condensed hallway, to the right of that was a small room with a pool table in the middle, a few patched members milling around. An open doorway led to the main room, it was darker here, the neon lighting leaving the room cast in a navy blue hue. To Juice the shadowy figures the lighting creates, feel more like strangers rather than brothers in the darkness. Their bar lay at the furthest edge of the room, most of the leather bar stools were occupied and drinks were placed on the sleek black counters regularly. The overall appearance gave off the feeling of a modern nightclub rather than a biker bar. Not that Samcro could judge, they had spent a month holding church over an ice cream parlor.   

From the second Juice had walked into the clubhouse he’d known it was a mistake coming. After everything that went down; the lies, the broken promises, and the avoidable deaths, Juice had been expecting to be greeted with mumbled curses and angry glares. What he hadn’t expected was for him to be the only one to receive the ire of the other charters. Going through the front doors, purposefully wedged between Quinn and Tig, it felt like every eye in the room turned toward him. At the time he was sure the two men flanking him were the only thing stopping the violent thoughts playing out in their patched brothers’ minds from becoming reality.  

As their Prez Chibs was pulled from one side of the room to the other, every member with a few years on the road under their belt wanted to talk. After all, he was the physical representation of Samcro’s new era. From his awkward stance alone it was clear he was uncomfortable with this aspect of his presidency, representing the charter and greasing palms was an unfamiliar task to him. Leadership had been a new glove that didn't yet fit. Chibs was diplomatic by nature but in a different way than the golden boy had been. Fortunately for him, after an hour or so the requests to talk to him had faded out and he’d been able to escape to the back with the other presidents, undoubtedly to talk about the good old days as they played cards.  

Juice had spent the night trailing after Quinn like a lost puppy, knocking back the shots of whiskey he was passed in hopes he could forget where they were. Sometime in the night he managed to lose Quinn, with the man towering a foot over most of the men in the room Juice wasn’t sure how he lost him, he was just sure the giant was nowhere in sight. Feeling slight panic settling like a weight on his chest, he scanned the faces around him. None of them in the room were familiar but on the screen above the bar, relaying the CCTV camera from outside, he recognized one of the men who stood by the front doors, Tig.  

With panic dissipating slightly, he weaved through the crowd. Halfway to the front doors, a prospect scurries past him, narrowly avoiding a collision he ducks his head and apologises. The guy’s young, with dark skin and prominent acne scars. A few bottles of beer are tucked under his arm, recently taken from the fridge condensation is now dripping off them, turning his grey shirt black. Plenty of patched members would have knocked the prospect on his ass for getting in their way, but Juice waved off the apology with a smile. His grin quickly evaporated when he glanced up to see where the younger man was heading. Gains was sat at a table at the edge of the room, he was the only president who hadn’t gotten up to greet Chibs and those actions speak louder than any words could. Samcro was not forgiven.   

Though when their eyes met across the room there was no animosity there, just pity. Juice felt his face burn. He’d rather be considered a traitor than a poor little victim of Jax Teller. When Gaines looked ready to get up, Juice carried on walking, merging into the crowd before the older man was off his stool.   

After he’d made sure he was out of sight Juice had looked at the screen again, only to realize the images were out of view from his current angle. He’s about to continue when he hears his own name from behind him. ‘’Kid should’ve died in there. It’s what Jax wanted. That would have been justice.’’ The words had a slight drunken slur to them but the voice was loud enough that Juice knew this must be a conversation SAMDINO commonly and openly had.  

‘’Don’t stress about it man, he’ll be gone when the Scot eventually gets bored of taking care of the goddamn rat.‘’ Feeling ill at the words he tried to stop the trembling in his fingers, curling his hands into loose fists.   

Having turned around he almost managed to escape without notice. Without warning fingers had hooked over his shoulders spinning him back around. He didn’t know if it was due to the sudden turn or the copious amounts of alcohol he’d consumed that his limbs felt unstable.  

When he looked at his attacker, he froze at what he saw, ice-blue eyes. It’s not Jax he sees but for a second the eyes still pulled him back to a time before Chibs’ presidency. The guy before him looked to be the same age. He was an intimidating size, build like Opie had been, though he evidently didn’t have the deceased man’s temperament. His nose was a misshapen mound on his tanned face and his arms were as thick as tree trunks, a reaper identical to his own was etched on the muscles.   

Seemingly sensing the changing atmosphere, a small circle surrounded them ready to witness a fight. Juice took in a shaky gulp of air, with both the bodies and his lungs pressing inward the large bar felt cramped. As he looked at the faces, men with unkempt facial hair and crooked noses, Juice knew no one was coming to his aid. Maybe Gaines would have but the President was out of sight, people were often out of Juice’s sight when he needed them most.   

Having had Quinn by his side all night, none of his patched brothers had had the nerve to pick a fight, but now he was on his own. His fists went up like he’d learned on the streets all those years ago. He curled in on himself slightly, ready for the blows to rain down and wondering how he could protect his most vital organs.    

Just when the attacker had moved forward, steadier on his feet than his earlier drunken rambles had suggested, ready to throw the first punch, Terry had stepped out of the crowd into their little circle, Juice hadn’t recognised him but he’d recognised the patch neatly sewn onto his vest, confirming he was this charter’s sergeant at arms. ‘’Fight’s over.’’ Juice sagged with relief, having been sure Terry was there to referee the fight rather than break it up.   

‘’You’re going to take this rat's side? Over mine?’’  

‘’There aren’t any sides, Gator. We’re all brothers here. Now, why don’t you take a walk and let me give Juice here a tour of the place.’’  

Gator had barred his teeth at him like a dog would when it’s being berated for pissing on the furniture but he reluctantly complied. With audible grumbling, the crowd disperses, disappointed that no blood would be shed that night. When Terry faced Juice again he’d gotten his first good look at the man. He was older, if his head and face hadn’t been carefully shaved, his dark hair would surely have grey streaks within it. Blue eyes, with a grey hue, looked Juice up and down. When Juice had been ordered  to follow him, he’d hoped  to be brought to one of Samcro’s guys. When they move away from the doorway that seemed less than likely. Weaving through the crowd, Juice stuck close by. Through the cluster of bodies, Juice glanced wistfully at the door he’d seen Chibs walk through a few hours earlier.  

‘’Would have thought they’ll join the rest of us soon. Probably got distracted talking about the good old days.’’ The joke made Juice let his guard down slightly but still, he kept his eye on the surrounding people, searching for one of his charter brothers.   

They stopped walking when they reached the room with a pool table centre of it. The earlier group had departed leaving just two men. The oldest is Hoosier, a legacy member, his father being one of the founders of the SAMDINO charter. He’s got a thick beard, like an outlaw variant of Hagrid. The one who looked to be the same age as Juice was all hard lines and sharp features, with a gaze that looked like it could cut. When Juice walked into the room that look on the other man’s face made him feel like he was being dissected, the events of the night being laid out bare in front of him. He was introduced as Joker and having looked at his kutte Juice knew he was yet to hold a role in the club. That and the lack of ink, Juice associates with long-term members, suggested he was a new patch. Not that you could always tell. Within a few months of patching Juice’s arms were physical markings of his loyalty to the club.    

Both men stared at him with open distrust and for a second Juice wondered if his pride could take calling out for Tig or Chibs. Terry ignored the mounting tension, walking toward Hoosier he plucked the pool cue out of his grasp.   

Addressing Joker, he asks ‘’Been making sure this one’s not cheating again?’’    

‘’I have been cheating and I’m still three points down.’’ Hoosier replies instead as Terry takes his shot. The stick hit the ball, and it rolled forward before ricocheting off the side, only to halt a couple of inches from where it started.   

Terry had passed Juice the cue, nudging him toward the table. The rest of the night went smoothly, Quinn having then found him there an hour later. By that time Juice had been plied with alcohol, bitter-tasting vodka making him forget about the night's earlier catastrophe. The guys didn’t seem as distrustful then, more open about themselves. Hoosier was the youngest child of a patched member; all his other siblings were living on the other side of the law. Terry had been Tig’s prospect, he’d transferred a couple of years before Juice had appeared. Joker had met his sponsor, Packer, in Stockton prison having been thrown in there at twenty-three for scamming tourists in Vegas.    

Joker was the youngest and newest in their charter. He’d patched in earlier that month. The lack of ink on his pale skin was due to a needle phobia he couldn’t bury. The only mark on him was a small skull given to him as part of the Sons’ tradition, it was drawn on his chest the tip of it had peeked above the collar of his white vest. In some way, he was the Juice of the SAMDINO charter. He took the brunt of the affectionate torment as they played with an easy grin, never taking the half-hearted insults personally, content to be picked on so long as it allowed him to run rings around them all.    

Juice’s mental tangent is disturbed by Chibs sitting at the bottom of the sofa, tugging the covers so there are spades of material to cocoon into, just the way he liked it.  

‘’Still want Happy up here?’’ Tig asks.   

‘’Let him decide. Maybe he needs this.’’ Hearing Chibs’ concern Juice knows it’s Montez. Happy had never met Tommy but he’d grown close to Montez over the years. If it was an unknown brother he’d want simple clinical revenge against whoever wronged the club, Chibs wouldn’t need to worry about the Tacoma killer’s emotional wellbeing unless the victim was a friend.  

As salt prickles at his eyes, the room swims in front of him like he’s seeing the world from a blurry lens. Conversation drops off and he can tell they’ve realised he knows. Not wanting anyone to say the words he tilts his head away from them both finding sudden inexplicable interest in the flooring as he scrubs at his eyes with the edge of his too long sleeves.  

Happy and Montez had gone to SAMDINO a few months prior, to offer some stability to a charter reeling at their President falling ill so suddenly. The charter had expanded the offer to allow Juice a chance to visit but he knew it was more for show than an actual change of heart. Packer had still been on the merry-go-round of Jax’s promises and legacy, whilst his VP, Doc, had more of an issue with the darker pigment of his skin. It was something he wasn’t willing to let go of no matter what bylaws were gone; prejudices died hard. It looks like the golden boy’s sacrifice didn’t solve everything.  

Silence that feels fragile enough to shatter carries on and Juice adjusts the way he’s sat already feeling stiffness creep into his neck.   

‘’Are we having a funeral?  

‘’Course. I’ll let his old lady know tomorrow.’’  

Funerals have become more of a rarity in recent years. But Juice has attended enough of them in his time as a son. In various dreary churches they’ve taken place, the repeated feature of stained glass windows and the lines of grim reapers, with emotionless craters for eyes, in each one. The reaper would eventually rise as a man, in a crisp white collar, read out a bible passage, like a verse from an old book could help them atone for the sins of their deceased brother. Sitting in the living room tonight Juice has a feeling it’s a sight he’ll soon see again. 

Tagged a couple of people I thought might be interested hope no one minds being tagged.

Feel fee to let me know if you'd liked to be tagged in any future stories. @viskovie @sadandgeek @ineedthesons @vulgar-display-of-escapism @ammleh

[raewritez]

Airbenders

let’s all take a moment to appreciate our windy boy🙌

based on this request: Can you do Aang x airbender reader? When Aang and Katara found out that she hid from them that she could bend ? Please!

warnings: aangsty

It hurts.

Aang’s body felt like it was on fire, and he supposed it was. It seemed like electricity was still flowing through his veins, consuming him with needle points and flame. With Katara’s healing he was slowly gaining back his memory - visions of white glow, of the royal siblings, of waves, and of falling. There was something else, too, it was-

“Ow!”

Katara grimaced, removing her hands from his back. “Sorry, Aang. There’s a lot of energy built up in here.”

He winced, curling in on himself. “It’s ok.”

She stares at him worriedly, heart aching for her friend. He felt so awful, so consumed by guilt and failure, and she found herself having trouble coaxing him out of his thoughts. There was one person that could, but they were nowhere to be found. Aang noticed.

“Where’s Y/n?”

Katara breathed shakily, pulling at the edge of her tunic. “Aang…what exactly do you remember from Ba Sing Se?”

He tilted his head, furrowing his brows. "I remember Azula, and I remember I went down. You saved me."

She nodded. "Is that all?"

He leaned into the bed, running a hand through his hair (hair? how long has that been there?). "There's something else."

Katara looked nervous, as if preparing for him to do something awful. It made him confused. He searched his mind, digging through flashes of memory until he found what he was looking for. He inhaled sharply. Oh. Right.

They were outnumbered, Dai Lee agents advancing on them from all directions. Katara's water whips were no use, broken and splashed across the ground by shields of rock and crystal. Aang fought tirelessly, earth and water spinning around him in a flurry of movement. The earth benders only moved forward - creeping slowly upon the Avatar until they were thrown back by some powerful force. Wind. Aang looked down at his hands, he hadn't done that, right? The agents rose to their feet but their eyes weren't on him, rather on something that lurked behind. Turning, his gaze fell upon what had drawn their attention.

You.

Your arms were outstretched, an uncertain expression on your face. You glanced down at your palms in surprise - you certainly hadn't expected that to work so well. His mouth fell open, mind swarmed with confusion. His grey eyes widened, and your gaze met his. You couldn't tell if that look in his eyes was one of betrayal or pure shock, but you felt the guilt you'd been harboring over keeping this secret hit you full-force. Your own eyes were surprised, and they softened as they fell upon him. In them he could see the swimming emotions, and an apology. You raised your arms again.

"They're...they're an Airbender."

Katara looked at the floor, silently affirming his words. He stared at her, then he stood. His body ached and his legs wobbled, but he didn't care. He grabbed his staff, and leaning on it, began to make his way towards the door.

"Wait, Aang," Katara exclaimed, attempting to calm him. The look on his face was foreign; eyes glinting with sadness and something she couldn't quite decipher. And anger. It was a rare emotion to see displayed by the boy, but it was there now, although faint. She was nervous for you, her own anger since passed and replaced with a sort of resigned understanding. Sure, she was upset, hurt that you didn't trust her with this secret, but she guessed she understood. At least she tried to.

"Aang, your injuries are still healing. You can't-"

"I'm fine, Katara," he spoke, and she felt a chill run through her bones at the sternness. "Let me go."

He pushed past her, holding in his groans at the effort. He walked as quickly as he could down the hall, mind pulsing with adrenaline and determination. He didn't have to ask where your room was, he knew where it would be: at the end of the hall by the windows, so you could see the ocean. He limped his way down, the silk robe threatening to fall off his shoulders. In front of your door, he stopped. He breathed, and then he entered.

You were seated on your bed, staring blankly at the wall. You glanced tiredly at the intrusion, eyes widening when you saw it was him. You stood abruptly, almost tripping over yourself and if the circumstances were different he would've laughed. You missed his laugh. Instead he gazed at you, expression neutral. You felt nervous, unfamiliarly awkward under the Avatar's stare.

"Hi, Aang."

He kept his eyes trained on you, eyebrows furrowed. He was silent.

"Um...h-how are you feeling?"

"You didn't come to see me."

Your eyes widened. "W-what?"

His gaze never faltered. "You didn't come to check on me."

"Oh," You breathed, casting your eyes to the floor. "I didn't...I didn't know if you'd want me to."

He didn't speak, and you could feel him scrutinizing you. As if he didn't know what to make of you, as if he wasn't sure what to think. And in all honesty he probably didn't. You didn't know what to think of yourself, either.

"You're an Airbender." It wasn't a question, just a statement. An observation.

You breathed. "Yeah."

He stood a little taller, and you could finally make out an emotion. Anger. It wasn't ideal, but it was better than him acting as if you were Koh the freaking Face-Stealer. His voice was low. "Why didn't you tell me?"

You swallowed nervously, fingers coming to play with the fishing-line bracelet he'd made for you that rested upon your wrist. "I don't know."

He scoffed, beginning to pace around the room. Well, as well as he could considering his condition. "That's not an answer. How could you keep that from me?!" There was a desperation to his tone, and his eyes were glassy. You looked away, unable to deal with the shame.

"Aang, please, I-" You didn't know what to say. You truly didn't quite understand why you'd hidden it, the secrecy just fading into habit. "I was...I was scared. I didn't know what to say or- I'd never told anyone before! And then you came and I..."

"And you didn't tell me."

His face was darkened, so different from that sunshiney demeanor that you'd grown so goddam fond of. But behind his anger was a certain brokenness - a disbelief. And that hurt more than the rage.

He didn't give you time for an explanation, and you weren't sure you had one to offer anyway. He simply walked away, sparing you one more hurtful glance. Then, he left, taking the light and hope with him. You felt tears sting your eyes, but you forced them away. You didn't deserve to cry. You were the one who'd hurt him, who'd betrayed his trust. And now you weren't sure if your best friend would ever trust you again, ever allow you a second chance. So, instead of crying, you simply laid in the dark warmness of your bed, rocked to sleep by the swaying of the ocean with an ache in your chest.

///

A week.

That's how long it'd been since the two of you talked, since Aang had so much as glanced in the direction of his best friend. You were in the Firenation now, having assumed the role of undercover criminals. It was kind of exhilarating, and you knew you and Aang would be milking the drama of it for all its worth. But instead you sat alone, sidled in the corner of the cave as your friends danced.

Aang had somehow managed to enroll himself in a Fire Nation school, and had invited his classmates to your hideout for a dance party. You wished you had enough energy to participate - to twirl around with Katara or do the limbo with Sokka, but you were drained. Just like you'd been for days. Your hope was waning; you were becoming less and less sure that Aang would find a way to forgive you - that he would return to his best friend with that lopsided smile and endless generosity, the way he came to you all those times before. Now, he was dancing, shoulders brushing against that Fire Nation girl's - On ji? Something like that - while the rest of the kids laughed and cheered. It send an ache to your heart. He seemed happy with her - happier than he's been with you. He was sporting that contagious grin, that boisterous laughter, that-

"Wow, you really are mopey."

You were snapped out of your thoughts by Toph. "I'm not mopey," you grumbled.

She snorted. "Uh, yeah you are. I can practically feel the pitifulness radiating off you."

"Gee, thanks a lot."

You were silent for a moment, and she seemed to soften. "You know, he's not mad at you anymore."

You glanced over, a scoff escaping your lips. "Yes he is, Toph. He hates me."

Her eye-roll was about the biggest you'd ever seen. "Don't be stupid, Sap. That kid loves you. It's so obvious it's gross."

You sighed, shaking your head. You pulled your knees to your chest. "Not anymore. I lied to him."

She nodded, seeming thoughtful. "Well, yeah, that kind of sucked. And obviously he would be kinda mad about that. But he's not anymore, trust me. I can feel it."

"You can feel it?"

"Mhm. He's mopey, too. He misses you."

You looked over to the center of the cave, where Aang was demonstrating some bizarre dance movement. You smiled fondly.

"Seriously, Y/n. You should talk to him."

You nodded, breathing in your resolve. "I will soon."

Toph groaned loudly. "Well, I guess that's as good as we're gonna get."

///

Spirits, you were exhausted. A day of cleaning out a river will do that to you.

It'd been a few days since the dance party, and your time had been occupied with Appa's "sickness" while you stopped at a local fishing village. It was pretty gross, but with your friend's help and Katara's fancy costume, you were able to leave it better than it was when you arrived.

Now, you found yourselves at yet another designated campsite - a patch of ground near the cliffside, overlooking the valley. You were tired, and so much as walking around felt like a chore.

Your eyes fell on a silhouetted figure perched on the edge of the cliff. Momo sat on his shoulder. You breathed, body growing alight with nervousness. You made your way over, Momo launching onto you when you got closer.

You chuckled, petting his furry head. "Hey, Momo," you said softly. You eyes flickered upwards, latching onto Aang's. He turned away. You sighed, setting Momo down and moving to sit next to him. You inhaled deeply, bracing yourself for impending rejection. You fidgeted with the edge of your shirt - a movement that his eyes quickly locked onto.

"Um, I know you probably don't want to talk to me, and that's ok, but I need to...I need to explain myself."

Out of the corner of your eye, you could see him nod slowly.

"My whole life I had to keep my bending a secret, and nobody's ever known except my parents. And when I met you...I don't know. I guess I was just scared. I thought I was going to be the last one for the rest of my life. I'd been hiding and denying that I was an Airbender for so long, and I guess I just...felt safer to keep doing that."

He was silent, staring at you intently with concentration and an emotion you couldn't decipher. You continued.

"The point is, I should've told you. And I'm so, so sorry that I didn't. I don't know if you could ever forgive me, but I-"

You were cut off by the press of his lips against your own. Your eyes widened, and you sat rigidly still. He chuckled breathily at your shock, moving his hand to gently caress your cheek. You relaxed, leaning into his palm and letting your eyes fall shut. After a moment, he pulled away.

"I'm not mad at you, Y/n."

You were still frozen with pleasant surprise. "Oh...ok."

He laughed, reaching to brush a strand of hair behind your ear. He smiled adoringly.

"But wait - how aren't you mad? I kept this a secret from you, and I-"

"Well, I was mad," he cut you off. "But I'm not anymore. If there's anything that we can take away from this, it's that you're not the last Airbender. And neither am I."

You smiled at that. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

He pulled you into his side, keeping one arm around you while he performed random tricks; like making a whirlpool or air or sending a small tornado Sokka's way. You leaned into each other to muffle your giggles when he fell. You felt happier than you had since Ba Sing Se - filled with the happiness that only Aang could provide you. You had his trust, and his guidance, and you weren't alone. Neither of you were.

[soyouthinkucanwrite]

July 2nd - Daniel Ricciardo

Based on New Year's Day by Taylor Swift and this request by @spikejonzed

Fluffly, mentions of sex, banter, nothing graphic.

BTW, I don't know how I've never paid attention to this song, it's so so beautiful and honest. I've thought about this concept before though: the "Sunday afternoon effect", when all the excitement of the weekend wears off and you're just hanging out with your friends, laughing about silly stuff, or cleaning up the house after the party. The thing is, the friends that stay till then are the ones you wanna hold on to, and the same goes for lovers. I feel kind of bad... well not BAD but you know, must be hard... when you're famous and rich, to recognize the good ones from the beginning before you give yourself too much away and it's too late.

To be honest with you guys, I think Daniel must feel a bit lonely sometimes. We all do, but to think that people are only interested in you for your fame and money must be tough... something you worked so hard, that you keep dedicating your life to, to think that that thing is the reason for your heartbreak, to your loneliness... It's a two-edged sword, isn't it? Anyway, I wrote this little something with Daniel in mind, hope you guys like it. Hope he finds someone to be like this someday. Hell, hope I find someone to be like this someday. I think everyone deserves that.

Daniel woke up in his bed, no shoes, but jeans and party shirt still on. The light coming through the windows, shining directly on his face, threatening to make his headache even worse. He let out a groan and turned to the side. There's someone on his bed with him. Shit. He just remembered. Last night was the first time he was introducing (y/n) to his friends. His birthday "small get together" (or at least that's what it was supposed to be) was the perfect opportunity for testing the waters and giving the "next step" without making too much fuss about it, after all, they've only been going out for a couple months and with his tight schedule it meant a lot of facetime calls and weekends, but almost no weekdays and routine stuff.

Yet, he was absolutely smitten with her, she was fun and easygoing, passionate about her own work and friends, but still caring and interested in him. They had amazing chemistry, mind-blowing even. But Daniel had lived enough to know that hanging out with someone on the weekends and knowing their best side was one thing, living through daily and mundane stuff was a completely different thing. Where this could go was still a mystery to him and he didn't want to raise too many expectations before he was sure. Still, she looked so beautiful sleeping, a true vision. He tried to remember if something had happened last night, but judging by his clothes still on, and hers as well, he guessed not. As if on cue, she smiled, with her eyes still closed.

"Stop being creepy" she said smiling. "I can feel you watching me sleep"

"You're not even asleep anymore" he smiled and she opened her eyes. He was taken back by her eyes staring directly into his.

"Still creepy though" she laughed, getting closer to him. He held her and they stayed like that for a while.

"Are you ok?" he asked her.

"What do you mean?

"Aren't you hungover, or sick?" he asked again and she laughed.

"Not at all. I have this really weird superpower, you know, I don't get hungover. Ever, actually" she laughed.

"I don't believe you. I have the headache"

"No, it's true. We did drink a lot yesterday, though" she commented.

"Yeah, well, welcome to having Australian friends. No such thing as light drinking with those guys" he laughed but grimaced at the pain in his brain.

"I'll get you something"

"Huh?"

"For the pain" she explained getting up from the bed.

After a while she returned with a pill and a glass of water, passing them to him.

"Thank you, baby" he took the glass, finishing it. "Come back to bed now"

"Your house... like, I'm not even sure if I should tell you to take a look or just pack your essentials and abandon it" she smiled.

"Uhh" he groaned. "I'll call someone later"

"Like a constructor with a wrecking ball?" she laughed.

"It can't be that bad"

"It's bad" she started. "But we can manage it" He looked at her intrigued. "After a shower" she pulled his hand. "Join me?"

"If I ever say no to that question, just put me in an asylum" he said. "I need a kiss though, as motivation" he smirked.

"Noo... I have morning breath"

"What? Me too" he said pulling her down and kissing her anyway. "Uh, no. You're right. Yours is worst" he said laughing while getting up and walking into the bathroom.

"Asshole!" she laughed following him.

They stripped and got into the shower, taking turns in letting the water run through their bodies.

"Come here" Daniel said, putting some body wash in his hands and spreading them over (y/n) body.

"Hum... this feels nice" she said.

"You're so beautiful" he said kissing her shoulder.

"You're so wasted" she laughed lightly.

"Hey! I'm sober. I'm just too tired. Give me a couple hours to recover, and I'll claim my birthday privileges"

"Birthday privileges? It's not even your birthday anymore" she laughed.

"Okay, but first, it's the weekend of, and second, I didn't get any time alone with you yesterday"

"Fair. And what will be your requests, may I ask?" she asked teasingly.

"Humm... you're so creative" he said kissing her. "I'm sure we'll think of something"

They finished the shower after a while, enjoying each other's company and the comfortable silence.

"Did anyone crashed here?" (y/n) asked when they were stepping out of the shower.

"I have no idea" Daniel answered. "I just remembered going to take a nap and waking up this morning. Shit, we didn't... did we?" (y/n) laughed out loud at that.

"Wow! Really, Dan?"

"We did not. I would've remembered"

"Good save. Such a gentleman" she laughed.

"I drank way too much. Sorry. Don't be mad"

"It's fine. I'm messing with you, I don't remember anything either. To be honest, I don't even remember joining you on your 'nap'" she said making air quotes.

"We're the worst hosts" he said getting out of the bathroom and going into the closet to get some clothes.

(y/n)'s heart swelled at the thought of hosting a party with Daniel. There was something so intimate about that statement, so homey.

"You want a shirt?" Daniel asked from the other room, waking her up from her daydream.

"Yeah, sure" she took the shirt, some underwear, and some sweats. Then brushed her wet hair and looked in the mirror. Not a trace of makeup left. She sighed thinking about how falling into a routine with Daniel meant letting the barriers down.

"Alright, snap out of it" she said to herself, getting out of the bathroom and walking outside, to the living room where Daniel was standing rubbing his neck and looking around.

"This is bad" he said when he saw her joining him. There were empty beer bottles and cups all around the living room and balcony, pizza boxes (with half-eaten slices left behind) in the coffee table, party decorations hanging from the ceiling, and the kitchen was even worse, with liquid spilled on the ground and bottles everywhere. There was glitter all over the floor and the couch - someone had brought some of those party poppers, which looked so much fun yesterday, but no so much now. But the best part was the polaroids, left all over the house with the craziest poses.

"Pack your stuff, we're deserting this goddam hellhole" he said and she knew he was joking, he said that about everywhere, but she still shook her head and rolled her eyes, picking a polaroid photo from the ground.

"Everyone had so much fun" she showed it to him. "I loved meeting your friends"

He took the photo from her hand, it was one where (y/n) was sitting on the couch with two of his buddies from Australia, making funny faces while holding cups. He remembered the moment because he was the one who took the photo.

"How's the headache?" she asked him.

"Almost gone"

"Good. So you don't have an excuse. Move your ass, where are the trash bags?" she laughed going into the kitchen.

"Hey! That was very sneak of you" he laughed but followed her anyway.

They spent the next hour collecting bottles, vacuuming glitter, and just cleaning the whole house. Daniel complained the whole time, but in truth, he was very glad to have her there. Sure, he could just ignore the whole mess and hire someone on Monday to clean everything (he probably would still do that anyway, for the heavy cleaning like bathrooms), but it was really nice of her to just stick around, seeming unbothered by the housework. When she finished tying the last trash bag and putting it on the entry hallway she flopped on the couch besides Daniel, who had called it a day some good 10 minutes ago.

"Done?" he asked her.

"I feel like punching you for asking me that" she answered playing annoyed. He lifted his hand in defense.

"What? I did my part!"

"Men" she shook her head. "I'm surprised you haven't complained about being hungry yet"

"Well, I'm starving! Was just waiting to suggest going out, or ordering in"

"Ordering in, please. I don't want to get off this couch any time soon"

Daniel got his phone out to order some food. It was almost noon, so he thought about something like pasta, some carbs would be nice right now. Then he felt (y/n)'s head drop on his shoulder, her hand caressing his arm. It was such a sweet gesture, so understated, he just stopped what he was doing and looked at her.

"What?" she looked at him.

"I'm really glad you're here. Thank you"

"It's nothing" she smiled.

"I don't mean the cleaning. Well, that too. But just, thank you for being you and wanting to hang out with me, you know, after the party"

"I'll always wanna hang out with you, partying or cleaning bottles" she said and leaned in to kiss him. "Happy birthday old man" this made him smile through the kiss.

"Thank you, young lady" he said still smiling. "Let's feed you now, yeah?"

"Please! Let's get some carbs on this house!" she smile.

"Hey, guys!" (y/n) and Daniel looked up to see Luke, one of Daniel's buddies walking out of the guest bedroom.

"Dude! I didn't know you were here" Daniel laughed.

"Yeah, just woke up. Definitely wasn't hiding in the bedroom waiting for the cleaning end to get out" he grinned making (y/n) and Daniel laugh.

"You know what? Just for that, you're going downstairs to pick up the food when it gets here, and taking out the trash!" (y/n) teased him, tossing a pillow from the couch at him.

Daniel just observed while his friend and his girlfriend joked and laughed. He thought about how right now he was enjoying a feeling of contempt that wasn't really natural or much appreciated by professional athletes, but this time felt right to indulge in it. He felt safe like someone's got him, finally. He took (y/n) hand on his and squeezed it three times, he knew this was already a good thing, something to last. She looked at him, she knew exactly what he meant.

[withoneheadlight]

ok i saw this cap of zoë kravitz in hf and she's got such a dreamy expression, she looks so deeply self-absorbed and infatuated by whatever she's imagining and those lines. and i couldn't stop picturing billy exactly like that for days so,

,

There’s a pretty unusual sound coming off the house when Max comes back home, that summer afternoon.

Full volume. Walls shaking. And she quietly walks to the source of the sound, holding back her breath right in front of Billy's room because, there's this second sound? Stranger and way more unsettling and Max's not sure-sure at first but then Steve Perry’s voice takes off and Billy’s follows it and then he's like, singing along and. Well. Max did know Billy liked Journey but not like, their 'stuff for pussies' but uhm, he does, apparently. Rasps his voice all the way through ‘Faithfully’. Kind of, sighs. Longingly? When it ends? But pfff, ok, big brothers are weird. Definitely weirder after being possessed and then kind of resurrected. Even if it's in a good-weird way but, whatever. So Max's just about to sneak to her room, dutifully rolling her eyes, steps muffled by the first chords of 'Edge of the blade' when―

Click. Click. Billy stops the tape. Click. Takes it out. Tap. Tap. Click. Puts on― Billy puts. On,

Heaven.

Bryan Adams’ Heaven.

And Max―

Being a younger sister is a meticulous kind of full-time, private detective job. You gotta learn how the person you’ve been watching so carefully for years and years works. Hafta develop some sort of―sense about your target. And Billy’s been—un-Billy-like? These past two months. Smiling more. Telling more jokes. Playing ‘You shook me all night long’ in a loop on their drive to school and back, not complaining at all but even joining when’s Max who can’t help but sing along so.

So. She retraces her steps. Knocks. Takes the distracted grunt she gets as a ‘Yeahyeah, c’mon in c’mon in’ and,

Creak. Creak. ‘―baby you’re all that I want’

“Billy?”

Billy’s sitting cross-legged on the floor. Radio close to his knees. Cassettes scattered everywhere. Piles and piles of breakwater surrounding Billy’s old, rusty beacon of sound. He’s reading through the song-list of one of the tapes, a smoke locked on the corner of his mouth, bouncing up and down with every little, absent suck he takes, and he looks. He looks―

Self-absorbed and even. Relaxed. Happy. Like whatever he’s thinking about right now is actually carrying his thoughts away to fucking heaven.

“Ehh”

“Uh-hu?”

‘When you’re lying here in my arms!’

“Billy are you. What―” ‘I'm findin' it hard to believe. We're in heaven’ “What are you doing?”

But there’s this orbit around the sun and then there’s whatever one Billy's been spinning along with the last couple of months so he completely ignores her question. Shakes the tape on his left hand. Picks another one from the pile on his right. Asks her.

“Is Billy Ocean too much? ‘Cause I think it’s too much. But it kind of fits into what I'm trying to say so” he says, shrugs, looking up at Max and waiting for the answer of what she realizes was not really a question. Not at all. So she does her little sister job and just, nods “Right. That’s good. I think it’ll slide just nicely into Bruce Springsteen and―”

“Billy” Max insists, waiting for the charm of the third time to work. It doesn’t. Not really. But keeps Billy's eyes on her long enough to squeeze an “A mixtape?” And, uh. That’s what gets it on. The charm “Are you making a mixtape?”

“Uh?”

And it’s like Max just shook Billy out of a daydream. Ash plopping down from his cigarette as his lips try but can’t purse and Max― she’s good. She’s stellar at this detective thing. Recognizes an opening the moment she sees it, right there in front of her, frozen in the middle of shaking Billy Ocean and Bruce Springsteen in the air right before cocktailing them together. Shaken, not stirred, please. Max’s upgraded to James Bond-level just right now.

“You’re making a mixtape for someone”

“Oh-nonoMaxi―”

“But you didn’t have those tapes before. Not even in your secret stash”

“How do yo―?”

“Holy. ShIT. You’ve been listening to somebody else’s music” This is. Oh, God. This. Is. GOLD. Max gotta take a moment. Blink. Breathe. Process. Her hands move by themselves, palms spread toward Billy in a wait-a-minute kind of gesture except. Max’s gonna need way more than a minute for this “You’ve accepted a music recommendation”

“Maaaaax”

“Gosh, you’ve even listened to the tapes enough to. Make―”

“Max!”

“I just can’t believe it”

And Max was glad. Well. As glad as one can be. Bunch weeks ago. Her mom and Neil out for the day. Coming back home a little earlier than she usually does to hear those ugh. Those other noises. Happy screams. Again. After months and months of Billy being basically alone except for her and the party and Steve. And Max’s so glad, of course she is. But she’s also a little sister. And all this investigation work has a high, rightful purpose.

Make her big brother’s life a living. Hell.

“Oh my god, you must be so gone!” Max brings her hands to her mouth. Takes a deep, deep breath that’s more a poorly restrained giggle. Shoots her index at him “Is it Bon Jovi? What I’m seeing right there? Goddam, Billy are you in lo―”

Bam.

Bam. Bam!

The front door.

What a way to spoil the fun. Max doesn’t have time for this. She’s working.

“BILLY?” comes a voice from the other side “Billy are you in there?”

Steve.

Oh.

What a way to make the fun a hundred times better.

Bam.Bam.Bam!

She’s starting to move to get to the door, sinsonging “Well, I guess Steve’s gonna find out you’re so stupid in love you’re willingly listening to―” when she realizes Billy’s eyes have widened and he’s jerkingly trying to unfreeze, he’s mumbling something in around his already extinguished cigarette in the ways of “Can’t” and “Find out” and “Surprise” and “Fucking help me!” While literally trying to shove the huge mass of tapes under his bed, his tone like hurryhurryhurry!, like he would start gagging and throwing his lungs out at any given minute, so nervous he looks.

So Max doesn’t go for the door. Yet. She basks in the enjoyment.

“Oh, is it a secret romance or something?” She sighs happily, leaning against the doorframe instead. “‘Cause you look pretty worried”

Steve’s banging the door now, voice wavering a little as he asks-shouts “Billy? Billy answer me! Hey, bab―Are you ok?”

“Max, please” Billy begs. Begs. Crawling over to where a Madonna’s Like a virgin is laying with the tape looping slightly out “He really can’t find out”

“What? That you’re in lo-o-oh-oh-OH―”

Billy stops at the tone, right there on his knees. Spits his forgotten cig to the side. And in the instant it seems to take him to make up his mind they both can hear Steve shout “Ok. I know you’re in there!. I’m coming in now!!”

“Fuck! Yeah. I am. Ok?” he looks like he just realized he’s tripped. Blushes. “Making it, I mean”

BAM!

And Ohhhhhhh.

Zero-fucking-zero-fucking-seven.

“Steve,” Max gasps. Because. Hear it makes it like. Easier. To process “You. And Steve”

B A M!

“Yeah, Max, Yeah. And this is a fucking surprise and he’s gonna―”

‘I've been waitin' for so long. For somethin' to arrive. For love to come along’

Ok. Oh. Okok.

“Door!” Max hastens him.

“What?”

“You. Door. Run!” She commands, and Billy― sometimes Max can’t honestly understand how he's got the grades he's got, because Billy blinks, looks clueless “C’mon slow ass. Hurry! I’ll hide all this shit”

And Billy finally gets it. Nods. Slow. Then fast. Stumbles up. Literally runs, to get to the door.

Max still gets to hear his labored “Fuck, pretty boy. “That was really hardcore of you. That's how bad you wanted to see me?” And Steve's own breathless “Really?” Before pushing Billy's room door close with her back, and kneeling on the floor to check for stray, incriminating cassettes.

Pretty boy. Maybe Max isn't as clever as she thought she is. Or hasn’t been doing her job right, clearly.

It's when she’s making ‘It’s a kind of magic’ disappear into the rest of the pile that she lays eyes on it. The case. The J-card written almost all the way down to the B-side already. A mixture of songs Billy's heard so many times there are parts where his tapes screech, and others she'd bet her life he wouldn’t have deigned to listen to. Not ever. Definitely not because―no, for, somebody. Bowie and Cher and Cindy Lauper and Bob Seger right next to Metallica and Guns n' Roses and Meatloaf and― there. There. Almost hidden in the back of the spine. A note. A tiny, thin-lettered thing Max really, really shouldn't be reading but―

‘Thanks for driving me back.

Love. Billy’

But. That's what little sisters do too, she guesses. Intrude. Annoy. Snoop. Feel this sudden rush of relief. Of happiness. When Billy laughs softly, on the other side of the door. When Steve laughs back. Maybe a tear. Or two. But just maybe. She’s really good at this little sister thing, after all.

Hopes for stellar.

,

or: that post s3 where steve lets a camaro-less billy drive him around in his own car "really? again, hargrove?" almost every single day, for months, after he comes back, because "you’re gonna perpetually stick yourself to my ass at least let me do the one thing that frikin’ calms me down" which results in steve resigning himself to deejaying in the shotgun even if "jesus, what's that shit, harrington?" "my car, my rules, sweetheart" which results in billy developing a ‘songs steve harrington is in love with’ mental playlist, realizing he’s probably a little bit in love with the way he loves them and, possibly, a little much love with steve and then stealing steve's tapes one day and,

making a mixtape about it.

(the first of a whole lot, of love letters)

[bitch-i-migth-be]

Chapter 11: Someone Called The Baby Brother Protection Squad?

Fandoms: Danny Phantom, Batman,

Summary: He swore his sister was trying to make him go into cardiac arrest - considering his halfa status that was quite the accomplishment-

But there was no other explanation to his sister’s stubbornness, and if he knew her at all there was just no talking her down from interning at goddam Arkham.

A/N: Im getting dizzy and its all the characters fault. Most of it. Some of it.

THIS IS ON AO3, IF ANYONE WOULD PREFER TO READ THERE. LOVE COMmENTs  so if u have anything to say IwillBeReallyHappyYesThankU

@silvergold-swirl

Notes:

Hi grandma, it’s ME, Anastasia! 💋

Hello guys~ I had to rearrange some things and move some scenes because i hated the timing. We are gonna go with this short one and hopefully danny will cooperate now that I finally gave up and let him scape the torture. I swear to god this boy doesn’t care for anything that isn’t working in his damned survival Notebook ughh

I mean i did give it to him, i guess. So i am the one to blame. Should have seen that one coming. 🤡

CHAPTERS: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,

Danny was.. unsure.

Which wasn't exactly a new occurrence, per se, but C’mon !

He had read the damn pamphlets, — the pamphlets ! Who does that? not counting Jazz, of course, because she didn't count on grounds of her being Jazz — and listened raptly — even if there had been plenty of eye rolling and sighs from his part — while Jazz coached him through the ‘Do’s’ and ‘Don’ts’ and the ‘What ifs’ and whatever else she had thought to throw in there ‘just in case’.

It seemed like it would be for nay because apparently the examiners hadn’t been informed of Jazz’s carefully planned out schedule. He was pretty sure the examiners taking him to a secondary location after the test was already done hadn’t been stated anywhere.

He would like his freedom back. Yes and thank you.

But maybe this was important? Even if jazz or the damn pamphlet hadn’t mentioned  anything about it?

Mulaney would be pretty disappointed but at least Jazz would not try and make him a full ghost if he made a full blown scandal — in the middle of the school he was just about finished making the entrance exams for — as god almighty intended it whenever things started to get shaddy around him.

You can’t make everyone happy these days, but you can choose who you are going to disappoint or potentially piss off. And that was something.

At least the new place was still inside the same building and no one had taken out the scalpels. Yet . On the way here they had walked by something that looked suspiciously like a dissection lab and Danny's hackles had raised and stayed up even after they had walked past and left the damned place behind.

The current company didn’t help much in calming him down, either.

The look one of the ladies kept giving him reminded him — uncomfortably so — of the manic stare Spectra got whenever she got some new poor soul on her clutches. The same sort of look some ghosts shared. The sort of look that had resulted in Danny quickly and effectively developing a pavlovian response. One that resulted in exorbitant amounts of well-placed aggression and some collateral damage to fix later if he was particularly unlucky.

He couldn’t exactly afford the collateral damage right now, though. Which was a shame. But, eh.

Danny had to repeat Jazz words like a mantra, over and over again to calm his nerves down before he managed to convince himself in his paranoia that everyone in this room had somehow gotten possessed, that this was nothing more than an elaborate hoax and he needed to ‘suit up’ and dispatch them before they got the chance to dispatch him first.

Then the examiners-slash-teenappers seemed to finish their impromptu rendezvous and the spectra-wannabe lady turned towards him with yet another smile.

His core trilled, a fake smile took over his face and Danny started to feel his fingers twitch in anticipation. Of what? he didn’t exactly know. But it would get pretty ugly , really fast if the lady came any closer.

When someone knocked on the door- Well, no. The knock itself had not been enough to derail any of them —except for Danny, who had snapped to attention and contemplated the expansion of possibles getaways now that the door was once again open, if slightly obstructed by someone — but one of them finally caught the stare of the redheaded woman on the door and that sure seemed to be enough.

There was no better word to what followed, the woman started to rip them a new one, right in front of their salad and everything, as they say.

So he did the smart thing — because of course he did —, he took the distraction for what it was and hightailed it out of the room.

Jazz would understand, right? right.

And that was the moment when Jazz appeared out of thin air and looped an arm around his shoulders, halting his momentum.

He side eyed her. She side eyed him back.

“Umh, I- I was just-” her eyebrow rose and Danny felt the nervous laughter fall from his lips without authorization. Which, rude. But also understandable. Maybe.

Jazz didn’t stop to acknowledge it. She just brought their foreheads togethers a moment to nuzzle him — long enough for him to get a grip while the both of them took a pair of deep breaths — and Danny finally recognized the look on her face from multiple parent-teachers conferences back in amity when not even one of their parents managed to make it into the school without getting sidetracked or offending someone on the way there.

She was taking over from here.

“Don’t get lost.” Was all she offered in a whisper, and then she let go.

He smiled back at her.

And then made a run for it.

-.-.-.-

Jazz was feeling-

Incredibly validated if slightly murderous.

The validating feeling was new but expected. The murderous one was an old friend, and she had thought it wouldn’t make an appearance today. That had been her mistake. She would learn from the experience and be better prepared in the future.

watching her brother run circles around these people without even noticing had been fun until it wasn’t. The sight of her little brother so strung up had made her want to take some pointers from Vlad but alas.

There was someone better to take pointers from right now.

Two redheads are always better than one, after all.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.--.-

NOTES

Me, flipping a coin to decide between feral siblings and soft siblings each chapter.

-.-.-.-

Lydia martin is one of my goddesses. I can understand stile because holy fuck that woman is awe inspiring.

-.-.-.-

Also barbara of course. And Gwen tennyson. And giesell. And Anastasia. And the little mermaid. And ranko. And roberta. And-

Have i mentioned I have a thing for redheads?? That seems important. Because oh booooiii

-.-.-.- I'm going to get another coin to flip. It’s either both feral and soft or double the amount of one of those and that sounds real nice~

-.-.-.- as a throw back to the chapter with the ghost council: the ghost kryptonians?? I imagined them keeping taps on clark and rooting for him, like, there are support groups sometimes and everything, like ´-and last but not least: next Tuesday is Lex Luthor Hate Night, guys, so don't you dare forget the popcorn daggers again Ken Al-‘

and i just ahskfsahkgakl I can’t- !!

-.-.-.-

I had a talk with the characters and we all decided Danny and Jazz will be in charge of bulldozing the way for everyone else.

If any of the others want to pop in with a pov then it will happen, if they don’t then they won’t, and we will have to make do with the feral siblings view of this mess. Maybe. Depends on if these fuckers change their mind. Like they do. Ugh. It’s gonna be lovely, I. can. tell.

CHAPTERS: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,

[incorrectnessduskwood]

I know I'm just posting incorrect quotes but I wrote this on Sunday after more than six months without writing anything and I liked it, so I thought someone out there may like it too. Enjoy! :D

Pairing: Jake x Charlie (my MC)

Word Count: 3.2k

Warnings: angst with a happy ending, spoilers for ep 8

Charlie walked up the steps slowly, her backpack weighing down her shoulders, the take-out bags of Chinese clenched tightly in her left hand. She checked her phone the hundredth time since leaving her house, making sure she had gotten the right address. The restaurant in front of the motel was a pretty compelling evidence that yes, she was in the right place, but she couldn’t help but wonder if she had gotten something wrong; if she did, this was going to be a tad awkward for whoever was on the other side of the door.

Reaching the number 543, Charlie finally put the phone in her pocket, letting out a shaky breath out through her mouth. Pushing her hair out of her face, she closed her eyes and counted to five.

You’re fine. You’re in the right place. He’ll be happy to see you, you know that. Pissed maybe, but certainly happy too. Just knock on the door and everything will be okay

Finally, she knocked twice on the door, quiet enough so others wouldn’t hear but loud enough for him to hear; she only hoped he wouldn’t think she was one of the people that were after him. Time seemed to pass slowly and Charlie started to get restless. She tapped her foot on the floor, her breathing getting shakier with each passing second that she didn’t hear anything on the other side of the door. The bags in her hand were hot enough to warm her hand and she changed them to the her right hand, rasing her left one to knock again when there was finally shuffling in the room. Quietly, she waited for something to happen: for him to ask who it was, for him to start packing all of his things in a rush or for the door to open, she wasn’t sure which one.

Not bearing the silence and the lack of reaction, she finally talked, “You know, it’s kind of rude to leave a friend waiting outside in this weather. Specially when she has brought food.”

That, at last, got a reaction from him. Charlie heard footsteps, a loud noise followed by a curse, and the sound of the lock of the door. It didn’t open but she knew it wouldn’t take long anymore. He may not have known what her voice sounded like but he would know what to ask of her to know he’s safe; and she knew exactly what to answer.

“It’s also rude to just stop by the door when we both know you want to ask something so I’ll prove who I am.” No answer. With a sigh, she continued, “What was the first thing I asked about you when we started talking?”

Silence followed by some shuffling. Then, “You asked what kind of hack programs I use and I listed four of them to you.” Charlie smiled. I knew it was him. “What did you tell was your imagination about meeting me?”

“I imagined you were wearing your black hoodie, like you probably are now. I imagined your eyes looked so familiar because you are so familiar to me already. I imagined you would hold me in your arms and tell me everything would be okay because we were together.”

It took five seconds for the lock to turn and the door to open. Charlie stared at him with a soft expression, looking for his eyes to see the familiarity she knew she would find and learning what he really looked like; Jake was tall—a lot more taller than her—his long hair was as black as a moonless sky, his eyes a clear grey, dark bags from sleepless nights under them, his skin thin and pale from being closed off for so long. He was indeed using a hoodie, but this one was a dark blue instead of black, a Metallica T-shirt badly hidden under it.

Charlie knew he was staring at her just intently, memorizing her face, and she let him. She watched his eyes wander through her face, the lines around them softening and making him look a lot younger than he actually was. Amazement was etched in his face, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing, and Charlie thought she had never seen someone as beautiful as Jake; she wasn’t sure if it was because she was finally seeing him in front of her, or if it was because of the way he was looking at her, or if it was just the fact that she was so goddam happy for having found him. Whatever it was, Charlie was certain Jake was the most amazing human being she had ever seen.

After a few minutes, Jake finally let out a shaky breath and tentatively raised his hand towards Charlie, hovering it over her left shoulder. She gave one tiny step towards him, placing her own hand on his shoulder and softly pulling him towards her; it was the action Jake needed to pull her hard to his chest and bury his face on her hair, his arms closing tightly around her shoulders. Charlie moved her free hand to Jake’s hair, threading her fingers through it, and pressed her ear against his chest, listening to his heart beat as fast as her own.

She lost count of how long they stood there but, eventually, her bag started to weigh a lot more than it already did and she gently pushed Jake back enough to look at his eyes. “This is all good and great but we should probably get inside. It’s freezing, my bag’s heavy and the food is just getting cold.”

Jake chuckled, his cheeks blushing as he scratched the back of his neck and gave a step back. “Of course, I’m sorry. I guess my surprise overpowered me. Come on in,” he waved his arm towards the room, waiting for Charlie to enter before closing the door and locking it once again.

Placing her bag on the floor, Charlie looked around the room; the curtains were drawn shut, the bed was a mess of pillows and blankets, there were two duffles by the foot of the bed and an array of laptops and wires on the table. Nothing unlike what she had expected from Jake. She turned to him with a smile and offered him the take-out bags. “It won’t be exactly like you wanted but we do get to eat Chinese food.”

“I think the least of our problems are not being at the restaurant.” Jake took the bags from Charlie before placing them on an empty space at the table. He kept his back to her, seeming to be clearing some more space on the table. Charlie frowned, watching as Jake avoided her eyes when he closed the laptops and put them together on the bed.

“Jake? Are you okay?”

Jake’s shoulders tensed before turning back to her, his eyes shielded by a strand of her. “What are you doing here, Charlie? How did you find me?”

Charlie sighed, raising a hand to her shoulder to press on a tense muscle. “It wasn’t easy, I’m gonna give you that. But I knew what to look for and how to do it.”

“How? I mean, I didn’t know you could hack someone if you wanted to.”

“Well,” Charlie smiled, walking to one of the chairs. “I do have a few aces up my sleeve too. And after everything that happened, Richy, Thomas and Jessy finding the kidnapper and being so close they could’ve gotten caught, that last call from the kidnapper, I just…” Charlie sighed, burying her head in her hands. “I just needed not to be alone. And seeming as I promised you I wouldn’t go to Duskwood, I’m here. I’m sorry.”

She heard the other chair scrape the floor before she felt Jake’s hands on hers. He held them on her knees, his eyes staring at her. There were a few streaks of blue in them. “You don’t have to be sorry. I—I know it’s hard to be alone, believe me. And you’ll always be welcome by my side but Charlie… You’re putting yourself in risk by coming here.”

Charlie laughed humourleslly, pulling her hands from Jake’s and standing up. “Putting myself at risk? More than I already am? Have you seen everything that has happened since I joined the group? Richy being marked and then stabbed, Jessy getting attacked, Phil going to prison. Even you, Jake! I mean, they only found you because you were helping me, otherwise, Lilly wouldn’t even know about you and you wouldn’t have been included in the video. Did you listen to that last call the kidnapper made to me? Did you hear him saying he’s going to kill all of them and then me? How much more at risk can I be in after that?”

Jake didn’t say anything but Charlie could feel his eyes on her as she started to pace around the room. She avoided looking at him, breathing deeply to keep her emotions in check; the last thing she needed was to break down now. They still had a lot of work to do and she hadn’t heard anything from the others for hours and it was all starting to get too much. What if Jessy and Thomas were caught in the end? Did the Man Without a Face know where they live? Would he go after them like he said he would? What if the only thing she would find out would be the police calling to tell her all of them were dead? What she would do them? It would all be her fault, she would have let them all get killed and—

“Hey! Charlie! Look at me.” Jake’s hands were on her face, forcing Charlie to look into his eyes. “Breathe with me, okay? Come on. I don’t want you to pass out.”

Charlie took a deep breath, following Jake’s movements, looking into his eyes and trying to count all the different colours in them.When she finally calmed down, Jake helped her sit back on the chair, squeezing her shoulder caringly. Charlie watched as he opened the take-out bags, getting a little of each container on a plate before placing it on her hands. He then did the same with another plate and sat in front of her again, their knees touching as he stared into her eyes.

“I always find it easy to do things if I’m not hungry or even if I’m eating just because. I know it can also help with anxiety if you’re the type of person that eats when anxious, which, and I’m making an educated guess here, you are.”

She chuckled softly, looking down at the plate. “You do know how to make educated guesses. I’m guessing you like to eat while you hack into things?”

Jake shrugged, taking a bite of his food before replying, “I do. Clears my head and makes me less anxious.” Charlie nodded, trying some of the fried rice while ignoring Jake’s gaze. “Charlie, you know you can trust me, right? I know I’ve some mistakes along the way but it was never my intention to put you or any of them in danger. Whatever it is you’re feeling, I want you to know I’m here for you. You can tell me anything.”

“I know, Jake.” Charlie gave him a small smile and shrugged. “It’s just… I have never felt so powerless before, you know? I’m not the kind of person that likes to be controlled, that’s why I know how to fight, why I try to learn a little of everything to have at least some kind of knowledge if I meet someone that wants to talk or do something I’m not familiar with. But now?” Sighing, she looked back down to her food, pushing it around with her fork. “When Jessy was attacked, I couldn’t do anything but watch. The same thing with all the threatening calls and the in-site search and then with Richy—” Charlie’s voice broke and she swallowed back a sob. She felt Jake put a hand on one of her knees, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I had to hear him struggle without being able to do anything. Then I had to watch him choke on his own blood as he tried to tell me something I have no idea what it is. After he dropped the phone, I stared at it for so long, just looking at the sky, waiting, wishing for him to take the phone back, to say it was a joke.” Charlie’s eyes filled with tears and she put the plate on the table. “God, I wish this was all just a bad joke. A really, really bad joke.”

Arms closed around her shoulders and Charlie buried her face on Jake’s stomach, finally feeling the dam break. Jake only rubbed at her back, not saying anything.

“How many of them am I going to have to watch get attacked, Jake? Or killed? Jessy and Thomas barely escaped without any scratches from that house. Dan almost got killed in that accident. Even Cleo’s mom was threatened because of me. How much guilt do you think I can still take it? How much suffering can I put people through because I’m the one who’s a threat to the kidnapper?”

Jake let out a heavy sigh, hugging her tighter before letting go and kneeling in front of her. He took her face in his hands and raised her head so he could look straight into her eyes. “Charlie, I can’t answer that. Not so long ago, you asked me if I thought we had gone too far and I answered how far was too far when it came to someone’s life. You told me it was as soon as someone else was in danger and I see now that you were right. I’ve been so preoccupied with Hannah because she’s my sister and she and Lilly are my only family that I didn’t stop to think that everyone in the group mean something to you; they’re your friends, too.” Charlie nodded, feeling Jake clean a tear form her cheek. “And I should’ve seen that. I know I’m not the best at… understanding other people but I should’ve realized that everything that has happened had to have taken a toll on you just as it did when I saw Hannah getting kidnapped. Even worse because you had to experience things no one ever should have. And I’m so sorry, Charlie, I truly am.”

Charlie smiled sadly, placing a hand on Jake’s cheek. “You remember when I said I thought your eyes would look familiar to me?” He nodded, his expression changing to confusion. “This is what I meant. Even with everything that has happened, I can see everything you’ve shown me through the texts in your eyes. I can see your empathy, I can see how much you care about Hannah and finding her, and I can see your guilt too. Because you also feel it, don’t you? You feel like it’s your fault Hannah was kidnapped; because you weren’t fast enough to call to her.”

“You know,” Jake smiled, turning his head so he could kiss her palm. “You never cease to amaze me. You sometimes understand stuff in a way I can only dream of. Sometimes you know things I’d rather not have anyone know to not let them get too close but I can’t hide anything from you.”

“Well, you actually can hide things from me, for a while. I’ll just end up finding out anyway.”

“That is true. Just like you found out where I was. I’m still amazed by it, to be honest.”

“Okay, it actually wasn’t that hard either.” Jake raised an eyebrow at her and Charlie laughed, gently pushing him away so she could stand up. “I shouldn’t explain just to leave you curious about it and see what it’s like when you keep things from me. But I’m not that mean.”

Jake smiled, following her towards the kitchen. “That you really aren’t. Sarcastic, yes. Stubborn? Don’t even need to answer that. But mean? No, not really. So, how did you do it?”

“Well,” Charlie toyed with the glass in her hands. “Nym-0s is already connected to my phone, that’s why he was able to warm me of the attacks, right?” Jake hummed. “Which means it’s easier for me to actually get into your phone. And considering you weren’t expecting me to hack it, it means there are fewer protections against me. I only needed your location, which is fast to find, and here I am.”

“Who would’ve thought? Tricked by my own program.”

Charlie chuckled, placing the glass back on the sink and stepping towards Jake. “I’m happy you did or I wouldn’t have found you. And I really needed to find you.”

Jake’s expression softened and he opened his arms. Charlie didn’t hesitate before stepping into his embrace. “I think I needed you to find me too. You have no idea how many times I thought about asking where you were or for you to come to me, just so we could meet. Going through all of this alone is incredibly hard.”

She scoffed, shaking her head against his chest. “You can say that again. It’s also, like… I could’ve gone to Duskwood. I know I promised you I wouldn’t, but you wouldn’t be very surprised if I did.” Jake chuckled and hummed. “But I don’t know… I know everyone there is suffering too and would help and comfort me as much as they could, but none of them are you.”

“I know how you feel. I could’ve gone too. I mean, my two half-sisters are there and Lilly is probably suffering a lot more than I am, but it wouldn’t be the same as if I was with you. I felt a lot better talking to you by text than I would’ve if I had gone there. But now that you’re here,” Jake raised her head and Charlie could feel the ghost of his lips on hers. “I feel like I can take on the whole world and win.”

“You do know I don’t make you invincible, right?”

“Certainly feels like it.”

Charlie chuckled, shaking her head. “I feel invincible by your side too. Anyone comes our way, I’ll kick their asses.”

“I know you will.”

They stared at each other, their lips so close it was unnerving, and Charlie wasn’t sure what to do; she wanted nothing more than to just close the damn distance already, but she wasn’t sure if she could. How would Jake react if she did? Did he want it as much as her or would he panic and run away? She sure wouldn’t be able to take it if he did.

In the end, she didn’t have to do anything: Jake bent down and pressed their lips together, so softly Charlie sighed and melted against him, putting one arm around his waist and the other in his hair. Jake’s arms sneaked around her waist, pulling her even closer to him, and Charlie was sure they’d soon become, though she would never complain.

When they let go of each other, Charlie stared up at him with a smile, giddiness bubbling in her chest. Jake mirrored her smile, which only made her heart beat faster. Things weren’t okay yet and they still had a lot to do, but, like she said, as long as they were together, they were invincible and they would find a way to fix everything.

[authenticmiya]

Pinky Promise - Hawk x Reader

Summary - Part 2 of Punching Bag. After all of this lost time, can the reader come to terms with the bad past she has with Hawk? Can they redeem what they had?

Words - 2k

Warnings - angst

Hawk pulled into the driveway of his house, the house you hadn’t been in for what felt like a lifetime ago. His moms car was gone, meaning it really was just the two of you.

“I bet my hair looks a mess right now.” You sighed, handing the helmet back over.

“Not as much of a mess as your knuckles, come on, let’s get you sorted.” The two of you walked towards the front door.

“Shit, I haven’t got my keys.” Hawk tapped on his pockets repeatedly, hoping they were in there.

“Under the statue of the Dalmatian.” You told him and his eyes creased together in confusion.

“Your mom always left a spare key under the Dalmatian.” Hawk was shocked that you had even remembered that.

“Don’t be surprised, the amount of times you used to lock us out, it’s hard to forget.” Hawk didn’t know how to feel. You didn’t want help, so why were you helping him?

“As much as it pains me to say, my hand is stinging like a bitch.” You admitted.

“Right, right.” He muttered, lifting the statue up and of course finding the spare keys. When he opened the door, you were hit with nostalgia.

“Nothings really changed in here.” Hawk watched as you took in everything.

“Last time I was here, you slammed the door in my face.” Hawk swallowed the lump in his throat. That night was the some what end of your friendship together. It wasn’t his transition into Hawk, it was who he became when he was Hawk.

“I shouldn’t have let you leave like that Y/N-“ He began.

“But you did and we both said some hurtful shit.” Hawk nodded and allowed you to follow him into the kitchen.

“There is no way your mom still has this on the fridge.” You gasped at the picture of you and Eli at Golf N Stuff when you were both five.

“You beat my ass at Golf every-time we went there.” He chuckled and a small smile formed on your lips. Noticing he had got the first aid kit out, you perched yourself on the counter.

“This is gonna sting like a bitch.” Hawk prepared you as he wiped away the blood and applied some anti-septic over the cuts.

“That’s the first thing you’ve been right about in months.” Your sarcastic, rude remarks were expected and Hawk took them. He couldn’t exactly say you were wrong, because the only thing coming out of your mouth, was the truth. Wrapping a small amount of bandage over the wounds, Hawk was finished being your doctor.

“Thank-you.” You said, before hopping off of the counter and heading towards the front door.

“Not so fast Y/N, I said once I finished with your knuckles, you and I were talking.” Hawk stopped you.

“I’m not gonna talk to you if you’re gonna be an asshole about it.” You snapped.

“Okay I’m sorry, please can we just talk? No arguing, no nothing, just a conversation.” You chewed the inside of your mouth and hesitantly nodded.

“What happened that night, Y/N I can never forgive myself. I have this whole badass reputation you know? It’s not an excuse, it never was and it will never be. I never should’ve let that take over what we could’ve had.” Hawk told you once the two of you had sat down on the couch.

“What we could’ve had? Are you serious? Eli, Hawk, whatever you wanna be fucking called. You and I were best friends. I mean the best of friends throughout our entire childhoods. We were each-others rocks when it came to the bullying, nah scratch that, you, me and Demetri.” He knew you were trying to pick a fight, but he wasn’t going to give a reaction. He was the one who done dirty, and now he was coming to his senses.

“I shouldn’t have let it come to any of that, we were meant to rise to the top together.” Hawk frowned, now noticing how sad you felt.

“If what you are now, is at the top, I wanna stay at rock bottom.” You told him with a sigh.

“I can’t change what I’ve done to you Y/N or Demetri, I can’t do anything about what I’ve already done. But I can try and avoid it from happening again.” Hawk tried to hold your hand but you shrugged him off.

“You know when mom left me all them years ago? I thought I felt heartbreak for the first time, but when you knew what you were doing to us.” You referred to yourself and Demetri.

“That’s when I felt heartbreak. Knowing you thought it was alright to become the bully. Them nerds? Them nerds you were once apart of. You were in their shoes, and now you’ve put them in the position that nobody should have to go through. At first you though it was badass, but now, you’re a massive dick.” You ranted.

“It’s taken you this long. It’s taken me getting a few cuts for you to realise you were in the wrong this entire time?” Hawk felt like he could cry, he done you so dirty.

“Y/N please-“ It took him every ounce not to just break down in tears in front of you.

“I had no one to go to.” A tear slipped out of your eye and Hawk felt his whole world come crashing down on him.

“I mean I had Demetri, but you know how awkward he gets. You’re the one who would sit there for hours on hours to listen to me and understand my problems, and when you left, I had no one.” You confessed.

“Sure I had Miguel but he was always busy with Karate and Sam, and yeah I guess you could say Johnny is a father figure in my life, but I wasn’t with him everyday like I was with you.” You sniffled, wiping away at the tears that kept building up.

“I have enough money in my bank account to support my bills for maybe half a month. Once my money goes, I’ve lost everything.”

“No you haven’t. Don’t ever fucking say that. You have me. Y/N, you will always have me.” Hawk couldn’t stress that enough but his actions hadn’t really made that clear in the past.

“So that’s it yeah? I let you back in my life and suddenly I have to trust you not to leave? Not to slam the door in my face? Not to drop me like a bag of potatoes again?” You questioned him.

“I needed you and you weren’t there.” You frustratedly disclosed with him.

“I wasn’t there when I had to be. I’ve got so much lost time to make up for, that’s if you’ll let me. I know I wasn’t there, and that is really suffocating me with regret. You did everything for me Y/N. You never left my side, even when all the popular girls wanted to be your friend, you shook them off and stuck by me. I treated you like shit and I’m so sorry.” Now this was the side of Eli that you hadn’t been familiar with for a very, very long time.

“I guess it’s true what they say when you don’t know what you have until it’s gone, right?” You asked him.

“That quote is gonna haunt me for the rest of my life.” From then it was silence. It didn’t feel awkward, yet it just didn’t feel peaceful either.

“I’m willing to forgive this, to try and come to terms with the new you just as long as you promise me one thing-“ Before you could finish the sentence, the front door opened and shut.

“Honey are you home?” Hawks mom called out, and your eyes widened. You hadn’t seen his mom in forever.

“Eli?” She went to call again, but stopped dead in her tracks when she realised you were sat next to him.

“Well god have mercy on me, Y/N? What are you doing here?” She excitedly rushed over and embraced you. The women who was there for every bullshit excuse your ‘parents’ had. It was your turn to feel bad now, because when you lost Eli, you hardly ever spoke to his mom.

“Hi Momma M.” You smiled as the hug lasted as long as it possibly could.

“I can’t believe you’re here! How are you? How’s your dad?” She asked and you gulped.

“I’m okay, he kinda up and left, got married to a women in Dubai.” You told her.

“He’s always been such a goddam slime ball.” She scoffed, quickly brushing that off and letting her calm demeanour take over. It seemed that everyone you knew, had the exact same opinion on your ‘dad’, even before you knew he was going to be permanently out of your life.

“Don’t worry, I beat the crap out of a punching bag.” Your comment made her chuckle, but that would never stop her from worrying about you.

“I’m not gonna ask questions as to why you two are even in the same room right now, but I’d really appreciate if you stayed long enough for us to have a chat Y/N. You’re a good kid, like the daughter I never had. I’ve missed you.” She smiled.

“Don’t worry, let’s go have a catch-up.” She brought you through to the kitchen and poured you a cold orange juice, leaving Hawk to wander about in his feelings in the living room.

“I know what happened between you two.” She began and you chuckled.

“Thought you weren’t gonna ask questions Momma M.” You took a sip of your drink with a slight smirk.

“Not in front of him, this is strictly girl talk.” She pointed out.

“Eli’s transformation was obviously a huge shock, and although I don’t agree with his actions, he’s still my baby, and I had to get used to everything he was doing. I let him do his own thing you know? Try to let him find himself. But believe me when I say he had one huge scolding when I found out about you and him.” His mom admitted to you.

“Me coming here today, was because he didn’t want me suffering through the night with sore hands.” You told her.

“And something as simple as that, means a lot to him. You trusted him enough to come back here Y/N. That’s a start.” She wasn’t on anyone’s sides, she just wanted what was best for you both.

“I suppose I didn’t really wanna go back to a dark apartment.” You laughed, forgetting that she didn’t know.

“That deadbeat isn’t helping you with the apartment anymore is he? That’s why you have no electricity.” Eli’s mom couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“I’ve never wanted sympathy, you know that. I don’t want people feeling bad for me.” You sighed.

“I don’t care Y/N, you’re gonna go pack up your stuff and you’re gonna come and stay here.” She was completely serious.

“I can’t just do that, not after everything with Eli. I can’t intrude on you, this is your home not mine.” You were so appreciative of this women, but the offering made you feel bad.

“You’ve never known how to take anything offered to you. Remember Y/N, I’ve known you since you were a little bump on your mom’s belly.” You couldn’t help but wrap your arms around her.

“That’s if it’s alright with you?” His mom said and you turned around to see Hawk watching.

“I don’t think I could want anything more.” He smiled lightly. You walked over to him, and for the first time in forever, you hugged him. He was hesitant at first, but was quick to wrap you in a tight embrace. Hawk never wanted this moment to end.

“You can have the guest bedroom, or maybe share a room with Eli when you get married one day? You can have any room you want apart from mine.” His mom said excitedly as the two of you were still hugging.

“Long shot for marriage Mom!”

“You’ve gotta promise me, that you and I won’t forget this, but we will forgive this. We got over the bullying, we can get over this. Okay?” You held up your little finger, he hooked his over yours as you two sealed the pack with a pinky promise.

“We can do this.” And you couldn’t help the chuckle that fell from your lips as his mom squealed in his excitement.

Maybe things were gonna change for the good rather than the bad this time.

[laboflove]

Oikawa & Iwa X FR

•Aged up•

Word Count- 2363

❗Warnings❗{Smut, angst, praising, infatuation, ridiculing, cheating, body shaming}

A/N: Thicc Y/N who's dating Oikawa and although he says he loves her it doesnt seem that way.

He smiles as he sees your eyebrows pushed together, you were always so cute when you were angry, he just wanted to keep making fun of you to see that face. "Tooru" you suddenly say making his smile fade, "Yeah?" He says confused and your phone buzzes, "Nevermind, I have to go, Iwa is here" you say then kiss his cheek before leaving.

A frown forms on his face as he sees you walk off, you were always hanging out with Iwaizumi. It made him mad because you were HIS girlfriend not Iwaizumi's. He huffs then leaves as well, whatever, hed just make you remember how great it is to date him.

You walk in to find him on your bed and he smiles, "Hey" you both say, you climb onto the bed forgetting about today at work and he pulls you onto his chest. "Did you gain weight? Damn" he says with a chuckle making the thoughts come back, "I think, I'll lose it dont worry" you whisper as you move off and onto the side.

He pulls you close, his hands trailing your body making you anxious, you werent skinny like other girls, you had curves and Oikawa would always tease you about it, middle school to now and you always tried to lose weight but youd gain it back. An endless cycle and honestly the last thing you wanted right now was for him to be touching you like this.

Yet you dont stop him, instead closing your eyes and trying to fall asleep but his hands get more touchy, soon enough spreading your legs. "Not tonight Tooru" and his frown appears again, that's the second time this week you've called him that. "Okay" he says then turns around and you both fall asleep, one angry and confused and the other filled with dark thoughts.

"I just dont understand, shes been calling me Tooru this entire week, why?" He says as he passes the ball to Iwa, "Its your name" He says making him huff. He knew it was his name but you've never called him that before, so why now?!

"I dont like it, she never calls me that so why now? Did I do something wrong?" He says and Iwa stops, "You always make fun of her, im surprised she hasn't dumped you yet" and Oikawa's mouth goes dry. His biggest worry, something he never wants to happen, for you two to break up, you meant everything to him, youd always lift him up, give him pointers and take care of him. You couldn't leave him, you're all he had.

"S-she knows I'm just kidding, I don't mean any of it" he says then the ball flies towards him, "Iwa-!", "It always sounds like you mean it, you tell her shes fat, that shes not pretty enough, that she isnt smart, terrible shit but you never say that you're just kidding. Even then you shouldnt say shit like that to someone who already deals with criticism as it is, you especially shouldn't say it to her because shes your goddam girlfriend" he leaves and Oikawa clenches his fists.

"Hey!" And he looks back, "Do you like her?!" He yells out earning a nod making his blood boil, "I've liked her since middle school, even more in high school and the most right now, but she made the stupidest decision on dating you" and he walks off again.

"Youd never leave me right?" He asks as he rests his head on your chest, you dont answer making him look up with dim eyes, "You would?" He asks and you sigh, "If something were to happen yes but just breaking up with you for no reason would not happen" and he nods. "Um, what would be the reason?" He whispers remembering the conversation with Iwa, "If one of us cheats, I'd never do it but well..." you stop and he looks up at you.

"I-im sorry, I'll never hurt you like that ever again, so please dont leave me" you nod then place a kiss on his head.

He looks back at the tv but hes barely focusing on it, only remembering that night. He was drunk, saying terrible stuff and when he woke up he found you in front of him, sitting down, looking super tired and your eyes were so dry and red. He didnt know why till he looked around and found unfamiliar clothes, women's clothes.

You didnt talk to him about it, none of you brought it up and soon you were both back to normal but he knew that all trust created was gone.

His thoughts are broken by the familiar buzz pattern and you pull the phone to your ear, "Hey" you say with a smile, why cant you smile like that when you talk to him? Why doesnt your voice get all cute and soft with him? Why is it only with Iwa?

"Oh I'm with Oikawa" you say as your hand runs through his hair, he smiles and even more as you rest it on his cheek. "I-iwa" your hand twitches slightly and he can feel your aura change, "Dont call me until your done with that crap, God, you're worse than Oikawa" you put your phone down and he looks up at you.

"What's wrong?" He asks but you shake your head, "Its nothing, just Iwa being a bit of an asshole" he nods and you look at the tv.

"He doesnt love you, he says all that shit which he shouldnt be saying, what if he cheats on you again huh? "

You let out a sigh then close your eyes, uh oh, you're pissed.

"Hey" you hear, turning around you see them and shoot a smile, "Hey guys" you say as you slowly come to a stop. "Whatre you doing here?" One asks, "Oh uh well you know working out" you say and they nod. "Any specific reason? You look perfect already" you laugh making them confused, "Yeah right, if I was Oikawa wouldnt judge me 24/7" you say and they tilt their heads.

"Anyways, I'm gonna get back to this" you say with a small smile and they head to the other side, "Whatre you thinking?" Akaashi asks as Bokuto glares in your direction. "I'm thinking that I want to kill Oikawa", "As much as I'd love to help you do that, its illegal" he says and he huffs. "Only if i get caught".

"Whatre you doing?" He asks as his arms wrap around your waist, you step off and you smile, "Yes" you say and he rubs your stomach, it's not as squishy as before. "I finally lost 15 pounds" you whisper with a large smile and although he should be congratulating you it doesnt make sense. "Whyd you lose weight?" He asks and you look back, "For you, you wanted me to lose it remember?" You say and he looks at you in the mirror.

"I'll love you no matter what", "Haha, yeah right Mr. I want a trophy wife who's beautiful and perfect" you say then move away, his heart clenches hearing you say the words he regrets telling you. He didn't want anyone but you.

"Y-you know I love you right?" He says and you look at him, you dont say anything making his heart break. "I do Tooru, it's just hard to believe" and he looks down, "Okay".

"Y/N" he says for the thousandth time this night, "Are you even listening to me?! It's like you dont care about me! You're always off with Iwaizumi doing God knows what! Why cant you just love me! Only me!" The tears keep falling but you dont look back and you dont let a sob escape. For three days it's been like this, him finding anything to ridicule about and making sure you knew how terrible of a girlfriend you were.

You stand then look at the tree your parents gave you, well it was meant for both of you, something to resemble your love for each other, always growing and alive till death.

A sigh escapes your lips and you walks up to it, "Just as I suspec-", "If I cut this down does that mean were done too?" You ask surprising him. "What does that mean?" He asks and you turn to look at him, "I want to break up" and he looks down. You're crying, you're actually crying, hes never seen you cry, you always refused to look at him whenever you did so hes never got to see it and he wishes he never did.

"Why?", "Why? Why?! Why else Tooru?! Every second I spend with you hurts me! The love in our relationship cant even compare to the amount of pain there is! You give me so much shit and i try to be better, i try to become someone perfect for you but theres always something! I dont love Iwa like I love you! I never have! I only love you but it's like you dont think i do! Even though you're the one that cheated! You're the one that broke the trust! I should've broke up with you before!" You cover your mouth realizing what you just said and you look away.

You were right but why did you say all that stuff to him, he looks at you but quickly looks away. "I'm leaving" you say then rush past him, "W-where are you going?" He asks as he follows you upstairs, you couldn't leave, not like this. He has to say sorry, he has to fix it, he cant lose you!

"I dont know but I cant stay here" you pack stuff up as you avoid his hands, "No" he suddenly says as you reach for the front door. "Bye" you leave in a rush and he looks around, "NO! GET BACK HERE!" and he falls to ground. It actually happened, you left him, you left him and it's his fault, who's going to love him now? Who's going to help him when he gets sick and who's he going to tease?

He leans in as he holds you close, "I love you" he whispers but you stop him, "Its been two months yet you still push me away", "I didnt have sex with Tooru till we were five months in" you say but he doesnt stop, "Oh c'mon, you know you want to so ju-", "Can you stop? I'm really not in the mood for anything like this" you say as you push his hands away from your stomach and thighs.

"Oh I get it" he says as he pins your hands above your head, "You think I'm like Oikawa, that I'll point out your flaws, that I'll think you're ugly, that I dont actually want you" he says into your ear and you look away, he was right and you both knew that. "Well guess what, we all have flaws, I dont think you're ugly and damn do I want you" he kisses you hard but your squirm in his embrace.

"N-no Iwa stop" you let out with a soft moan as he rubs his knee against your clothed heat, "Why? We both want this, you just cant admit it" his tongue trails up your neck as you resist him only making him want you more. "So soft and you always smell so good" he murmurs as you grind against his knee although your mind is saying you dont want this.

"So pretty, especially these moans" desperate whines leave your mouth as he slowly undresses you, "Heh, I think we should take this to the bed" he says as he looks down at your naked body.

Your arms cover yourself as much as they can as he lifts you bridal style, "M-maybe we should wait, i-i should lose a few m-", "Shut the hell up or else I will tie you up" you nod fast and he places you on the bed. "Fuck me" you turn red seeing his eyes take you in, he reaches for his shirt and you move up to help him but he pushes you down making you bounce a bit.

"Stay right there" he undresses as you watch, once hes done he spreads your legs making your body heat up and filling you with so many emotions. "So perfect" he says as he pushes in slowly, you hiss slightly at the feeling you havent felt in such a long time. "Ah- no, Haji-!" He thrusts harder and faster making the frame hit the wall, over and over.

"So warm, so tight and it feels so good" moans leave his mouth making you bite your lip, this felt so different, way too different. "Dont think about him" he says as he thrusts hard sending your eyes wide open, "I-I dont know how he fucked you, or if hes a goddamn sub but dont! Fucking! Think about him!" He growls out with a thrust each time, feeling angry that even now you're still thinking about him. "Sorrysorrysorry!"

Pants leave his mouth as cries leave yours, "God I love you, I love you so much" he mutters as he looks at your pink cheeks and tears falling down your face, he lowers next to your ear as one hand holds your thigh as the other holds your head close to him. "I love the way you just clamp around me" his hips slow down, grinding against you, "I feel like coming every time I thrust into you, that's how good you feel" you tighten around him as the praises keep coming.

Why did this feel so good? Just his words were getting you there and it was so embarrassing that he made you feel this way. "I just cant believe that the woman I've loved since I was 13 is finally mine, that were here together and you're in my arms" he stops to kiss you and you sniffle slightly, "You can come now" a soft cry fills the room as you come and he thrusts a bit more leading to groans and a warm feeling in your core.

"You're mine, only mine".

[tealwheelz01]

Popcorn and other Terran secrets

“So you’re telling me, that you Terrans explode these, ‘seeds’ by applying high levels of heat, before smothering them in butter and stuffing your gob with them? I mean, I like exploding things as much as the next guy, but sheesh, humans are next level!” The popping behind you escalates in volume as you spin to face Rocket. “Don’t knock it till you try it, fur-ball! There’s a reason people on my planet are in the midst of an obesity epidemic - this stuff tastes gooood!!” Ding! The microwave punctuates your point, disseminating the delicious salty aroma around the dining quarters. After a tedious (albeit highly necessary) week of ship maintenance - thanks Peter for flying into that meteor shower - the Guardians and yourself were having a well-deserved night off. You and your brother, Peter, had decided that a traditional movie night would be a nice way to end the week, and that obviously meant acquiring popcorn. You shuffled into the living area, plopping yourself down between Mantis on your left, and Gamora on your right. Peter and Drax were sitting on the couch to your right, and Groot and Rocket sat on the recliner to your left. “Oi sis, pass us some, will ya?” You grabbed a large handful, and then passed the bowl to Gamora for her to try. Peter, thinking Gamora would then pass the bowl onto him, eagerly put his hand out for the popcorn. But once Gamora had grabbed her portion, you swiftly snatched the bowl back and offered it to Mantis, who grabbed some with glee. “Oooh! This is strange! It’s like eating a golden salty cloud!” “Haha, yeah, I suppose it is,” you giggle back. Once Mantis has grabbed her second handful, you make the effort of going around to Rocket, Groot, and then across the room to Drax, all the while feeling Peter’s increasingly frustrated eyes on you. “Oh come on, Y/N! You’ve got to be joking!” “Sorry Petey!” You ruffle his hair. “ I just thought it would be nice if our non-Terran friends try some first. Show them some of the best food Earth has to offer.” You shrugged, “We wouldn’t want to be rude.” As you take your seat, Peter mumbles something about it being ‘his ship, his popcorn’, and hits play on the movie. Gamora quietly sniggers at his reaction, making you smirk. About half an hour into the movie, you’re eyes are fully glued to the screen. You’re watching The Breakfast Club, and you’re just starting t to get into the character's backstories, when Mantis pokes a finger into your side, making you gasp. “May I please have the salty clouds back? Y/N - did I startle you?” “Oh, ahh, sure Mantis. Peter, pass us the popcorn please?” You feel heat rising to your cheeks. You’d so far kept your ticklishness a secret from the Guardians, and you intended to keep it that way. Well, except for Peter, of course, but you were hoping he would never bring it up with the team. Begrudgingly, Peter hands you the bowl to give to Mantis, and again, you pass the bowl around, ensuring everyone gets a fair portion. Twenty minutes later, Mantis again pokes your side to get your attention. “Ack! Mantis, quit doing that!” You gasped. These unexpected attacks made it difficult to conceal your reactions. “I just wanted some more clouds. Why do you keep jumping and blushing whenever I poke you?” To prove her point, she poked you again between your ribs, this time making you squirm and bat her hand away. The Guardians had all turned to look at you both, and now you were sure your face was as red as a cherry. “Ahhh, I was just really distracted by the movie, and I… wasn’t expecting you to touch me.” “You’re not distracted now.” Mantis pointed out, again tweaking your side, this time, making you giggle. “Is someone feeling a bit ticklish, Y/N?” Oh no. You turned to look at your older brother, whose face was now smug with glee. He threw some popcorn on his mouth, crunching for dramatic effect. “No! I just -“ “I am Groot?” Peter smirked. “Well, Groot, ticklishness is a condition that effects,” Peter caught himself before he revealed he was subject to this weakness, too, “female Terrans, and it makes them -“ You shot up and placed a hand over mouth. You were NOT about to let Peter divulge your secret to the group. “Oi, Y/N, I wanna hear what Star-Squasch has to say!” “We’ll I don’t,” you growled to Rocket. Unfortunately for you, You suddenly felt two branches wrap around your arms, securing them behind you. “Groooooot!” You whined. “Oh, you are so much trouble!” Peter wiggled his eyebrows, standing up. “As I was saying before I was interrupted,” he began stalking towards you, “female Terrans have a particular weakness, where if you touch them in certain spots, they start laughing and squirming. Allow me to demonstrate.” You were frantic to free yourself, but despite your attempts, baby Groot had a surprisingly strong hold on you. “Peter, if you touch me, I swear I will - ahha!” “Yes?” Peter grinned evilly as he tasered your sides. Being your older brother, Peter had memorised all your worst spots. “PeeehtAAA!!! I’m gooonna, haha kill youuuu!” “Hmm, that’s not very nice, Y/N.” He moves to your tummy, making you fall to your knees and curl up on your side. Peter follows you down, switching between tasering your sides and spidering over your belly. “I seem to remember you keeping the popcorn from me, your loving brother. Plus, I just thought it would be nice if we show our non-Terran friends your sensitivities. Show them games the games Earth has to offer. We wouldn’t want to be rude.” He quoted back to you. “Peeheheter stahhp this isn’t funny!” “Actually Y/N, this is pretty funny,” Gamora laughed at your reactions. The way you were thrashing on the fish was far more entertaining than the movie. “This is both the funniest and stupidest thing I ever learned about Terrans! What kind of a species literally eats exploding food for fun, but can be reduced to a writhing maniac by a few touches?” “Rockehehet plehease help HAHA, HELP MEEE!” Tears had pooled in your eyes from mirth. Peter had moved his hands to your underarms. “Do you want to Rocket? Everyone can have a turn if they like.” “This is haha, this is nohoht whahahahat I meant!” The Guardians all slid to the floor to join you. Groot holding your arms securely above your head, while the others sat around your upper body. After some pointers from Peter, Gamora was wreaking havoc on your underarms, Rocket was brushing his tail all over your stomach, Drax was gently drilling into your hipbones and Mantis was just going wherever she pleased, laughing along with you. “HAHAHAHAHAHA GUYS STOHOHOP!!!!” “Alright, there’s one final place to try.” Peter moved towards your slippered feet, and as soon as you felt a hand gripping your ankle, you screamed. “PEHEHETERRRR NOT THERE, PLEAHEHESE!” “Sorry sis, I guess you should have thought about that before you kept the popcorn away from me.” Peter began scribbling all over your soles, causing your thrashing to become even more desperate, if possible. He took great care to slip between all your toes, switching between feet at random, and occasionally reaching up to get a jerk out of your patella. Finally, when your laughter became silent, Peter signalled to the others that it was time to stop. The others withdrew their hands (and branches) and Gamora helped you sit up. You gasped in lungfuls of air. “Youhou guys, hehe, are so mean!” “Guess you’d better watch yourself around here now we all know your secret.” Peter poked you once you, making you yelp once more. “Not sit down and watch the goddam greatest movie of all time!” You rolled your eyes at Peter’s 80s obsession. Yes, life with the Guardians sure would be interesting now that discovery had been made. You’d just have to make sure that the Guardians made another discovery about Peter. Because female Terrans are not the only ones with a ticklish secret.

[lovlydovlyjaycie]

Ævi - Frontlines

Hey again! This will be a continued series. The first Ævi series is in my masterlist and is only four parts. This is going to be a ongoing series, so there is going to be a lot more of Ævi to come. :)

Summary: Y/n or also known as Ævi has lived through varies of world events. Now it is 1941, she has excepted that some things cannot be changed so Loki has convinced Y/n to go to New York and live a normal life, a life Y/n always wanted. Or as normal it can be, because new introductions lead to events that didn’t go down in the history books.

Characters: Bucky Barnes x reader, Steve Rogers, Peggy, Loki, OC Vera

Warnings: Fluff, Violence, Angst, Me being sad writing this, we’re officially in Captain America the First Avenger now… So I guess spoilers? :( :( :(

Note: Omg.. When I tell you I have been dreading writing this part.. But like actually dreading.. Before I started writing this series I wanted it to be no more than 8 parts.. That obviously didn't work out

When I am writing and particularly writing about Bucky and y/n meeting again or them just being in love I always listen to Pirates of the Caribbean to the theme or Will and Elizabeth and I thought it would be good to share that with you guys. To get in the feels. Right now it jumps from POTC One day and the last minute or so from Drink up me hearties yo ho. I know it is so random, but I cannot get it out of my head.

Series masterlist

Part 13

It took me a minute to get here, but I was now in the Swiss Alps. I got word that this would be the next place the Howling commandos would go to. They think I'm dead, rightfully so, I fell off a train. Thinking about falling off that train with Bucky hurt, like someone was squishing my heart and I couldn't breathe. How was I gonna explain all of this. I should be dead. What are they gonna think of me being here, but Bucky is not. I sighed and brushed away a tear I felt rolling down my cheek.

I came here to help Steve, so that's what I'm gonna do. Ignore the pain for a second and help out.

I was hiding between the trees with a good out look on the headquarters. Nothing was going on yet. I knew Steve was gonna come soon, I just don't know when. I would need to tell him the truth about me. He's gonna hate me. I couldn't safe his best friend, but I'm alive.

These are times I really wished I was not immortal. Even Loki and Thor are not. They aged since I've met them, but me I'm still the exact same as I first was when I touched the stone. That stupid Life stone, but all I've seen is death. Sometimes I wished I never followed that man that gave me the box or I just had never opened the box.

I sat down against a tree and sighed again. What if all of that never happened? I would be with my friends and family. I have not seen them in almost a thousand years. I am not sure if I even remember their faces. I know I look like my mom, but now I can't imagine what she looks like anymore. It is awful. I am not even sure if I would recognize my own mom if I walked past her.

And the worst part of it all, the most selfish part. It hasn't even happened yet. Nobody is worrying about me being gone. Nobody is looking for me. Nobody is sad that I'm gone. Nobody even knows that I'm gone. I got blasted to the past in 2010 and it's 1945 now. In the mean time I have lived for a thousand years, but no one knows, No one human.

I'm not even sure if I want to go back to Sweden in 2010. Because I know I am not the same person I once was. I know I am not the same person they saw on my last day with them. Maybe one day I will go back to them, but certainly not the same day I had left them.

I shook my head. This was absolutely ridiculous. Of all people why me? Why let me be the protector of Life, yet I am always surrounded by death. Maybe it was time to fully use the Life stone. It has been under a protection spell from Frigga for hundreds of years so I won't be a beacon of power that attracts the wrong people. But because of that spell I never really found out what I could do exactly with my power. Sure I am still strong and I can heal wounds, but what is the extend of my full power? What if I could've helped Bucky... "These Hydra people." I scoffed to myself. Another thing that made me angry. Hydra. Before I got zapped back in time I studied history and never once was there anything mentioned about Hydra. But why? They have done all these horrible things, yet I have never heard anybody say a word about it. How is that even possible..-

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud explosion. I looked up and saw Steve zoom by on his motorcycle. Immediately the bunker started blasting at Steve as soon as they saw him. I kept looking at Steve ready to jump in any moment, but he pressed a button on his motorcycle and made the canon of the bunker explode and he got in with ease.

Steve was doing an amazing job fighting everybody off. He made men go down with ease until he was outnumbered. "Shit." I muttered to myself. I made a move to stand up hand grabbed my shoulder. I swiftly turned around ready to hit whoever grabbed my shoulder, until I realized it was Peggy.

"Y/n?" She said with shock in her eyes. Behind her I could see the colonel and soldiers. This was part of the plan. "How.. How are you alive?" Peggy stammered. I wasn't sure if now was the right time to explain everything to them if they were in the middle of their plan. So I decided to leap forward and embrace her.

"I'll explain everything later, but right now tell me what to do." Peggy let go of me and started to quickly explain that they had caught Dr. Zola and he told them that they were going to drop bombs and we needed to prevent that from happening.

"Move out!" Colonel Philips yelled. He gave me a gun indicating I was gonna fight with them. I followed after them and left and right people were being shot at by Hydra and vaporizing into tin air. Peggy was running next to me. We were both trying to shoot anybody that was a threat and they were trying to shoot us. The closer we got the bigger of a target we were. One Hydra agent got a little too close to Peggy and tried to shoot her, but I quickly moved my arm in the way and my bracelets that covered my lower arms caught the blast. I quickly looked up at Peggy who was looking at me in utter shock. But I turned back to the Hydra agent and ran towards him. I leaped forward and kicked him in his chest, knocking him out.

Peggy came running next to me. "You'll explain later?" She said with a smirk. "I'll explain later." I told her as I grabbed the gun from the soldier.

We both ran inside the facility taking out other Hydra agents while also losing some of our soldiers. The Hydra agents that were blocking our way were almost taken out when one spoke up. "Cut of one head, two-.." And I shot him. "Sorry? What was that? You didn't finish." I said with a smirk.

"Alright this way y/n." Peggy told me. "No, you go. There are more of them here and I'll make sure nobody will surprise you from behind. Now go!" I yelled as I ran the other direction.

And on que more agents emerged. I shot at them and one by one they were all turning into dust. For a second I looked down at the gun. I was amazed that this gun was powered basically by a grain of sand that was from the Tesserect. Only gives me more reason to find the full Tesserect. I shook my thoughts away and started looking for it. The Tesserect might be in a lab and if that ugly red skull is there as well it would just be a bonus. As I started running I realized something.

"SHIT!" It's not gonna be in some lab. Hydra is gonna bomb cities in a plane. He and the Tesserect are on the Goddammed plane. "FUCK!" I yelled to myself as I turned around and started running into the direction Peggy went.

How could I not have thought of that? My mind is so distracted I need to focus. As I ran through the hall I saw soldiers laying on the ground. It pained my heart seeing them. But I will not let their lives be waisted. They can't win, Hydra can't win.

I ran though a big door and ended up in a enormous hallway. This is probably where the plane was, but it was gone. People were still fighting.

"Y/n?" I heard Gabe yell from behind me. I turned around and saw him fighting off a Hydra agent. I ran towards him and kicked the agent off and he slammed into the wall. I put my hand up for Gabe to grab and he did that. "I thought.. Steve and I both thought you and Buck-.." I looked down and shook my head.

"Your ok I see." He said as he gave me a quick hug.

"We still got some things to do. The hugging can wait." Colonel Phillips said as he stepped out of a car with Peggy. I let go of Gabe and walked over to Peggy following her. "Where's Steve? I thought he was gonna be with you." I asked her, my mind running with all the things that could have happened to him.

"He is on the plane. He is going to stop it." She told me while having a quick pace.

We all went to the control tower waiting for a response from Steve. It was all nerve wrecking. Steve was up against someone alone in a plane. And in the mean time more Hydra agents had showed up. Colonel Phillips had ordered the soldiers to fight them off while we waited for a response from Steve.

All the wile I could only think that we could not lose. So many people have lost their lives. Because of this stupid war, because of Hydra. So many innocents. They need to be avenged. And Steve has the power to do that. He needs to stop that plane and prevent more people from losing their lives.

"Come in this is Captain Rogers. Do you read me?" We heard over the radio. Peggy immediately went over to the speakers.

"Steve is that you? Are you alright?" Peggy asked in concern. "Peggy, Schmidt's dead!" Steve said over the coms. Relief washed over me. It is done then, we won.

"What about the plane?" Peggy asked Steve. "That's a bit tougher to explain." Steve answered back. There has got the be some place where he can safely land.

"Give me your coordinates, I'll give you a safe landing site." She pressed on. My heart was pounding. We won right? I was a bit unsure now. I didn't like the way this was going.

"That's not gonna be a safe landing, but I can try and force it down." Steve explained. Colonel Phillips tapped my shoulder and pointed to the door. I closed my eyes. I knew where this was going.

We walked out of the room and everything started to blur. We had to win. Steve coming back alive is us winning. We had to win. Everyone in the hall was quiet, besides the gunshots you could still hear from outside. I think we were all trying to listen to what the conversation was with Peggy and Steve.

In just three days time I can not lose.. I can not lose two people I care about. "Please live Steve." I whispered to myself as I looked down.

"This is my choice." I heard Steve say faintly over the coms. "No." I whispered as I shook my head. My heart was pounding so fast I could feel it in my ears. I felt so powerless. Please live. I thought to myself again and again. "Please live, you're a good man Steve." I said quietly to myself again. Anticipating what would come next.

I heard them talk about a dance. Scheduling a date.

"I'll show you how. Just be there." Peggy said her voice wavering.

"We'll have the band play something slow. I'd hate to step on your..." Silence.

I took a few steps back until I was leaning against the wall and closed my eyes for a second. We won, but what did we lose? I let out a wavering breath. I felt myself turn hot. Again I thought of why this was not in any of the history books. I never learned about Hydra, Captain America or the Howling commandos. Was this all for nothing.

My anger was boiling inside of me. All these lives lost.. and for what? I failed, I failed to do the one thing I was supposed to do.

Then something clicked in my mind. If all of this was not important enough to be written down and remembered in books, I'll make sure there is nothing to remember. I am going to kill all the Hydra agents, every last one of them.

I took a deep breath and stood up right and started to head towards the gunshots that were still going on outside.

"Where are you going Ironside?" Colonel Phillips asked.

"To do something I should've done right from the beginning." i yelled back as I went for the door.

As I came to the entrance our soldiers were taking cover. We had the facility. But the Hydra agents were still shooting trying to get through and there were a lot more than I initially expected.

"What are you doing here?! Take cover!" Gabe yelled from his hiding spot at me. I gave him one look before ignoring him and walking straight into the line of fire.

My hands started to glow and I put them in front of me to catch all the blasts that were coming my way. Their guns were strong but I was stronger. Soon everybody from Hydra was shooting at me while I still walked forward. I wanted to be far enough away from my soldiers.

"Y/n!" Gabe yelled after me.

The magic glow started to slowly surround me doing it's job of protecting me.

When I was far enough I closed my hands making fists. "You get what you deserve." I said quietly. I closed my eyes, trying to focus on my power. Where it was coming from and where I wanted it to go. I felt it the power all over my body, but it was the strongest by my heart. I felt it was contained, caged almost. I took a deep breath.

And in one swift motion I opened my hands and put my arms up to my side.

Gold and white glow blasted out and swirled all around me, it made me slowly float in the air. It became bigger and bigger quickly and as soon as it hit the agents it vaporized, leaving nothing behind. In seconds the Hydra agents the were attacking us were completely gone.

This power felt great. Finally it was being let out after so long. They were getting what they deserved. All of them.

"Y/N! Y/N!" I heard someone yelling from behind me. I turned around. It was Peggy with fear written all over her face.

...

..

1972

"Love, you are losing yourself with all this power. You need to control it or it will control you." Loki told me with seriousness in his eyes. "Look around you. Look what it is destroying." I looked up at him. His eyes looked full of sorrow. He was right.

I turned around. Kattegat. All the memories I had here. It was all gone now.

..

.

To be continued

Next: Ævi - The Battles That Are Fought

Let me know what you think :)

Sorry it took so long with this one, I had a busy few weeks :(

Let me know if you wanna be tagged!!

@darkdragonphoenix

@toribentleyva

@witchinpractice

@cat-astrophe4

@bluemoon-icecream

[inknopewetrust]

Hey 👋 could you write something where detective Loki and a female reader have to go undercover and pretend to be dating/married? Idk if detectives actually do this but I just think it’s cute lol. Thank you ❤️❤️ hope you’re well :))

a small distraction

Pairing: Detective David Loki x Female Reader

Word Count: 1318 

Warnings: 007 sly and sexy but nothing major. 

A/N: I tried to give this maybe a James Bond, noir style feel but I can’t tell you if it worked. Thanks so much for the request! Requests are OPEN! Please see request guidelines for what you need to do to request one or just shoot me a dm and ask! Request guidelines also have who I write for! 

“I can’t believe we have to do this.” You sighed and rolled your eyes subconsciously as Loki closed the hotel door behind you, slipping the key into his wallet which found itself inside his suit jacket’s pocket.

“It’s part of the job, L/n. We’re just going to have to get used to it.” He reminded you without any hesitation or waver in his voice to make you believe that he disagreed with what the department has put the both of you up to.

Ever since the two of you left Conyers six years ago, working for the feds has been nothing but an interesting and many times, frustrating experience.

“Loki, I just don’t understand why they always have to dress me down like this? I’m not a goddam hooker and I certainly wouldn’t dress like this to go to a casino.”

“It’s not just any casino, and it’s also a poker game where the target will be. You know Carlton said that it would be a ‘welcome distraction’ for the players and he knows that if I can call a bluff to mess up the game, it will be you who causes the distraction.”

“And that’s not sexist to you?” You asked, flabbergasted as he pressed the down arrow on the elevator.

“Most definitely it is. I didn’t say it wasn’t. And if I were Carlton I would have found a different use for you so you’re more than an object but right now you need to play my wife and we are supposed to be happily married-“

The elevator door opened with a ping and you both stepped inside, Loki closer than he would normally stand and trying to find the undercover character of Mr. John Hackett, your “husband.”

“-so we should probably act like it.”

Unbeknownst to each other, faking it wouldn’t be difficult to do. Friends for a long time but longing love birds for years. You two understood one another like no one else so it was only natural it would evolve into something more, but every time it reached a possible turning point, something happened to mess it up.

“Level 3” the elevator sounded and Loki slipped his hand into yours with ease, as if he had done it a million times before.

“Now, Mrs. Hackett, I would love it if you would accompany me to this poker game.” He said, completely and uncharacteristically not Loki but he played it good.

“Of course. Who could refuse you?”

The game dragged on and on as the night wore thin. You stirred a drink at the bar as Loki continued to sit there across from the con man you were trying to catch. If the agency stormed the casino now it would be all over, you thought to yourself, but of course that would be too easy.

While you sat in your thoughts you neglected to see Loki make his way towards you until he was next to you, his hand slipping around your waist lowly and he head came you rest on your shoulder. It was intimate, unexpected, and yet welcome.

“I know he’s bluffing.” Loki whispered in your ear and you hummed in return.

“This will all be over soon and then we can get out of here and go home. There’s two other agents in the room who will get him on the way out of the building so we are off the hook when the game is done.”

“I guess you didn’t need me after all.” You huffed and pushed your glass away from your hand on the bar. Loki let go and shook his head, his hand raising to call over the bartender.

“Whiskey sour and a dry martini but send them to room 604.” He told him and the man nodded and left to attend to another guest.

“Not yet.” He answers your question and met your eyes in total confidence.

“I’m going to need you to do something for me.”

“And what is that?” You asked him with unease but you trusted Loki with your life, so it couldn’t be anything that put you in danger.

“In about five minutes, the last two players will fold and it will be only us left. I need you to distract him so he loses focus on the game.”

“You said you knew he was bluffing.”

“Yeah I did but the two other players are his incase he loses. I know they’re bluffing to because the other agents have been signaling behind them all night. All I need for you to do is come and wish me a goodnight and good luck and retire to the room, ok?”

“That’s not all, is it?”

“No.”

That’s all you needed to know before he left and returned to the table. In five minutes, just as he said, the two men folded and left the table. You checked the clock on the wall and let out a fake yawn before grabbing your purse and slinking over to your partner in the chair.

Hell, if this wasn’t something you envisioned in a dream, you didn’t know what was.

Loki diverted his attention away from the table to you and suddenly forgot the undercover plan and all he could see was you, his partner, the sexy, beautiful, smart woman he had fallen in love with over the years but had never said anything.

You reached his chair and rested your hands on his shoulders, rubbing them gently, sweetly, like a wife would. You smiled at the man across from him, the target.

“Sorry to interrupt gentlemen, I just wanted to wish my husband goodnight.”

“It’s not a problem Mrs. Hackett.” The man said and was not sly about taking in your appearance.

“I’m going to bed; I’ve sent up dinner so when your done it will be ready for you.” You told Loki and he nodded, kissing the palm of one of your hands that just made the butterflies in your stomach explode.

“That sounds fine, thank you.” He said and you nodded leaning down and placing a tender kiss on his lips before pulling away.

“I’ll be waiting for you.” You whispered to him quietly with your eyes telling him exactly what he wanted to know.

“I love you.” He almost blurted out and you tried to not look shocked but you felt it on the inside. You smiled gently and kissed him briefly once more with a little more passion in it. In its brief happening, the target was entranced by you so there was enough of a distraction, leaving Loki more than satisfied with both the game and his feelings.

“I love you too.” You said and left the table and went back to the room, knowing full well you both meant what you said.

bonus

As soon as the game was over and Loki new the target was out of the building and in the agency’s hands, he rushed back up to the room where you sat at the small table in the room with the two drinks he ordered and some pastries you had sent up but he was more distracted by the robe you had on and the lack of clothes underneath it.

“It worked?” You asked and he nodded. He came and knelt beside you instead of sitting in the chair and looked at you seriously.

“I meant what I said.”

“I know you did. I did too.”

“Good.”

“Good.” You replied and he made his way back to standing straight but captured your lips with his on the way up, his hands resting on both sides of your face, deepening the kiss almost immediately.

The events of the rest of the night were a good distraction from the events going on in the world because in the middle of the night when you were both sleeping soundly against one another, the phone rang saying the target got away.

[hypnoticwinter]

Down the Rabbit Hole part 31

Fumi hauls me to my feet and I cry out as I put my leg wrong. He glares back at me as I cling onto him. The boot’s come loose and I kneel down quickly and tug at the straps.

“Goddam it!” he cries. “We have to go,” he tells me, tugging again at my shoulder, and I bat at him.

“Give me a fucking second!”

“We don’t have a second!”

The metal groans again and there are more screams from outside in the main control room. The man I’ve clobbered is trying to get to his feet but he seems terribly dazed. There’s blood all down his front from where I’ve hit him and his nose is crooked now. He glares at me with watery eyes full of fear.

“You broke my nose,” he moans. I ignore him, ignore the pang of guilt and fear wealing my stomach, force my hands to stop shaking and grab the tabs of the Velcro straps and pull them tight. Snap, snap. There. I wiggle my foot experimentally before Fumi yanks at me again and tugs me out into the control room.

“Watch it!” I tell him, but he shakes his head brusquely. His eyes are very dark. “Wait,” I say, glancing backwards. “The guy…”

The ceiling of the control room is crunched inwards like an enormous tooth has dug against it. There’s a tear in the metal and past the sparking wires and torn, serrated edges, I can see the wet, glistening throat of the Pit staring back at me.

Everyone has rushed outside, left the door hanging open. I can hear yells and cries from the stairs leading back the way we came. There’s the sound of movement in the conference room and then the man I punched comes rushing out and sprints past us, heading for the door. He slams into it and then flings it open and vanishes downwards, rushing like the devil were chasing him.

“Do you have the key?” Fumi asks me, and I shut my mouth and nod.

“Yes, right here.”

He tugs me away from the control room and down the staircase on the other side. We go down three flights, Fumi waiting impatiently at each landing, glaring back up at me as I hobble down as quickly as I can, and then we come to a door marked ‘Armory’ that my key fits into. Fumi pushes past me roughly and I smack him.

“What the fuck is your problem –“ I start, but Fumi rounds on me. Although he isn’t tall he’s still taller than I am and when he puts his finger in my face I feel a little tremble of fear rumble somewhere deep down inside me. I can’t piss him off, I can’t ruin this, I can’t do this on my own…

“Merriweather,” he says, and my mouth drops open. I never told him, I realize, I never told him I wasn’t from Admin, he doesn’t know…

“I’m warning you,” he continues, “the only reason I agreed to do this was because nobody else was going to go down and get Elena out, and no matter what my personal opinion of her is, I’m not about to leave her behind down there. I don’t know who you are or where you came from or what the hell they were teaching you in Admin, but if you’re going to pretend to be a fucking commando down here and deck people whenever the hell you feel like it you’re going to be walking home, because I am not about to get any more people hurt because of a goddam loose cannon like you.”

While he was chewing me out my emotions had shifted from shame and embarrassment to something approaching rage. I clench my fist hard enough that I can feel my nails dig into the soft part of my palm. “Fumi,” I hiss, “how the fuck did you want to get that key? You asking politely didn’t work. Makado wouldn’t give you permission, especially if she knew you were with me. What were we supposed to do?”

“Did you ever think I don’t want to be in trouble?” he snarls, shoving a bulky shotgun into my hands. “Did you ever think that maybe I was putting my own neck on the line getting you out of those cuffs? And now if they think I’m helping a fucking criminal escape from FBI custody -” I pull the pump back and peer into the chamber and then notice that he’s giving me an appraising frown.

“What?” I ask. “I’m listening.”

“How come you know so much about guns?” he asks me, and I roll my eyes.

“What, just because I’m a girl means I can’t know anything about firearms?”

“I saw your qualifications at the pistol range,” he tells me. “You were shit, you couldn’t hit a damn thing.”

“I’m not good with pistols,” I tell him primly. “Pass the .45 ammo, please.”

Before I can grab it from him there’s another groan of metal and the Control Center lurches below us. I fall against a rack of slug rifles and the little .45 cartridges rain down on me like marbles. “Ow, fuck.”

“Sorry,” he says, grabbing another box and tossing it to me.

“Did you see any magazines? I’ve only got two,” I say, patting my belt.

“Just grab all the shit you can carry and scram,” he tells me. “We’ve only got so much time before –“

I don’t get to hear the end of the sentence. There is another sickening lurch and then my stomach drifts up into my throat. We’re in freefall. I have just enough time to throw myself over to Fumi and grab onto the equipment rack behind him before the metal puck of the Control Center lands hard enough to force the breath out of me, to force a scream from between my lips, to force the light out of my eyes.

 * * *

 I wake quickly, or at least it seems like I do. I push myself up off of Fumi and glare around at the inside of the armory, pitch black now that the lights have gone out, even the red emergency lights, flickering ominously in the dingy stairwell before. I open my mouth, lick my lips.

“Fumi?” I whisper.

We seem to have come to a stop at this point. I recall a sensation of sliding or slipping, like my insides were moving and sort of dragging the rest of me along behind them, but now it’s stopped. I feel a little scared to stand up and start moving around, like if I do I’ll untip some sort of delicate balance the Control Center has struck with whatever it’s resting on and send it careening off into the abyss. What’s even below here, anyway? What have we landed on? I guess I sort of assumed the Pit’s gullet was an analogue for a throat and that if you go down far enough there’s some kind of stomach or something, but if that’s true then what the hell have we landed on…

Fumi grunts next to me and I reach down and after some fumbling unclip the flashlight from my belt and click it on.”Fumi,” I whisper again. “Fumi, wake up.”

“Fuck,” he groans, sitting up slowly, and I feel the relief pour into me.

“Oh, thank god,” I murmur. I feel a sudden urge to hug him but stuff it back down. “Are you okay?” I ask instead. “We landed pretty hard, but I’m not sure what on…”

“I don’t know either,” he says. “Maybe the wreck of the old Lower Visitor Center, bits of it are still lodged deeper in the gullet, it’s possible the Control Center could have landed on top of it, but I don’t know if that might knock the LVC loose itself.”

I get to my feet. It seems like we’ve leveled out again, one way or another, but the feeling makes me uneasy now, like we might slip off of whatever ledge we’re resting on. “Well, we seem stable enough,” I say, hoping that by saying it it’ll make it true. “How can we get out of here?”

Fumi sighs heavily, taking my proffered hand. The man is heavy in his suit – hell, he’d be heavy without the suit – but I manage to get him to his feet and he nods to the door.

I follow Fumi wordlessly down the stairs, the few utility pockets on my suit filled with pistol rounds and a couple of spare magazines I managed to grab. I’ll load them later, we’ll have time later. Right now just being in this – in this tomb is making me feel antsy.

“I hope everyone got out,” I murmur. Fumi snorts.

“What do you care?” he asks. My mouth drops open in shock but I bite back the angry reply rising to my lips.

“Look,” I tell him as he motions me forward to help him with a particularly recalcitrant door, “I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t break my nose,” he points out, and I roll my eyes. I yank again at the door but it refuses to budge.

“I’m not apologizing for that,” I tell him. “I’m apologizing for dragging you into this.”

Fumi leans up against the door, inclines his head my way. His eyes are dark but less so than before, I think. “I could make excuses,” I continue, gesturing. “I could tell you that I didn’t have any place left to go, I didn’t know what else to do, that I was terrified that I’d lose Elena…shit, that I still am terrified that I will lose Elena. I told you that Makado was setting me up but there’s a lot that you still don’t know, and I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you everything back up on the surface before letting you decide if you wanted to help me out on my damn-fool errand down here. I was scared and I made a stupid decision and I’m sorry. If you want to leave me down here I won’t blame you. I don’t know if I have time to help you get back to the surface but I’ll –“

“I’m not going anywhere,” he tells me. “And you don’t have to be sorry. I got angry back there because I didn’t want anyone to get hurt, that’s all. I’m glad we got the armory key. Now let’s just keep moving.”

I can sense that there’s more lurking beneath the surface but I don’t press it. After five minutes or so of strenuous pulling we finally unstick the door and stumble outside onto a torn gantry leading to nowhere and there just below is the stained and pitted remains of the Lower Visitor Center, dented and scraped and masticated but still mostly intact, lodged sideways in the Pit’s throat. Fumi gives me a significant glance.

“I think we just found our way out of here,” he says, pointing to a shattered window up ahead. Something about it makes me shudder, the fact that it’s still here, the fact that even though all this happened four years ago nothing’s been done to clean it up, nothing’s changed, it’s just lodged here slowly slipping down and down and down…

Fumi helps me through the window, carefully and slowly so that I don’t catch my suit and tear it on any of the jagged edges of the reinforced glass still lodged in the windowframe. It’s a short drop and I take it hard, but only because I try to land on my good left leg, keeping the right tucked up beneath me. I wobble but don’t fall. There’s all kinds of crap on the floor – dirt, debris, glass, cracked tiles, papers, everything. I don’t have time to take a good look around before I turn back around and help Fumi through the window as well, and then once we’ve inspected each other’s suits for tears I finally get a chance to inspect the scenery, my horribly inadequate flashlight playing over the surfaces of the ruined concourse, giving me tiny snapshots of long-faded glory days. I see posters showing smiling people eating and shopping, I see rows and rows of merchandise still in shelves, flipped over and disheveled but perfectly good. Everything is stained and dirty and covered in what I think is rust but upon closer inspection is a kind of filmy dried ichor.

I look out over the balcony which I can see now opens over a yawning hole in the floor, the ropy flesh of the Pit’s gullet clenching together beneath it, pale and sluglike and sickening, and try to imagine what it must have looked like back in its heyday.

“This must really have been something,” I murmur, glancing over at Fumi. Even he looks a little awed at our surroundings. “Did you ever come here while it was still up and running?”

“When I was a kid,” he says. “I only joined after the disaster. 2008, to be specific.”

I offer a grunted acknowledgement but I’m too busy gawking to give him anything more substantial than that.

A horrible thought occurs to me as I edge a little closer to the bannister, lean out over it and glare down at the murky darkness below, swallowing up the light like it were hungry for it. “Fumi, are we…trapped in here now?”

He shrugs. “Probably not. I mean, it was easy enough to get in, wasn’t it? If we felt like it we could go right back out again the same way and walk around up on the roof of this place for a while and see if there was somewhere we could climb to.”

“But there isn’t, I don’t know, a passageway that leads down here? Something they put in after 2007?”

“No, there’s nothing like that. They haven’t done any major construction in the Pit after the disaster. Probably the biggest thing of that nature that’s been done is what Makado did with that Tunneler earlier today.”

I shudder to think about it. “Seemed like the Pit didn’t like it very much.”

Fumi shrugs. “Those are the things they used back in the day. If it pitched this much of a fit every time they used them I think they probably wouldn’t have gotten so much done with them. Maybe Makado’s right and the Pit is starting to wake up. She did say back in Oyster’s shame that that’s what the science department thought, anyway.”

“I just didn’t know that the Pit could move,” I say. “I didn’t know it had fucking tentacles.”

“They came out in 2007,” Fumi starts, leaning on the bannister next to me. It groans under the extra weight and we both back away hurriedly and look for someplace a little safer to rest. “They came out in 2007. Miles away in some places, just giant masses of flesh bursting out of the ground. Nowhere civilized, thank goodness.”

“I’d never heard of that,” I murmur. “I wonder if they were trying to hush it up.”

“I don’t know,” Fumi shrugs. “Maybe. In Ranger training they show you videos of some of them, sort of like a ‘this-is-why-this-is-so-important’ type thing. They had this CGI mockup of Lubbock and showed the devastation if a tentacle like that were to sprout up there and go nuts.”

“It reaches as far as Lubbock?”

“I don’t think so,” Fumi says. “But who knows. Maybe if you go deep enough down…”

The thought makes me shudder. We sit there for another five minutes or so, breathing the musty Pit air flowing through the ruined Visitor Center and imagining what might be lurking further in waiting for us. Anything nasty hiding down there in the dark? Possibly. I ask Fumi about it but he just shrugs. He was never much of a biologist, he says, but he thinks there probably isn’t enough to eat, not enough food. Little stuff, maybe, but nothing big, nothing like the copepod we met on the way in.

It reassures me a little. Not a ton, but a little. I get up; Fumi rises and offers to help me but I wave him away. If I can’t at least stand up by myself, even with the boot on, I shouldn’t be down here.

“We need a plan,” I tell him, and Fumi nods.

Together, over about fifteen minutes or so, we go through a list of abandoned ranger stations and listening posts Elena could have reached from the bottom of the Cord near Oyster’s Shame. Some Fumi dismisses as being in too dangerous territory for Elena to have risked it, others Fumi suggests would have had no medical supplies or are too derelict to be attractive. We go through this on the little map on his wristpad, huddled together, sweat pouring down my back in the hot suit. I could snap the helmet down and have the climate control start up automatically but I don’t want to waste the battery. Something is niggling at me as Fumi runs down the list of stations, eliminating one or two more but leaving them sidelined as possibilities, to potentially check after we’ve gone through everywhere else. I bite my lip and then reluctantly force myself to ask:

“Fumi, it’s been almost two days now since I saw her. Are any of these stations going to have medical supplies that would help her deal with a hole through her abdomen for that long?”

Fumi is silent for a long while and then, finally, he shakes his head. “No,” he says. “I don’t think so, no.”

It’s what a horrible little part of me expected to hear, I guess, but it doesn’t stop the bottom of my stomach falling out when he says it. “God damn it,” I mutter.

“It doesn’t mean she’s dead,” Fumi says, quickly. “She could have –“

“What do you need to treat a gunshot wound like that, Fumi?” I ask, gesticulating. “You need sutures, you need to poke around in there and make sure little parts of the bullet aren’t left inside, you need actual surgery. Maybe some gauze and painkillers and adrenaline would keep her going for a while but for this long? If she isn’t dead then she has an infection that’s going to kill her in –“

“Roan, stop.”

I wipe at my eyes, furious with myself for crying, furious for letting her –

“Stop.”

“I’ve dragged you into this too,” I murmur, glaring at him. “I just ruin – I ruin everything I touch, everything just turns to shit, it’s like I can’t –“

“You’re spiraling right now. You know that, right?”

“I’m not spiraling.”

Fumi crosses his arms. Behind him the shattered glass of a storefront shows a poster of a plush…thing, looking like a frilly folded stingray, with a long proboscis. “’Mini Daves,’ 50% off,” the poster reads. I frown at it and then tear my eyes away, drag them back to Fumi. I’m not getting distracted, I want to be mad, I want to be furious, at myself, at Fumi, at Elena and Erica and Makado, at something. Fumi sees the look in my eyes and puts his hands up in a placating gesture. “I want to fucking punch something,” I tell him, very seriously, and he at least has the good grace not to laugh at me and my little noodly arms punching something. Although, to be fair, I did just break a man’s nose maybe about twenty minutes ago, so there’s that.

I can still feel his nose breaking beneath my fist, can still feel the imprint of it, can still feel the bone-deep ache of it. Punching someone isn’t like in the movies, it hurts. Stand a cinderblock up on a tree stump and punch it. Hitting someone in the face is easier on your knuckles but just as hard on your joints and bones. The skull is solid.

“What am I going to do if she’s dead?” I ask Fumi.

“Roan,” he says, putting his arm around me with a slow gesture like he’s afraid I might hiss at him like a cat and scratch his eyes out, “even if she’s dead we can still get her body. We can show her the respect she deserves. That at the very least is worth going on for.”

I swallow hard and then reluctantly lean into him. It feels nice, having an arm around me and a warm body nearby. I take a deep breath and then let it out again. “Okay,” I murmur. Ahead of us, in a little free-standing pylon, is a poster advertising the ballast bulbs. “Healing waters!” it says. “Adult fun!” it proclaims. I look at the wide grins of the people in the photos, notice how a couple of them are twisted lasciviously, how in one of the photos, one of the women’s bikini tops is a little askew, at how the man standing next to her very clearly has his hand on her ass and squeezing tightly. I –

My mouth drops open. Fumi glances over at me curiously. “Fumi,” I mutter. “Would Elena have been able to reach the ballast bulbs from the Cord?”

He thinks about it for a moment “I think so, maybe.”

“Then she must have gone there,” I tell him. I can feel an idiot grin spreading across my cheeks. “She just must have. She would have known none of the other ranger stations nearby would have had anything to keep her going, the ballast, wouldn’t it have – wouldn’t it have healed her?”

“I don’t know,” Fumi says. “Maybe. There were never any tests done on major trauma like that. It might have, but…”

“Think about it,” I tell him. “It would have been her only shot. Right?”

He sighs. “Roan, I don’t know…”

“Fuck it,” I blurt. “Even if it’s a long shot it’s the only thing we’ve got to go off of. It’s either she’s maybe alive in the Domes right now or she’s dead in a ranger station someplace deeper, right? So it’s worth checking.”

“Okay, fine. It’s worth checking.”

“So how do we get there from here?” I ask. “You’re the ranger, you’re going to know this place better than I do.”

We spend the next thirty minutes or so poring over the little 3-D maps stored in our suits’ computer drives. It’s limited and sketchy in places – a result, Fumi says, of the Pit’s movements and shifts slowly making the maps inadequate and out of date. The area around the wrecked LVC is the sketchiest of all, just because it’s a no-go zone for Company personnel, orders passed down from high up, making sure nobody disturbs the wreckage or manages to dislodge it and let it slip further down the gullet. He sees my worried look and waves it aside. Two people moving around inside aren’t going to cause any trouble.

Eventually we have a plan, although not, in my opinion, a particularly good one. There’s a way to get to the passage to the ballast bulbs, Fumi thinks, through a puckered dent in the side of the LVC, but after that it’ll be an eight-foot drop onto a metal gantry that may or may not be still intact or still walkable that should then lead us downwards into a esophageal opening that will let us detour back around to the ballast bulbs, although there’s a chance we might instead slip into a digestion sink and die a horrible death over a course of several hours.

No matter how unlikely Fumi assures me that last part is, just him saying it makes me worry. I remember the first time I watched Return of the Jedi I had nightmares for a week straight about that horrible mouth thing in the ground. I’d wake up with all my covers thrown off and covered in sweat with a terrible, suffocating dream retreating from my waking mind like a puff of smoke. I was eight or so, so maybe it was excusable, but I remember it striking some as-yet-unplucked string of horror somewhere deep in me, which looking back on it is a little strange as I’ve never been incredibly claustrophobic. Maybe it’s the concept of being eaten that does it, I remember feeling the same horrible tingling cringe aching its way up my back and setting my nerves on edge while I watched that bird thing wing away into the darkness with Marcus’ limp body in its claws.

We’ve rested long enough. It might not be a good plan but it’s a plan, and I’ll take it.

But before we can get moving, the radios at our waists crackle into life, and I hear Makado’s clipped, angry voice calling my name.

 * * *

“Roan Dzilenski,” Makado says, then repeats it again. “Roan Dzilenski, come in. Roan, come in, over.”

I reach down for the radio but Fumi grabs my wrist and shakes his head. He’s looking at me differently and I realize that he still thinks my name is Merriweather. I open my mouth to explain but before I can Makado interrupts again.

“Alright Roan,” she says. “I guess you aren’t going to answer. That’s fine. I’m using the low-band in the Tunneler so I know you can hear me. I got a call from the boys in the Control Center. One of them made it up to the surface and called down to warn me. Could barely understand him over the broken nose. Heard that was your doing.”

Despite myself, I can feel a little bead of fear trickling down and sinking into the pit of my stomach. She knows I’m down here.

As though she’s reading my mind, Makado declares that she knows I’m down here. “You too, Fumi,” she says. “I know what you’re up to. And I’m warning you,” she growls, her voice barely distinguishable from the static wreathing it, “if you try to fuck this up for me, I’ll kill you myself.”

“Jesus Christ,” I murmur.

“She does sound a little unhinged, doesn’t she?” Fumi observes.

“Does she think we’re trying to stop her from getting the crystal?”

“I guess so,” he shrugs. “So, uh –“

“Should I say something back?”

“No, don’t. There’s a chance she’s trying to bait us into replying so that they can triangulate our position. Every radio signal in here goes through a number of repeaters and they keep logs of everything.”

“Right,” I say. “Of course.”

We’re silent for a little while, waiting to see if Makado says anything else, but she’s gone again. I shudder to myself, even amid the body-temp heat and the drooling humidity.

Fumi breaks the silence finally. “I thought your name was Merriweather?” he asks, glancing at me, and I blow out a sigh.

“It’s a long, long story,” I tell him, and Fumi shrugs.

“We’ve got a while to go to get to the Domes,” he says. “I don’t mind listening.”

And so with nothing better to do, I tell him. I nods along, giving me a little encouraging grunt when I flag. The whole story comes spilling out of me and I feel a little bit better having told it. We walk through dusty concourse after dusty concourse, here and there circumnavigating debris and rubble, great swathes of concrete wreckage blocking our paths, here and there gawking at relatively ancient displays and signage and froufrou and bricabrac. The floor doesn’t collapse on us, something horrible and fleshy doesn’t reach out and grab me and spew acid into my face, it’s quiet and dead and a little creepy, really, but having Fumi there makes me feel a little better about it.

At the end of it I glance over at Fumi. “I’m sorry I lied to you,” I tell him. “Or at least mislead you. Withheld information.”

“It’s okay,” he says.

“You’re sure?”

“It’s fine.”

“You’re not –“

“Look, don’t worry about it, okay?”

“Okay,” I tell him. I feel as though whatever might have been building between us, whatever kind of rapport I could have cooked up has shattered now. “I just –“

“Do you really love Elena?” he asks me, and I blush. I’d thought about lying and saying that I hadn’t said it but when I got that part of the story it had just come bursting out of me. I’d wanted to tell someone.

“I don’t – I think I do,” I offer, knowing it sounds lame even as I say it. “I don’t have a lot of experience,” I confess. “I feel very strongly for her but I don’t know if it really is…love. Whatever that is.“

Fumi thinks about that for a while, his boots crunching in the dusty remains of a storefront window. We pass the wreckage of something called a Chili’s Too, whatever that is, and my stomach growls.

“I think that if that’s how you feel, even if it was just for that moment, even if nothing comes of it, it was good to tell her.”

“Yeah,” I murmur.

For a long while there is nothing to say. It’s slow work picking our way through the LVC. The bit we need to get to is on the opposite side of the structure entirely and it seems every few minutes we come to wreckage we have to detour around or traverse somehow.

It happens after one of these, where a chunk of cement and rebar has fallen from the ceiling and I climb up and over it to try and see if there’s a decent way around, while Fumi waits, hands on his hips, watching me try and climb up with my bum leg. He offered to go instead but the gap I want to get at is too small for him, he wouldn’t be able to fit through it. When I get to the other side I come down heavy on the cracked tiled floor and I feel it shift beneath me, instantly sending a tremor of worry scurrying up my legs. I put my hands out to the sides as though I’m trying to balance myself, as though that could possibly help, but before I can scramble back to safety the floor cracks beneath me and a whole segment of the walkway ahead drops downwards, landing with an absolutely cacophonous crash that seems like it shakes the entire LVC. I lose my balance and splat headfirst onto the makeshift slide that’s formed in front of me and find myself slipping downwards at an alarming velocity. I try to roll, to put my hands out to stop myself, but I still end up ramming shoulder-first into a collection of tables and chairs, sending them flying. The impact knocks the wind out of me and for a moment I lie there on my back wheezing before I have the wherewithal to pop my helmet and suck in grateful gulps of the stale, humid air. There’s a creaking sound behind me and I see the rest of the floor finally give up the ghost and fall as well. I can hear Fumi scrabbling in the wreckage and then I think I see his silhouette pop up over the bannister.

“Are you okay?” Fumi calls down to me, and I haul myself to my feet and dust myself off.

“Yeah,” I yell back up once I’ve recovered my breath. “I think I’m okay, I haven’t broken anything. I don’t think I can get back up, though.”

“Just sit tight,” Fumi tells me. “I’ll find a way to get down to you, just give me a minute.”

“Wait, are we still going to be able to get where we need to go from down here?”

“Look, we’ll figure it out, don’t worry. Just sit tight.”

I can hear his footsteps move away and then I am alone, here at the bottom of the concourse, surrounded by chunks of tile that fell with me. I guess it was just luck that we hadn’t come to a weak spot like this in the floor up until this point, and then bad luck that I was the one to tread on it first. Plus, of course, if I hadn’t twisted so I wasn’t going legs-first, and if the drop had been a little deeper…still knocked the wind out of me, though, and my shoulder is going to be aching for a while.

My leg is okay and that’s all that matters at this point. If I re-break my already abused shin I’m going to be up you-know-which creek with zero paddles, especially down here, and I don’t much like the idea of having to beg Makado or the FBI to come get me so they can lock me up for forever.

The fall knocked out my flashlight. I’m praying it isn’t broken but it seems like the bulb is alright, I can’t see anything wrong with that. Maybe it’s gotten loose? No, that’s not it, I unscrew the top and check it but the bulb’s in firmly. When I click the button it winks on and then winks out again.

I utter a muffled curse and shake the damn thing, then smack it hard with my free hand. I’m beginning to get a little paranoid, standing here alone in the dark, especially now that Fumi’s footsteps have faded away.

I click the flashlight on again and this time it finally stays lit, although it flickers a little. I’m in sort of a lower concourse, some place that might have once been a food court judging by the tables and chairs strewn all over the place. I turn slowly, sweeping the light around me, getting a sense of it. Over there a maintenance corridor, over there a wrecked and disfigured self-serve stroller rental kiosk, over there someone’s purse, abandoned for four long years. I wonder what I’d find if I looked inside it, what I’d learn about the woman who’d dropped it in a panic when the LVC started to lurch.

I continue my slow spin and then pause; the light is catching on something that doesn’t look man-made at all, a sort of plated shell made from something like enamel. I think to begin with that it might be the remains of a fallen light fixture but it’s much too large for that. I sweep the flashlight further over it and then when my sluggish brain finally catches up with what I’m seeing and interprets it I jump so hard I nearly drop the flashlight. A shriek boils up my throat and I leap backwards, bowling over a couple of tables and falling to the floor in the process, landing hard enough on my forearms that I can hear the bone creak.

There, lurking in the darkness with its outstretched hand lying spiderlike on the floor just a few feet away from me, its armored, bulldoggish head glaring beadily at me, is an enormous, pale-white abyssal copepod.

I try to get to my feet and sprint away but my right leg buckles when I put weight on it, and I end up collapsing there, trying to scurry away like a rat, cringing in anticipation for the thing’s enormous hand to fix around my leg or my arm and drag me like a morsel to its waiting mouth.

Continue with Part 32

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