#it doesn’t help that I had a lot of stuff about my life in Nevada change like new job aside

[tarantula-hawk-wasp]

Had a dream about packing up my apartment in Florida and tbh that still feels like my real life and the past 5 months moved back in with my parents in NV have just been some strange aberration or extended summer break.

[cmyknoise]

I’m thinking about how very intentionally cc!Tommy roleplayed c!Tommy as having absolutely repressed most memories of exile. 

This can be as ‘simple’ as he’s repressed most the details of things Dream did to him, keeping only the main parts of ‘he hit me, he blew my stuff up, he blew logsteadshire up, i wasn’t doing okay’. Very fine details have never been brought up, not even to those he has opened up to. 

But, I think about probably one of the biggest examples of this being Mexican Dream, and how on-purpose he made sure to show that c!Tommy doesn’t remember much of M.D. or what he did. 

As we know, near Christmas time M.D. and Mamacita came to visit Tommy. They came mainly to cheer him up, by goofing around and having a good time. Even further, M.D. gave Tommy pictures of Tubbo (something that he’d later hide in his room to keep away from Dream so it wouldn’t be destroyed, and they were the first items he grabbed before Dream blew the chests up, grabbing them before any tools). They sang songs, and M.D. offered to move in with Tommy to keep him company. 

All the while M.D. kept making it clear to Tommy that Dream was a bad man and not to be trusted, and that Tommy living the way he was was unhealthy, and he encouraged him to get his own stuff and essentially was undoing all that Dream had been trying to instill in Tommy. So, what did Dream do? Well, he killed M.D. three times in front of Tommy, taking away all of his canon lives. Mamacita fled. 

Dream then tried to gaslight Tommy into saying he wasn’t the one to kill M.D.. 

Later, it’s actually M.D.’s items that help Tommy survive the run from Logsteadshire to Techno’s cabin (Tommy made the trip at night. Without the food or armor he’d gotten from M.D.’s things, it is likely he would’ve been shot and killed by a mob. Granted, on a meta standpoint it would’ve likely been a blooper, but cc!Tommy made sure that c!Tommy thanked M.D.’s things before borrowing them, and made sort of emphasis around those items). 

Later on, we get to hear from Tommy that he saw M.D. in Limbo when he was dead, and that M.D. essentially partied while Schlatt slept and he & Wilbur played solitaire. But that’s not the last of M.D. You see, we got to see Ghost!M.D. a few times. I’m going to focus on the time when he’d talked to Sapnap and was shown around Kinoko Kingdom and became aware of Las Nevadas. He warned Sapnap that he didn’t like or was afraid of Las Nevadas, but he asked him a lot of questions, a lot of questions involving Tommy and Dream. 

He very frequently asked if Tommy was okay and if he’d gotten from Dream, where Dream was, etc etc. Sapnap answered his questions and M.D. was relieved Tommy was okay, because he knew the last he’d seen him well, he wasn’t doing great, and he was stuck with Dream. M.D. is one of the only characters in canon who was actually witness to the abuse going on in Logsteadshire other than Tommy & Dream themselves.

It’s a short time after this, after M.D. goes back to Limbo, that he’s brought up to Tommy in passing. Tommy’s only comments on M.D. was that he thinks he remembers him, who he was talking about. 

He’s completely repressed M.D. out of his memory entirely, and it makes sense, after what he saw happen to him was brutal and he’s repressed less brutal things about that time period. But it was so bad, that despite all M.D. did for him, and even meeting him in limbo, he barely can recall who he is past ‘I think I know who you’re talking about’, 

I don’t know where I’m going with this, it’s just an interesting observation I guess. When Tommy does eventually talk about exile to someone, assumed Wilbur based on the direction lore has been heading.... how much will he even be able to talk about? The longer time goes on and the more Tommy manages to heal and move on from that time in his life, it’d be reasonable to assume the more details he won’t remember simply because that’s how the brain works to heal and protect one’s self. 

I also want to point out that cc!Tommy & cc!Quackity’s characters have thus far explored some of the most deep parts of c!Tommy’s trauma and mental health in very accurate ways. 

Whether it’s from how c!Quackity has come to an understanding of Tommy and is just as protective of him as other’s, viewing him near brother like (as he also does with Tubbo).

The way he talks to Tommy to make him feel better (see how he told Tommy to build walls if it made him feel safe, regardless of whether it did and regardless of Quackity’s own opinions on walls, because in that moment it was Tommy’s fear and feelings that mattered; also the friendship ladder and Quackity putting aside all of his problems with Las Nevadas because he realized the real danger with Dream was how in danger everyone else was in now that he was out).

To the way they acted out a very real coping mechanism with Mr. Trousers where Tommy had attached his trauma and experiences to a third party fictional being in order to talk about his feelings and Quackity had instantly understood and started to address Mr. Trousers instead of Tommy, but made sure that everything he said was meant to reassure Tommy and let him speak & vent). 

So, with the way Ghost!M.D. first asks about Tommy, and the things he’d witnessed in exile and had tried to help, and the way Tommy simply doesn’t remember him. Well, I think it’s super interesting, and I want to bring it up and appreciate some details like this that I don’t see brought up. 

cc!Tommy did research and is a great actor and writer (as is cc!Quackity), and his acting in accordance to anxiety, depression, trauma, ptsd, etc, has all been very good, and this is just another example of something that didn’t have a huge amount of emphasis but still was added into the story, and it makes their characters just more flushed out and helps, despite how small of a detail it is (and how rarely it’s brought up). It’s just neat. Do with this info what you will. 

[iceprincessviviane]

Eyes in the darkness

Paring: Yandere!C!Technoblade x BookwormEnchanter!Female!Reader

Type: Romantic (Technoblade is yandere). Trilogy - part one. Next part.

Warnings: swearing, possessivness, yandere, angst, injury, sugestive content, threats, blood, silly jokes created by me.

Summary: Technoblade was watching Y/N for some time, trying to stay in the shadows. Unfortunately voices and thoughts won against the logic and he want her now on his side forever.

Author's note: Inspiration from a lot of things, but especially: Hades and Persephone, Beauty and the Beast. This used to be oneshot, but I changed my mind, ut will be trilogy. English isn't my first language, so sorry for any mistakes.

Words in red colour are Technoblade's voices.

Words in blue colour are Y/N thoughts.

Y/N didn’t know when was the last time she ran for her life. Probably during one of the pillagers attack on the village or maybe in the Nether. But none of them was that type. Now she was being chased by something way much more dangerous than besties. At the moment, she’s being followed by the Blood God himself. Despite the aching and pain of her muscles and her throat feeling dry from gasping for air, Y/N was still asking herself how did on earth this happen?

~*~

Y/N always loved books and reading, she came to Smp two weeks after Foolish arrival. Actually her friendship with him leaded her here. They exchanged the letters and she was interested in staying somewhere for a while. After some time, she decided to come. Her divine friend already started to build his summer home and had few buildings done. She stayed there for few couple of days, they decided to build something for herself. She already have met most of Smp members including Dream Team, Bench Trio and rest, but owning home, place for stay was good idea. Sometimes Y/N liked to be alone. Eret allowed her to build something behind his castle, it was always nice to have someone close.

It took time before she ended house, it was cozy one with big field in front, farms, cellars and most important - library with enchanting place. It was huge, biggest part of the house with plenty of regals and reading spots. Y/N loved to spend there time and collectin more books or texts. Foolish had a lot of ancient scrolls or manuscripts and liked to share them with her. They could spend hours discussing about their favourite ones.

Books caused that Y/N met Phil, because he was the second person on the Smp, which had great collection from centauries. Shark god took her at trip to Tundra. Y/N was excited to meet such person and nervous too. Happily, everything went all right, Technoblade wasn't that time in home, so they had chilling conversation. Winged man was very curious about her skills and enchants. Of course during his travells and lifespan he met enchanters, but didn't paid much attention to them. Now, he could meet one in chill ocassion. Their three had a lot of talking, giggling and being wholesome. Phil promised to borrow more interesting books and Y/N said, that she can give some enchantments.

When Technoblade came back he immediately felt, that Foolish was there with... someone else... someone new. It smelled like pine and old paper, very nice. Phil told him about visitors and Y/N, he ignored it a little bit, but voices... voices liked this smell a lot.

'So strange.' 'Which woman can smell like that?' 'Where is she living?'

}*{

Y/N was peaceful person with no intention to harm anybody, staying in her place. She stayed in positive relations with almost everyone, providing needed enchantments and helping caused, that a lot of members were friendly to her. Y/N liked to hanging out with Bench Trio, although they were sometimes so chaotic. Usually she went mining with Ranboo, when it was needed, cutting trees with Tommy for his buildings and staying in Snowchester with Tubbo. That is why she came with almost everyone, when Tommy and Tubbo were in Dream bunkier fighting with him. Discs were just items, but... Dream's obsession, it was dangerous and teenagers were her friends. After that a lot of things changed. Putting him into Pandora's Vault was meant to protect them, but she was getting cold shivers each time she looked at black walls of prison. Knowing that everyone could be locked there...

After Egg's influence grew stronger she tried to find some infromations about it and how could ghe possible defeat it, but that took time. Foolish and Phil were so helpful handing their ancient texts, to make research. Suddenly with crimson vines everywhere, Smp became less safer, at least she felt it that way. More members were busy with their business and stuff, they finally could do them, when Dream was locked. For example Foolish agreed to build big mansion for Tubbo and Ranboo, which got platonical marriage and Tommy started his hotel. Meeting Michael was so wholesome and funny, little zombie piglin started to like her and at each visit she read him fairy tales and stories.

Y/N decided to not think about bad sides of Smp, just being busy and tried to help, if someone needed it. Before Doomsday wandering around could be dangerous, especially for La'Manburg citizens, because Dream and Technoblade were unpleasant for them. Now she enjoyed visiting almost everyone everywhere. After a few visits, she could tell that something was wrong, Y/N couldn't tell what, but it was almost like being watched, blaming Egg and vines was her answer for that, but actually why? Why did it do that? She would never joined their side. Never ever. Sometimes she spotted the Phil's corws, but that wasn't a s surprise, birds were telling him a lot of informations around the Smp. Easy way to know almost everything.

}*{

Y/N was heading to her house, stepping at Prime Path. In opposite direction she spotted Quackity, slowly walking by from prison direction, which was surprise. She smiled softly to him and he smiled back.

"What's up?" Big Q asked when got closer to her.

"It's good I am coming back home, need to eat and get some nap, and you?"

"I... ended some buisness." His face stiffened and his look became more serious.

Y/N nodded little unsure about his changed emotions. Suddenly she spotted that his sleeve is covered in fresh blood.

"Are you hurt?" She asked worried.

Quckity looked at his shirt as surprised as she and frowned, he checked axe which hanged down from his belt.

"I guess so then, but I don't know where did that come from."

"Let me take care of this." Y/N suggested with warm smile. "My home is closer than Las Nevadas."

After a few moments he nodded in agreement. They together headed to her place. Weather started to become stormy, dark cloud covered the sun, threating to start raining.

Then went inside, but when she was closing door, feeling of being watched hit her with dubled strength. House was in the spine forest, but fenced and had a gate. In filed were some farms, trees and small garden, but everything seemed to look normal. Big Q sat on the couch in living room and Y/N brought bandages, water in bowl and even healing potion. He rose sleeve, wound wasn't long, but deep, something cut his arm, probably weapon.

"It doesn't look good, but you will be okay." She said after looking at cut.

"Good." He sighed with relief.

"What did make it? Do you have an idea?"

Big Q looked dead in her eyes and remained silence. Of course he knew what, but he didn't even noticed the wound before leaving the prison. Well, someone will pay for this.

"Maybe working at Las Nevadas, you know... I am still building there." He spoke after a while.

"Oh... ye you have right, but be careful next time." Y/N suggested and started to work on cut carefuly. Starting on cleaning, then gently bandaged it.

"Thank you." Big Q said after seeing the results.

"No problem, just don't walk around with untreated wound." Y/N giggled softly.

He stood up and moved his eyes on windows. Black clouds didn't go away, even became worse.

"I will go now, weather is getting worse, I want to be in home before storm." Big Q said with soft smile.

"Of course, see you next time."

After he left, big storm came, darkness fell upon the Smp, rain and wind were too strong, for coming outside. Y/N decieded to take a chance and nap. She baked some cookies and sit down on a couch with another book, which Phil borrowed her. Only the torches gave light, sometimes thunderbolt stroke and filled room with unatural blue light. Drops hit hardly, making loud sounds, but Y/N was too much into a book. Two hours has passed and slowly night was coming. She moved eyes to meet clock, yep that was supper time, put the book away and up, Gods thr storm didn't let go. Y/N watched for a while outside, then go to kitched. She grabbed blanket and wrapped it around her posture, damn there were cold.

Again feeling of being watched kicked in. She was alone at home, that was sure thing. Outside was deep dark and behind the windows was the wall of the water. Y/N bite her lip and shook head, it was just her imagination, a feeling which stayed for no reason after putting Dream into Pandora's Vault. She took an kettle and suddenly was seeing something in the corner of the eye, something red and unusual in the spine forest. Her figure frozen when she moved back eyes. Deep in the dark, around sprouce trees in the line of forest, Y/N spotted pair of shinning, red eyes, high above the ground. They were locked at her figure.

'This has to be spider... or something else...'

Right after this thought, ceature turned back and disappeard in the darkness, cold shiver went down at Y/N spine. What was that? And why it was here? At least she was safe in home...

}*{

'More.' 'Training is boring, let's find someone to fight.' 'We demand blood.'

Technoblade sighed and stopped, voices today were very, very loud. That was why he decided to train, but during it, they became even worse. He hid sword and walked into home. Phil wasn't here today, he had to do something, but didn't bother to tell him what it was. Blade went back to home by his old path through the forest. His training place was near the cottage, but still hidden from common people. All members of Syndicate knew where it was. First of all he need to take shower. When cold water touched his skin, he felt like even his bloodlust became less, quiet hiss left his lips. He earned some chafings this week. Next, he changed his clothes to common and made a cup of tea, then sit in the kitchen. Immediately his thoughts went to Y/N.

Somehow voices were acting diffrent around her and he even found himself acting that way. They were focused around Y/N and he was more calm, like just her pressence was comforting him. Technoblade remembered their first meeting, it was common day, when someone knocked on the door. He opened it and rose his eyebrows in surprise, outside was standing fragile woman, without any armor and only with trident on her back. They shared awkward eye contact, when suddenly she introduced herself as Y/N. Of course he saw her couple of times, but it wasn't officialy. Y/N has known who was he for sure, she swallowed hard and looked down with shyness. Phil yelled across the room, that she could come in. Ah yes... she loved to read books and his old friend was borrowing her them a lot. Technoblade again felt the spine and old papers smell, for him, it could stay here forever. After short visit, Y/N took books, gave back book of enchantment and left.

Techno's curiosity has increased, when he heard about her more. She was peaceful, friendly soul, completly opposite of him, maybe that was, why he felt so... diffrent around her and voices too. Piglin hybrid enjoyed watching her from the distance, in the shadows, but lately... lately it wasn't enough. Now he wanted to breathe at Y/N scent, holding her close and pressed soft kisses at forehead. He was under voices pressure so long and now his salvation was so close. But what would he make it? As longer he has thought of that, a diffrent ideas came to his head. She was delicate creature, he had to get plan at all. Techno knew almost everything about her: hobbies, traditions, friends and fighting skills. Phil told him a lot about enchanters, they could make enchanting books after years of studying and had magic talent sometimes. As they knew, Y/N could enchant books at any spell, so she had to studied a lot. Technoblade sighed and grabbed his cloak, time to keep an eye on few things.

'Let's not go quietly!' 'Let's go quiet as grave...' 'Blood for the Blood God!'

}*{

That was busy week, Y/N could only one time saw Foolish and Phil, but whole Smp seemed a little bit diffrent... luckily she was able to go on mining trip with Ranboo and Eret visited her with a couple of books, which were about Smp. Now was afternoon and sun slowly started to set, she was heading to her house, where waited for her snow fox, which she found in Snowchester. Cute, little ball of fur stole Y/N heart immediately. When she finally stepped inside, Snowflake - that how she named it, ran into her squeaking high.

"What happend my little one?" She knelt down and pet it's head.

Fox looked at her with big brown eyes and squeaked once more, then jump into her arms.

"Oh oh oh... are you afraid of something?" Y/N hugged Snowflake and looked around. Everything in home seemed normal, door was closed, in a field same, animals were quite nervous, but everything was good. She frowned and stepped inside, then put fox into basket with small blanket.

"I will bring you some berries, you will like it for sure." Y/N smiled gently.

Unfortunately, she didn't have any at this moment in home, Snowflake was there only for three days, so she couldn't make berries farm so fast, because she had to set up a space. Luckily, she lived around coniferous forest, so didn't even hesiatate, Y/N just grabbed backpack and went outside. Sun was lower in the sky, but still it was warm and brightly. Birds were humming quietly and around was quite quiet. Berries bush weren't so far, she founed some, but in order to make supplies, decided to find more, then plant them around the house. It would spared the time and work.

"Y/N." She heard deep, lazy voice and immediately turned at it's direction.

The Blade was standing under big sprouce tree with satisfied grinn on his lips. Eyes locked on Y/N figure, which completly froze at the sight of him. She have never been with him alone, in tundra always Phil or Ranboo were around, now it felt... strange and risky, she still remembered what happend to La'Manburg citizens.

"Technoblade." Y/N spoke softly, being careful to not crack her voice, despite building feeling of fear. She noticed, that piglin hybrid under his royal, crimson cloak was wearing armor, probably not his best one, but still enough to win fight. Part of hair made into bun, rest were freely in his back and shoulders. From his belt was hanging netherite sword and netherite axe was sticking out from behind. She spotted, that his weapons were a little covered in blood, same as his sleeves and parts of shirt. He was killing monsters right? Or just hunting? Uncomfortable, awkward silence reminded between them, only forest noises distrubed it from time to time.

Voices were too loud today, too agressive, too greedy, killing monsters and pillagers wasn't enough, Quackity has already tasted his steel, well he deserved that after showing up in Y/N home. He had so much fun with him, but after that he needed some rest, comfort and calm. That is why without even thinking too much Technoblade went straight to Y/N house. He hoped, that everything will change, that he finally will has some break from voices, violence and killing. Of course he liked his way to be... but yes sometimes, you have to make a nap.

"Are you wounded?" Y/N asked quietly breaking the silence. After all, if he needed help, she would help him, without hesitation.

Technoblade's grinn became more sinister, he put hand on sword hilt and slowly tilted his head on right side.

"This isn't my blood." He said without caring at all.

"Oh, that's good then..." Y/N whispered, but he could hear that.

Piglin hybrid studied her posture, she had only trident at her back, backpack in left hand, no armor, no more weapons. Poor little girl, that's not how you are going outside your home, she was literally unarmed in his eyes.

"So... what are you doing here? Alone? In the forest?" Technoblade asked and moved closer to her.

The way he spoke these words, made Y/N shiver inside, outside, she grabbed her backpack harder. Surely there was nothing to worry about, she has never done something wrong to him or Philza, she wasn't dangerous or wanted to has any power. Techno is probably just passing by. Suddenly he was so close, now she could for real see the height diffrence, for the gods sake, her head reached around his breastbone. Y/N looked up only to meet piglin hybrid's burning gaze.

"I... I was collecting berries for my snow fox. Something scared her, so I thought that she will calm down after getting some and I ran out of them..." she suttered and swallow hard.

"How sweet." Technoblade commented and his smile widened.

"So... you are just passing by?"

"Not really."

Sudden grip on her chin caught Y/N off guard. Technoblade forced her to look straight into his eyes. His face stiffened a little bit, she hissed quietly, when claws touched harder gentle skin. Then she realised... Blade's eyes were red and she heard, that it could glow in darkness. Her skin became pale and pupils widened. It was him, that time during a storm, he was watching her...

"What are you doing?" Y/N asked quietly, without any clue, what was going on.

'She is so innocent.' 'We love her scent.' 'Let her know.'

"I have something to tell you." He leaned and immediately her scent hit him harder, resisting to take deep breath wasn't that easy.

"What excatly?"

"I was watching you for a while Y/N. Belive me or not I found that interesting, because your pressence is calming for me, I can fall asleep while listening your voice and push away my violence behaviour, when you are around." He stroked her cheek by his thumb and smiled haughty. "I am always getting , what I want and I want that so badly, you can't even imagine."

Y/N shook head and made few steps back, leaving his grip, couldn't belive what she just heard. That's impossible.

"I don't know what to say... I can admit, that I had strange feeling of being watching but... I blamed the Egg..." She looked deep into his eyes, trying to put everything together. "What do you mean, you are always getting, what are you want? How am I suppose to understand that?"

"Listen sweetheart, we can do this in two diffrent ways: good or bad. If you choose first one, fine politely you will go with me. Second way? Well I can be very convincing, when I want to." Technoblade frowned.

None of this options was good for her. Y/N sighed and her shoulders dropped. She couldn't do anything literally...

"Come on princess. I can take care of you, I promise, you will be happy." He gave her his hand, but gripped sword hilt harder.

Y/N always avoided the conflicts and argues, never has started any, that was easier and better way to live. She could take care of her interests, powers anf friends by being supportive or neutral. Technoblade's behaviour made her shiver and feel sick, there was no guarantee that he will keep his words, even if it were sweet and promising. Y/N knew that fighting him was pointlees, he were ten thousand better than her, she didn't even have armor or second weapon. But surrender just like that? Without any resistance? She always was determinated, miss 'you can always find a way, solution'. Not a chance.

"I think I have better option, which lay in the middle." Y/N smiled gently.

"Well, tell me then." Technoblade rose his eyebrows with curiosity.

With one smooth move, she put backpack on and immediately started to run. The Blade's pupils widened, he burst out laughing.

"It will be funny."

She has known, that she needed to lose him in forest. Going to home wouldn't help, because door or gate couldn't stop Blood God. Lost him and then ran away from Smp, at least her current living location. Y/N realized that she couldn't even ask for help anyone. Probably Technoblade would come after her friends, helpers, so that was it. Y/N versus The Blade, she was on her own.

'How did she dare to run away from us?!' 'Chase her, catch her.' 'Faster, faster, faster!'

It seemed like running away from Tommy for fun, came in handy and long trips with Ranboo caused her to move fast through forest. Y/N nimbly jumped over obstacles and avoid rocks or roots. Her pace wasn't the fastes, but she could hold it for pretty long time. She wasn't thinking a lot, just tried to run away as far as she could.

'Don't look back, don't look back, it will make you slower.'

Hiding could be good idea, but not now. As long as he was close, she couldn't stop at all. Breaking through the forest was only hearing noise, soon, she heard her heavy breathing. Heading to unknown direction wasn't so wisely, but Y/N had no choice. After a few minutes, she stopped to catch breath. Around was sudden so quiet, cold shiver went down at her spine. Too quiet.

"Already tired?" Technoblade's voice surprised her from left side.

She turned head, just to see him leaning against the tree. In his right hand he held sword, didn't even look like he was running.

"You can't outrun me little one. A lot of people tried, now they are dead." He aimed sword at her. "We can end this farce here. I am not mad, honestly, you made me smile a little bit."

"You will have to catch me, if you want me going with you." Y/N said and then continue to run away.

"Oh I will princess, that's what predator does to the prey."

Y/N started to feel really tired, muscles aching, throat dry from gasping for air, hair dispelled and cheeks red. She ran for a while, but now had to stop. Technoblade immediately appeared in her field of vision. He was walking carefuly, but still looked intimidating.

"Don't come closer!" She released a cry.

Piglin hybrid stopped about eight meters away. He leaned sword against the ground and looked at her with curious gaze.

'Here she is, our reward.' 'Let's finally take her with us.' 'We like that sound.'

"I think, I just caught you." A little grinn appeared on his lips.

She looked straight into his eyes. Her gaze full of fear met a calm and determination. Y/N didn't even want to think what would happend, if he fulfilled his desires. Gods sake, she was free human being, none could take her freedom, she didn't ask for this. In an act of desperation, with the last of her strength, she used her powers. Feeling of warm through fingers and energy drained from her veins, but then burning light. In Technoblade's towards direction flew literally fireball, but he was too skilled for this. He made a dodge and looked at Y/N with mix of proud and shock. She dropped to her knees, struggling to stay conscious, despite the pain at her whole body and tired mind and unclear vision. Technoblade immediately was with her, he knelt down and support her, by putting arm around her waist. Y/N leaned back against his chest, fatigue prevailed over reason.

"Enough for today princess. You run out, if you will keep resisting." He whispered calmly.

"Please, please... please I don't want this, I want to go home." Her voice was cracking, tears strimming down at her cheeks.

"Hush darling, everything will be all right."

Technoblade's body radiated warm, his tone suddenly was so calming and sleepy. She wanted to close eyes so badly, but still fear was too big.

"You are safe, nothing can hurt you I promise."

After this words Y/N gave up and lost consciousness. Sun went down and shadows became longer and darker.

}*{

Phil careful closed the doors, then walked quietly down. Technoblade sat in kitchen with cup of hot tea, he immediately looked at his old friend, his eyes were worrying.

"Y/N is good, she lost consciousness, because was too tired. You said that, she used her powers."

"It was literally fireball, but I dodge that easy."

"Well, now we know about her powers at least... interesting, what you are going to do, when she wake up?" Phil asked and sat in opposite site.

"I know, that you are not glad about this, but I will figure this out. She won't cause any troubles." Techno's voice became deeper.

Winged man sighed and looked at his friend. He knew what he was going through, when voices became louder and demanded blood, each moment of silence or when they were quiet, Technoblade cherished and tried to make it worth. Phil couldn't be angry or mad for his friend about that deed, but... he was torn.

"Come on spit it out. I can see that you want to tell something important." Piglin hybrid said slowly.

"We were through a lot of shit, we know each other for almost ages and we blew up the nation for gods sake, kidnapping isn't the worst thing you have done, but..." Phil started and looked at Techno. "I wish you best and everything good, but I don't know how will I act around. Y/N has come to me for books, we were talking about stuff, I gave her cookies and tea. How will I explain, that I am supporting your decision? And I am always on your side." Phil said aloud his worries.

"I will give her time to get used to. After certain amount of time Y/N will understand." The Blade was lost in his thoughts.

He was so greatful of his friend statement, but still a little bit unsure. This case shloudn't affect on their relationship or Phil's life. Honestly Technoblade belived that his pressence will comfort Y/N at least, as he said they were close and enjoyed each other company.

"Someone will notice her disappering. What then? And Ranboo is visiting us a lot." Phil sighed a little.

"I've got this, trust me."

"I trust you with my own life." Winged man nodded.

}*{

Sunlight kissed her skin gently, when it showed up on window. Y/N felt softness under herself and on her back. Quiet sigh left her lips, when she opened eyes. In the room was very bright, but for sure it wasn't her room. Immediately cold shiver went down at her spine. Still weak, she tried to lift herself, because she was lying on stomach. Bed was big, with good beddings and pillows.

"Don't move, you are still weak." Technoblade's voice was soft, but loud.

Y/N bite her lip and then lifted head. He was standing near the bed and observing curiously, looking completly diffrent. White, linen shirt and high waisted, leather trousers, hair braided tighly. In this version he was... more open and accessible, not so scary.

"Where am I?" She asked slowly and rolled at her back with quiet hiss. Muscles still hurt and throat was dry.

"In my house, in tundra safe and..." He cut off, while noticed that Y/N is trying to get up. "What did I say?" He stepped closer and sat on bed.

She sat unsure on mattress, just to met Technoblade here, he gripped again her chin, as in the forest and forced her to look at him. This time it was more gently.

"Darling please..."

"You can't take my freedom!"

His eyes darkened immediately and Y/N regreted her words. She swallowed hard, when Blade looked deep into her eyes.

"Of course I can and I will, if you don't behave good. If you didn't notice, you aren't chained or tied, but pretty comfy in my bed." He said slowly with threat in his voice. "Think about it."

Technoblade released her and got up. She looked down thinking about situation, yes he didn't tied her, but still it wasn't good case. Y/N just wanted to be free, do stuff which she want and meet friends. Maybe Smp wasn't perfect, but still now it was her home, there were a lot of wars or argues, but she still had house and persons which she cared about and this was mutual, now everything was unsure.

"I am just afraid... " Y/N whispered quietly.

"As I said earlier you are safe here, you are safe with me. Nothing can hurt you." Techno grabbed bowl with soup and came back. "Here, eat, you need to recover."

"Thanks." She smiled weakly to him, took bowl and started to eat slowly.

'Good girl.' 'She will behave for sure.' 'We can teach her a lesson.'

Y/N was napping for the rest of the day, Technoblade gave her one of their books, so she wasn't bored. Probably tomorrow or next day she will stand up.

The sound of closing doors, caused her to closed book and put it away. Piglin smiled gently and took off his shirt suddenly. Y/N eyes became big.

"Wait wait wait..."

"Calm down princess, I am just going to sleep, nothing else." Technoblade smirked for her panic.

"So... where shloud I move?" Y/N asked looking around the room.

"Nowhere. You are staying here with me."

Immediately her cheeks went slighty red. She looked at him curiously. His pink skin seemed gentle from the distance, a lot of scars marked his chest and arms. Some of them little, some of them large, the biggest one was through both sides of chest. Technoblade released his hair and came closer. Y/N moved to make him some space. He laid down, she followed his steps but remain distance.

"Goodnight." She said and turned back from him.

"Goodnight sweetheart."

He blow up torches near the bed and silence fell upon them. Not even a five minutes passed, when Y/N felt sudden grip on her waist. She froze, Technoblade hugged her and pressed kiss on her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Quiet whisper left her lips.

"Snuggling and cuddling." He whispered softly.

Y/N couldn't help, she giggled quietly. Techno took this as premission, her back touched his chest and second hand slowly stroked her hair.

[cdroloisms]

more of the vegas team 2.0 !! time for a group therapy session* :D

*includes very little therapy

tw: TORTURE (doesnt happen in the scene but is Absolutely talked about), abuse, beatings, violence, manipulation, toxic relationship, prison arc, mental instability, emotional distress, trauma, dehumanization

"So!" Wilbur claps his hands, smiling widely. "Are we ready to start?"

"This is fuckin' stupid."

Ignoring Quackity, Wilbur looks out over his handiwork; Quackity, Sam, and Dream and himself are sat down in a circle on the ground, all looking like they're at varying levels of get me the fuck out of here. Quackity glares up at him with his one good eye with a scowl on his face, while Sam looks pointedly at the opposite wall like it's the most interesting thing in the world. Across from him, from where he is sandwiched between Quackity and Sam, Dream gives him a pleading look that Wilbur deliberately ignores.

"Big Q is right," Sam sighs, anxiety making his voice slightly tinny, "We're wasting a lot of time, Wilbur. We all have a lot of stuff to get done to get ready for tomorrow-"

Wilbur's arm snaps out, pressing on Sam's shoulder as the taller moves his hands to the ground in an effort to push himself up.

"No- come on, Sam. Don't be like that, man. It'll be fun! We're a team," he stretches the word just to watch the others flinch, feeling a cold sweep of satisfaction when they do, "It'll be good for all of us- what do you think, Dream?"

Dream freezes, wide eyes turning to look into Wilbur's, lip beginning to tremble. Wilbur smiles serenely, watches as he shakes worse with every second of Quackity's angry glare and Sam's cold gaze directed at him with equal parts curiosity and excitement, smiles wider when he finally wilts under the weight of all of their eyes.

"I think- I think that it's a good idea, Wil," he mumbles, flinching back when Quackity's eyes narrow further, and Wilbur bites down his laughter.

"Wonderful!" Quackity turns the fury of his expression back over at him, all but snarling, lips curled and wings fluttering in anger on his back.

"What the fuck- no I'm not helping with this- this stupid fuckin' group therapy bullshit- what is this, a fuckin' AA meeting?" He accompanies his words with a series of jerky gestures, seemingly oblivious to the way that they make Dream curl more and more into himself, and Wilbur digs into his inventory-

"Yeah, that's exactly what this is like, Big Q!" He drops the result of his search unceremoniously into the other's lap, grinning at the look he's given when Quackity finally stops fumbling with the item.

"Is this a stick of dynamite?"

"It's your talking stick!" Quackity looks about three seconds away from cursing him out or burying a sword in his neck, while Sam and Dream look like they would rather be anywhere else at the minute, and this is the best decision that Wilbur's made in his life. "I was thinking that because there's clearly been some tension between us-"

"Quackity tried to kill Dream three times this week."

"-that it would be good for us to talk about our feelings!"

Sam looks entirely unimpressed, a flash of frustration breaking through his usual mask of cold indifference.

"Wilbur, what are you-"

"Ah ah ah!" Wilbur gestures at Quackity, smoothing down a smirk at Sam's irritation, "You can't speak."

"And why am I not allowed to speak, again?"

"Big Q has the talking stick, so he's the only one that can talk right now."

"Wilbur," Sam's hand moves to his face, palms digging into his eyes, "you don't have the talking stick, either."

"Oh, sorry," Wilbur reaches over, easily plucking the dynamite out of Quackity's hands and ignoring the younger's protests, "As I was saying, only the person with the talking stick can speak!"

"...sure."

Wilbur turns his eyes to sweep over the three again, feeling a cold thrill growing in his chest; Dream has hidden himself entirely behind the cloth of his hoodie, knees drawn to his chest and hood pulled up over his head. Quackity, to his left, mutters angry curses, directing his glare at anyone that he deems worthy of his ire - which, per usual, means just about everybody. Sam holds his gaze with a cold stare of his own, a knowing look in his eye, and Wilbur smiles wider in challenge; you going to try and stop me?

Sam doesn't speak, looking away. That's what I thought.

"Anyway!" Wilbur claps his hands together, dynamite still held in his right hand, "Anyone want to go first?"

"...this is fuckin' stupid as hell-"

"You don't have the talking stick, Big Q."

"Fuck off."

"Would you like the talking stick first, then?"

Quackity grits his teeth, opens his mouth to begin what will no doubt be another expletive-filled rant, when he catches Wilbur's line of sight and his eyebrows narrow, lips pressing back together. The electric feeling in Wilbur's ribcage grows further, amusement piquing; interesting.

"Actually," Quackity smiles tightly, forced civility entering his voice, "I would love the talking stick first, Wilbur."

"Of course!" He reaches his hand out, dynamite held loosely in his fingers, "I was thinking that we could talk about our feelings, what's making us upset, you know? So we can all work together better."

"You know- I get that, I get that," Quackity's smile gets sharper, voice growing crueler as he yanks the dynamite out of Wilbur's grip, brings it to his chest, "I see what you're saying, Wilbur. And I think that this is a great idea."

Wilbur's eyes flick to the others as he nods along; it seems like he wasn't the only one to notice the change in Quackity's tone. Sam looks noticeably more uneasy, shifting in his seat and tapping at the floor by his side. Dream looks like he's praying to the gods for the ground to swallow him whole.

Sorry, mate, but there's no one listening in hell.

"Las Nevadas, this place- I've put a lot of fuckin' time into this, ok?" Quackity drums his fingers on the side of the dynamite as he talks, and something in Wilbur shifts, settles, at the symbolism, "This isn't a country, isn't some- ideal, or egg, or some shit. It's power, plain and simple, and it's mine." His lips curl back, his golden tooth glinting in the light, "And I get the feeling that some people aren't taking this place nearly as seriously as they should be."

Dream's head snaps to the side, the pale face of his mask peeking out from where it had been pressed into his arms.

"What do you mean-"

"Dream-" Quackity reaches out, making Dream scramble backwards as Quackity's hand lands on his shoulder and grips it tightly. "I'm sorry. I don't think that you have the talking stick?"

Dream shakes, tugs unsuccessfully at the hand locked around his upper arm, breathing shuddery as he ducks away to look at the floor again.

"...sorry."

"Thank you," Quackity grins, lips curving cruelly. "As I was saying, all I want is for everyone to take a little more responsibility and shit, you know? We have to be efficient if we want this place to get off the ground, and we can't be efficient if everyone is fuckin' complaining all the time. I just think that it's about time that we let go of old grudges, move on already, you know? Focus on what really fuckin' matters-"

Dream's shoulders tense, and in the sliver of his face that isn't covered by his mask, Wilbur watches with unbridled glee as his eyes flash.

"Oh- you've got to be fucking kidding me-"

Quackity sneers. "Dream-"

Wilbur doesn't even catch the man moving, but between one blink and the next, the bright red stick in Quackity's hand has been ripped away from him, held in Dream's white-knuckled grip above his head as he scowls at Quackity.

"No- it's my time to talk now, ok? I have the talking stick- it's- it's my time to talk now. You fucking asshole- move on? You tortured me!"

"Oh- don't be so fuckin' overdramatic-"

"Overdramatic? You- you kicked my ribs in! You carved your name into my skin! You ripped out my fucking nails just to hear me scream-"

"What the fuck was I supposed to do? You weren't giving up the information!"

"You didn't have to fucking torture me-"

"Watch your fuckin' mouth or I'll do it again, dickhead," Quackity hisses, a sword suddenly in hand, the blade pressed against the underside of Dream's chin- which would usually be the end of it, but Dream, who must be running on too much adrenaline to register the familiarity of the position, narrows his eyes and bares his teeth at the winged man.

"Yeah- go on, kill me, and we'll see what happens when I respawn, Quackity. I hope you like explosions-"

"Big Q, Dream." Sam's voice, deep and heavy with exhaustion, finally seems to snap the two out of their bloodlust, because Quackity stumbles back into where he was sitting and Dream immediately curls back into himself, breathing loud and rattling in his panic. Sam directs a disapproving glare in Wilbur's direction, "Wilbur, where did you even get popcorn from?"

"Oh- sorry," Wilbur smiles, lets the red and white striped bag fall back into his inventory. "I guess that might've been a bit rude."

"You guess?" Sam mumbles, massaging his temples with a heavy sigh. Quackity glares back and forth at all of them before standing and stomping away to sulk, his footsteps loud and heavy against the marble floor. Sam ignores him, pushes at Dream's shoulder with one hand, gets no response, and Wilbur laughs.

"You know, Sam, I think that went great."

[stumbledownpretendalleyways]

Dream SMP characters and my thoughts on them (as of Feb 4th) as someone who mainly just watches TommyInnit and the rest of the bench trio

(/neg for some characters but i have nothing against any of the streamers)

Update: June 2022

(should update that again but i literally only watch tommy and tubbo and they haven’t done lore in a while)

Update: 15. November 2022

C!Tommy - 🥰🥰🥰

- can do no wrong.

- has suffered a lot.

- deserves a nice father figure and some peace

- FINALLY HAS A HAPPY ENDING

- you thought

- but he died in an heroic way

C!Tubbo - 🥰

- does he still likea da bee?

- best president of l’manburg

- smart for marrying rich

- cool remote base

- i-

- …rip

- actually teared up a bit

C!Wilbur - 🥰

- was dead for most of the time i watched

- manipulator

- shoulda stayed dead

- changed emoji because i feel like he changed for the better

-patching up stuff (tubbo, eret, tommy, techno,..)

- giving C!Tommy his happy ending

- fucking utah

C!Dream - 🔪🩸 HE NEEDA HIS OWN EMOJI W/ PUNZ

- do i even have to?

- manipulator, murderer, gaslighter

- mainly don’t like him because he won’t leave C!Tommy alone

- mf just don’t change

- don’t have no power over C!Tommy anymore

- DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE

- oh wait you did ☺️

- no words just. he got what he deserved.

C!Techno - 🤬

- Doomsday

- Literally has no right to meddle in half the stuff he meddles in and than gets pissed at people for being pissed

- streamer funny tho

- not about c!techo… but gotta say. even though i didn’t like c!techno, i think he was a good villain. also loved how much lore he wanted to do.

C!Philza - 🤬

- literally wtf

- not a great father figure

- if tommy gives up material things dream will just kill tubbo to get to him dickhead

C!Ranboo - 🥰

- didn’t like that he stole C!Tommy’s best friend

- made up for it by sticking by C!Tommy through the exile arc

- weird bloke

C!Sapnap - 🤨

- didn’t like him for being on C!Dreams side for so long

- and betraying C!Tommy like 3 times

- redemption arc incoming???

C!Karl - 🥰

- cool for time traveling

- humbled C!Quackity

C!Quackity - 🤬

- great villain

- tortured C!Dream and even though i don’t like C!Dream, torture is a bit much

C!Foolish - 🥰

- is with C!Quackity but i still like him

- hasn’t done anything wrong really

- nice builds

- want him to have the books and power

- don’t know about the whole souls for XD thing

C!Slime - 🥰🥰🥰

- good boy

- RIP

- pls come back

C!Purpled - 🤬

- die in hell

C!Niki - 🤬

- idk but kinda iffy vibes

- streamer incredible though

C!Jack - 🤬

- doesn’t like C!Tommy

- has valid reasons

- but i like C!Tommy

- fucking screwed everything up

- still kinda sad he also ended up dying

C!Punz - 🔪🩸

- ruined my favourite moment almost a year later by revealing he never left C!Dream’s side

- traitor

- no words either

- except

- he just wasn’t making any sense

- just. weird monologues.

- had it coming

C!Fundy - 🤬

- kinda disappeared after L��Manburg right?

- idk

- oh he’s in Las Nevadas right? nvm

- was nice to tommy during exile tho

- RIP

C!Schlatt - 🤬

- piece of shit

- stay in hell

- would be funny if he came back though

C!Tina - 🥰

- has done no wrong

- vegetarian in game

C!Eryn - 🥰

- low-key C!Dream apologist

- but funny

- vegetarian in real life and i respect that

- gave C!Tommy a knife

- cool lore ideas

DreamXD - 🥰

- funny

- should’ve given C!Foolish more for the statue

- cool lore tho

C!George - 🤬

- C!Tommy got exiled for burning his stupid house and now it’s a cat café

- wtf

- not there for most things

- dream lore made me mad even if it was a dream.

C!Connor - 🥰

- con: he’s a capitalist

- but funny

- very funny

C!Eret - 🥰

- low-key redeemed himself

- just chilling in his castle

- COOL MUSEUM

C!Ponk - 🤬

- no clue in what lore he’s been

- but kanye stan so it’s a no

C!Antfrost - 🥰

- con: did the egg thing and killed foosh

- but he’s a cat so i like him

C!BadBoyHalo - 🤬🤬🤬

- DESTROYED PRIME PATH

- TWICE

- helped C!Dream escape

- C!Dream apologist

- path looks shit now

- i was mad about path. still am but it’s alright lmao

- annoys foolish and i can respect that

C!Awesamdude - 🥰

- might’ve killed C!Ranboo and let Ghostbur die but one of the few people who actually sees C!Dream as the threat he is

- unless he’s being gaslit right now

- foolish/dream/sam lore at the summer home made me feel so weird and kinda sorry for him

Ghostbur - 💙💙💙

- RIP u legend

- have some blue

C!Hannah - 🥰

- she deserved the elytra (rip)

- fairy

- pretty

C!Puffy - 🥰

- great dad

- revenged her son

- i think. did she? very confused by egg

C!Skeppy - 🤬

- didn’t keep up with egg lore

- has he been in any other lore?

- bitch for not giving tommy cat

Glatt - 🤬

- is he even a thing?

- if so i don’t like him

Sam Nook - 🥰🥰🥰

- my beloved

- good friend of C!Tommy

- :(

C!Callahan - 🥰

- is he canon?

- good boy either way

C!HBomb - 🤨

- idk

- cat maid?

Boo - 🥰

- great ghost

C!Vikkstar123 - 🥰

- deserved better

- cool guy

C!LazarBeam - 🥰

- same as Vikk

- visited Tommy and gave him a present

C!Boomer - 🥰

- don’t know much about him

- 🍑

- seems alright

C!Aimsey - 🥰

- beef with tubbo was funny

- idk what they do but seem wholesome

C!CPK - 🥰

- idk what he does really

[spencerreidslove]

Let’s Be Bad

A/N: I was rewatching season 6 episode 13 “The Thirteenth Step” when it hit me. What if Spencer and Y/N were a crime duo being hunted by the BAU? So this idea was born. This fic is my baby and probably one of the longest things I have ever written. There is mentions of aclchol, a couple sexual themes, and normal Criminal Minds case stuff, so be aware. Let me know if you guys want a part 2 with their interrogation and stuff.

————-

“Buckle up crime fighters, because this one is bad.” Garcia said, standing up at the board. She clicked the remote to show a murder scene, four bodies in total, in a totally destroyed gas station.

“Not only did our bad guy murder four people last night in Chandler, Arizona, the police believe that he also did this.”

Gracia clicked her remote and the picture changed to another scene, six bodies this time, in a drugstore.

“A massacre just outside of Las Vegas, three weeks ago.”

“Three weeks is a long cooling off period.” Rossi said.

“M.O’s the same, though. All shot in the head and then all dragged into a line, store totally destroyed.” Prentiss said.

“With last night’s murder bringing the body count up to 10, the police need our help now. Wheels up in thirty.” Hotch said, standing up from the table.

-

“Seriously? You want to go somewhere cold?” Spencer asked as you made your way into a small sandwich shop, just over the Utah border.

“Yes! Imagine waking up on Christmas Day to a white Christmas.” You said, wrapping your arms around one of Spencer’s.

“Where would we go that’s like that?” He asked, looking up at the menu, printed on a board.

“Wyoming. Up in the mountains. It’s nice there. We’ll get a cabin, live up there, together.”

“Alright,” Spencer said, smiling. “We’ll go to Wyoming. After.” He put one of his arms around your shoulders.

“After.” You agreed.

The two of you made your way to the counter, where a man, no older than 20 or so was waiting.

“What can I get you?” He asked, cleaning a spot on the counter.

He looked up and immediately his eyes latched onto yours.

Spencer said his sandwich order, but the boy didn’t seem to hear him. He was too busy staring at you, making you very uncomfortable.

“Hey.” Spencer said, slamming his hand on the counter. This seemed to knock the boy out of his trance.

“Sorry.” The boy said, still not taking his eyes off you.

“Take your eyes off my girlfriend and take our orders.” Spencer said, getting angrier.

“Sorry, she’s just like really pretty.” The boy said. Under his breath he mumbled, “I don’t see how she ended up with you.”

“That’s it.” Spencer said. He reached into his waistband and pulled out his pistol. Spencer quickly shot the boy in the head, and then turned to the other two patrons in the store. He quickly shot them, and then started moving to put them in a line.

This wasn’t the plan. You had only killed 2 days ago, the police would be quick to link you to this murder. But, Spencer sometimes had a temper and when it took over, there was no going back.

You pulled out your own pistol, and shot the remaining store worker who had come out from the back room.

“I’ll line them up.” You said to Spencer. “Go clear the security cameras.”

Spencer nodded and went into the back room. You spent the next few minutes lining the bodies up in a row. When you went into the back room, you saw Spencer toying with the panel that controlled the cameras.

The cameras quickly went blank, and only showed dark screens.

“I’m so glad you’re smart enough to know how to do that.” You said.

“IQ of 187 sweetheart.” Spencer said. “C’mon, let’s get going before the cops show up.”

-

“Hotch!” Emily called putting across the parking lot. “You aren’t going to believe this.”

Hotch turned his attention from the local police officer to Emily.

“A witness was next door at the craft store and saw a man and woman leave the sandwich shop together a couple of minutes after the gunfire.” Emily said.

“We’re looking for a man and woman killing team?” Hotch asked.

Emily shrugged. “Apparently.”

“Another witness said he saw the back of the liscine plate from across the street.” Morgan said, coming up to the group. “He didn’t get any numbers but he saw it was from Nevada.”

“Makes sense of their first murder was in Vegas.” Emily said.

“Prentiss, make sure the witness who saw the man and woman gets to a sketch artist. Morgan, see if the man remembers what type of car they were driving, then see if Garcia can find anybody from Nevada who drives that model.” Hotch said, directing out tasks.

“Going from three weeks to a 2 day cooling period is a massive deescalation.” Rossi said. “Something in that shop must’ve set them off.”

“You said the security cameras were wiped?” Hotch asked.

“Yeah, you can’t even access them now.” Rossi said.

“Get then to Garcia, she’s the only person who might be able to get them back and working”.

-

“They’ve found out that we’re a man and a woman team.” You said, calling out to Spencer, who was in the bathroom. You were laying on the bed in a random hotel, watching the news, where a blonde woman was talking about your most recent murder.

“Doesn’t matter. They haven’t linked us to the others, have they?” Spencer asked, coming out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist.

“They don’t have a clue.” You said.

“Good. For all they know we just shoot random people. They have no clue about the others.” He said.

You smiled as he came over beside you and started kissing your neck. “They’re never gonna get us.” He said.

You laughed a little as Spencer nicked lower on your neck.

“They’re too stupid to know what we’ve done.” You said. You could feel Spencer smile as he continued his kisses lower.

-

“What have you got Garcia?” Hotch asked to the laptop that was sitting on a table in the local police precinct.

“Not a lot, sir. Whoever wiped these cameras is some kind of genius. It’s nearly impossible to get the footage. And I am a cyber genius.” Garcia said.

“So you can’t get any footage off them?”

“Sir, I said it was nearly impossible. I will have this footage recovered wether it kills me. Au revoir!” Garcia said, signing off.

“These sketches aren’t helpful in the slightest.” Prentiss said dropping the pictures on the table. “The witness said she only saw the side profile of the woman and the man had sunglasses on and was faced away from her for most of the time.”

Hotch sighed. “We don’t have enough.”

“Ok, why these people? Why these places? They’re clearly going somewhere, but where is that?” Morgan asked.

“We have too many questions and not enough answers.” JJ said.

-

You were laying across the backseat of the car, your head in Spencer’s lap. You were drinking some kind of random alcohol Spencer had picked up straight out of the bottle.

“I can’t believe we’re here.” Spencer said, stroking your hair and looking out of the window.

“I could’ve waited.” You said.

Your car was parked down the street from your childhood home. It was your brother’s birthday and you knew he would be home. It was finally time to exact your revenge, just had Spencer did.

“Y/N, c’mon. It’ll be good for him to be gone.” Spencer said. “Plus, I get to see your childhood room in all its glory.”

You laughed a little and shoved him lightly. “You got it?” You asked.

Spencer moved as he reachedfor his bag in the front seat. He pulled out a small vile of poison. “Wouldn’t forget it.”

You slowly sat up. “We have a birthday party to attend.”

-

“Oh!” Garcia cried, looking at her computer screen.

She quickly reached over and dialed for Hotch’s phone number. “What have you got, Garcia?”

“I got the footage back! It took a lot of work and a lot of trouble but I got it! It’s already sent to your tablets.”

Hotch picked up the tablet and clicked play on the video Garcia sent him. In the video, a young man and woman were walking into a sandwich shop, talking and holding hands.

“Keep an eye on those customers that just walked in.” Garcia said.

They reached the counter and engaged in a heated discussion with a worker.

“There’s no sound on the original video, so I don’t know what they’re saying.” Garcia said.

The man took a pistol out of his waistband and shot the worker, and then turned and shop the other customers. The woman reached and grabbed a pistol and shop the other employee that had come running out.

The woman began lining the bodies up while the man disappeared into the back room. The woman joined him, and then the cameras went dark.

“Garcia, run their faces, see if anything comes up.” Hotch said.

“Already on it. If they have ever been photographed, I will find their entire life.”

Hotch let out a sigh of relief.

They finally had a break in the case.

-

“I’m nervous.” You said. You and Spencer were standing on the front porch of your childhood house, waiting to ring the bell.

“It’ll be fine. We get in, act all friendly, and then we put it into their drinks, and then we get out.” Spencer said, coming over and rubbing your back.

“Alright.” You said, ringing the doorbell.

There was a moment before somebody came to the door. “Y/N?” A woman asked on the other side of the door.

“Hi, Mom.” You said.

“I thought you said you’d never wanted to come back here again?” Your mom asked.

“Yeah, well things change.” You said. “This is Spencer, he’s coming in too.”

You and Spencer made your way past your mom into the living room where your brother and his wife were sitting.

“Y/N?” You brother asked.

“Max.” You said, addressing him. “Happy Birthday.” It took everything in your power not to slap him. He was the reason for all your suffering.

“It’s nice to see you.” He said, standing up and going to hug you. You flinched slightly, but still managed to hug him back. He squeezed you just a little too tightly.

“And who’s this?” Max asked, looking at Spencer.

“Spencer.” You said.

Max sighed and shook his head. “Never one to elaborate.” He stuck out his hand for Spencer to shake.

Spencer kindly shook it back, giving Max just the slightest smile.

“Happy Birthday.” Spencer said.

You caught Spencer’s eye as Max moved to sit back down. It would be a happy birthday, just not for Max.

-

“We are looking for a man and woman killing team, they are most likely in a relationship and are on a mission.” Hotch said, standing in front of the local PD.

“At this time we do not know what their mission is, but we believe they are on a trip to reach that point. They started in Nevada, and were last seen in Utah. They could be headed for any of the surrounding states, including back to Nevada or Arizona.” Prentiss said.

“They are rapidly devolving, as they went from having a three week cooling off period, to two days. We don’t know when they’ll strike again and have to catch them sooner rather than later.” Rossi said.

“All of their attacks have been in small stores; a drug store, a gas station, a sandwich shop. We believe they choose these places due to personal connection to one. Whoever they are going after probably owns a small store.” Morgan said.

“With that in mind, we suggest all owners of small stores who know somebody who looks like this, to keep an eye out. Do not try to approach them, they are armed and dangerous.” JJ said, from her place outside, briefing the news.

“Everybody keep an eye out and be vigilant.” Hotch said.

The crowd dispersed. Morgan’s phone began to ring.

“Talk to me Babygirl.” He said, answering.

“Well, tall dark and handsome I have some great news for you. I got a hit off the faces from the security feed.” Garcia said.

Morgan put her on speakerphone and the team gathered around to listen.

“Your man is Spencer Reid. Child prodigy from Las Vegas, he graduated high school at age 12 and his IQ tests 187. He dropped out of college at age 16 due to the fact that his mother’s schizophrenia was getting worse. Reid became her full time caregiver until around age 25, when he sighned her up for a new drug test that involved her living in a new campus.

“It seemed to be working, until a year ago when the main Doctor administered a new drug cocktail that was not FDA approved, and ended up killing Reid’s mother and several other patients.” Garcia said.

“Garcia, where’s that doctor now? They might be going to kill him if they both lost a parent.” Rossi said.

“I would say yes, but it seems like they already have. Four weeks ago the doctor, his wife, and son were found dead in their apartment from cyanide poisoning.” Garcia said.

“What about the girl?” Prentiss asked.

“Her name is Y/N Y/L/N. She is from Silverton, Colorado. She was working in a casino in Vegas until around a month ago.”

“Must be how they met.” Morgan said.

“She filed several cases against her older brother Max Y/L/N for physical abuse, but the charges were dropped everytime. From the looks of her hospital records it was bad.”

“They’ve exacted their revenge on Reid’s nemesis, now they want revenge for Y/N. Garcia what’s Max’s address?” Hotch said.

“He won’t be there. On his wife’s Instagram it says they’re going home for his birthday. I’ve sent you that address.” Garcia said.

“We need to get there, and fast.” Rossi said.

-

Talking and laughing with your family for several hours was painful, and Spencer could tell. They had watched you suffer for years at the hands of your brother, and did nothing.

“Why don’t I refill everybody’s drinks?” You asked, standing up.

“I’ll help you.” Spencer said.

After you had collected everybody’s cups, you made your way to the kitchen where you filled everybody’s cups with what they had asked for.

Spencer pulled the cyanide vial out of his pocket, and put a little bit in each cup. When you returned to the living room, you handed everybody their cups and watched as they took drinks.

It would be a few minutes before the poison started to kick in, but you couldn’t wait.

After a few moments, your mom started to choke.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Your dad asked. Then he started to choke. After just a few seconds, everybody was on the floor, choking in pain.

You and Spencer quickly came around, grabbing phones and smashing them with your heels, making sure no one could call 911.

When you reached Max, you kicked his face. “That’s what you get you son of a bitch!”

You kicked him again, and again. Before you could do some more damage, Spencer grabbed your arm.

“We better get out of here, darling. We have a lot of ground to cover.” He said. You nodded and followed him out of the house, with one last slam of the door.

-

“Dammit!” Morgan said, entering the house and seeing that all members of the Y/L/N family were dead in the living room floor.

“They’ve already been here.”

“Hotch, these bodies are still warm, they can’t be far away.” Prentiss said. “We probably just missed them.”

“Hey! We just got a hit from APB, their car was seen headed twoards a hotel a few miles from here.” The local sheriff said.

“Dave stay here and figure out what happened, Morgan, Prentiss, JJ, with me.” Hotch said.

-

You and Spencer we laying on your bed in your hotel room, drinking the same alcohol from earlier.

“You were right.” You said.

“I am about most things. Be more specific.” Spencer said, taking the bottle from you.

“That it would feel good to have him gone.” You said. “I already feel twenty times freer.”

“I knew you would.” Spencer said. He placed the bottle on the bed side table and rolled ove on top of you. “I know lots of things that would make you feel good.”

Suddenly, there was a pounding on the door.

“Spencer Reid! Y/N Y/L/N! This is the FBI open the door!” A male voice called from the outside.

You and Spencer both looked at each other in terror.

Could they maybe have found us? Your eyes asked.

The door was suddenly knocked open and FBI agents were flooding into your room.

Spencer and you were being pulled apart and cuffed.

“Spencer Reid, Y/N Y/L/N, you are being charged with the murders of 21 people.” A serious looking man said.

“What?” You said. “You have the wrong people!”

“No we’re pretty sure we don’t.” A brunette woman said.

“You have to have the wrong people! We haven’t done anything!” Spencer said.

You were both being hauled up by the agents behind you.

“Anything you say can and will be held against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.” The agent behind you said, reading off your Miranda rights.

Your eyes caught Spencer’s as you were pulled to separate police cars.

Could this really be it? You thought. It looked like it just might be.

Tags! (Open)

@rexorangecouny @magnificentmgg @rachelxwayne @itsmyblogandillreblogifiwantto @just-damn-bored @andreasworlsboring101

[olivia200312]

Covid~ TFP! Optimus x Sick! Human! Reader *Request*

Requested by the lovely @StardustUltima

Plot: Hi, there! Idk if you're still taking requests, but could you do a TFP Optimus x Sick! Reader where the reader gets Covid and is sick? I just got Covid and am a little bummed out cuz I had to leave the camp I was at. It's totally alright if you don't want to write this. I won't judge! Thank you!

Sorry that you have Covid, requester. It must suck. But I hope that you're feeling better. Many people survived.

Note: the art goes to the owner!

Head area: Brain: Processor / Brain Module Head: Helm Face: Face plate Ears: Audio receptors / Receptor Orifice / Audials Nose: Enstril / Olfactory Sensor Eye brow: Optical Ridge Eyes: Optics Mouth: Intake Lips: Dermas Teeth: Denta/Dentas Tongue: Glossa

Chest area: Chest: Chassis / Thoraxal Cavity Back: Hexa-Lateral Scapula Spine: Bipedalism cord / Back Strut

Chest and back armour: Chest plate Back plate Mid-section plating Neck guard Side plating

Arm area:

Arms: Arms / Restarlueus Forearms: Bitarlueus Hands: Servos Fingers: Digits

Arm armour: Gantlets Shoulder pads Arm guard

Lower area: Pelvis: Pelvis Butt: Aft / Skid-Plate Thighs: Tibulen Calves: Cadulen Feet: Pedes - the high heel bits are called Struts or Heel Struts.

Lower armour: Skirt plates Aft plate / Skid plate Thigh guard Ankle guard

General/Internal components: Muscles: Cables / Pistons - It depends on the area in question. Veins: Fual lines Stomach: Tanks Lungs: Vents - used to stop the con/bot from over heating. Heart: Spark Tattoos: D-con/A-bot Insignias and the lark T-Cog: The thing that allows all Cybertronians to transform, be that their arms or their whole body.

Bonus:

Penis: Spike

Vagina: Valve

Body: Frame

-------------------------------------

Y/N let out a sneeze again and covered her mouth with her elbow because she coughed. She's been feeling ill for the past few days, almost a week! One day, she suddenly started to cough and the next thing she knew, she sneezed! It got worse that she started to feel ill and hot!

A year ago, a new virus broke out. It broke out in China but no one knew what that new virus was. When someone died, it was so unexpected and unknown what the cause was until the scientists found out that it's a new virus that caused it. They named it Covid-19 or just coronavirus. It belongs to the family of other coronaviruses. There are some other coronaviruses and some of them are dangerous but the new Covid-19... it's getting serious. More deaths came in, people stayed home, kids can't go to school.

In other countries, they started a search on how to protect yourself from the new virus if it arrives in their country. They found good tips like washing your hands, stay home if you feel sick, stay away from the crowds, wear a mask, and stay like 1.5 meters away so respect the distance. Soon, the virus arrived in other countries. In the beginning, China and Italy are the most damaged countries because of how many deaths are reported. Some countries had the virus under control but they lost control and it got worse.

It got so worse that schools closed down, many adults lost their jobs, ... Worse, kids are starting to get infected and they had to stay home. Doctors are doing their best to save people but the people who have illnesses, they're higher victims to die, including kids. It's honestly so depressing. The virus spread in Jasper Nevada and some people got infected. Jack, Miko, and Raf wore masks when they were outside or in school. Y/N followed the rules as well! But, the bad luck arrived and... she got infected. She was now at her house, feeling hot and weak. She can't go to school or else she'll infect others. Jack, Miko, and Raf had to get tested since they had close contact with her. None of them got the virus. Lucky them. June Darby, Jack's mother, is a nurse, and let's just say that ever since the virus arrived in Jasper, she had to work for HOURS! Many doctors and nurses fainted from exhaustion.

Y/N tried her best to take care of herself, to get herself strong again since her body is fighting against the virus. If the scientists found a vaccine already, then they will inject many people. Yes, even if it doesn't protect yourself 100%, your body will recognize very fast when there's a virus inside. If the body starts to fight soon as possible, you have a higher chance of getting healed.

Oh, yeah. Ever since Y/N got the virus, Jack, Miko, and Raf got worried sick about their friend. Y/N couldn't even go to the base! She refused since she doesn't want to get others infected. The Autobots did notice that people wore masks whenever they are in public and they heard about the virus but they got worried when Y/N didn't show up for a week. They got the answer why.

Jack, Miko, and Raf were at the base. When they arrived, they took their masks off. Thye breathed in relief since the masks are so irritated to wear!

"Finally off with the masks!" Miko shouted.

Ratchet, the medic of the Autobots, got annoyed and a bit mad when he heard Miko's loud annoying voice again. He looks over his shoulderplate. "Will you quiet down?! I'm trying to work!"

"Jeez, sorry, doc," Miko grumbled.

Ratchet let out an annoyed sigh and continued to work  He seriously likes to be called by his name, not anything else!

That's when the others came, including Optimus, fragging handsome leader. The Prime then noticed that Y/N was not around again, which got him immediately worried. "Where's Y/N?"

Jack, Miko, and Raf looked sad. They knew the truth, of course since they're humans... Humans can get infected with the new coronavirus. All bots saw their sad expressions. It gave them a sign that something horrible happened.

"Y/N is at her home. You all heard about the new virus, right?"

Everyone at the base nodded.

"Y/N is... infected with the virus. She has a high temperature and is not allowed to leave home."

Optimus couldn't believe what he heard in his audio receptors. His human got infected? Yes, he calls Y/N his human. They're not together, but they both are crushing on each other. He couldn't help but be worried sick about her. You know what? He didn't care anymore what others will say. He ran through the exit and transformed into his semi-truck form. That's when he drove off.

"Wait, where's Optimus going?! Miko asked in shock.

Ratchet showed a little smile while his back is turned. He's proud of his old friend because he's going to help her. He also knows that he's going to transfer her here to the base so that Ratchet can keep an optic on her health. He may not found the cure like how the human scientists are doing now, but he knows how to take of the patients, to make sure that they're strong. In secret, he cares a lot about his loved ones, even his human friends. Nice thing from him, right? "He's going to help her."

At Y/N~

Y/N sneezed again and coughed. She grabbed a tissue from the box and blew. Once she's done, she threw it right in the trashcan. Goal. She really wants to feel better again. It sucks! She let out a weak sigh and that's when her door to the garden opened. That perked her up in alarm. She quickly grabbed a wooden chair and slowly crept to the kitchen, scared and weak. She raised the chair and that's when she was about to swing but a certain familiar servo caught it in time.

"You should be in berth, Y/N."

"O-Optimus?! Oh, gosh... I'm so s-sorry! I thought you were a burglar!" She quickly dropped the chair.

Optimus let out a chuckle and smiled softly. He was in his bipedal holoform and he hid his truck nearby. He doesn't want to attract any Decepticons. His optics filled with sadness, worry, and sympathy when he saw her condition. He looks very weak. She seriously needs help. That's when he picked her up, causing her to yelp and clutch into the Prime for dear life. But when she felt how cold he is, she pressed herself against him.

"I'm bringing you to the base to the base, Y/N. I worry about your condition."

Y/N couldn't help but squeal inside by how cute Optimus is when he worries. She wanted nothing but to kiss him and tell him that she'll be ok. But she nodded her head weakly against his cold metal chassis. That's when she felt sot dermas press against her forehead. Aaaw, Optimus kissed her forehead! But can Cybertronians get infected with human, viruses? Now that worries her the most. "O-Optimus, please let me go!"

Optimus looks worried. "May I ask why?"

"Y-You'll... get infected with my virus!" That's when she burst into tears and cried. She looks away while crying, causing Optimus's spark to shatter. She was scared that he'll get infected with human sicknesses? He couldn't help but looks so lovingly that he made her turn her head gently and that's when he kissed her warm cheek. "We Cybertronians do not get infected with humans sicknesses."

"R-Really?"

"Yes, Y/N. But I'm very worried about your health. Ratchet will help you."

Y/N nodded weakly and snuggled close against his cold metal. Optimus frowned since he's worried and walked out through the backdoor towards his truck that was hiding. He'll get her stuff later or send one of his teammates to get it. He gently laid Y/N down on the seats and then went in as well.

At the base~

Optimus parked and transformed, causing Y/N to be on his servo. He looks so soft at her weak body. He then walked to Ratchet. "Old friend."

Ratchet turned around and when he saw Y/N, his optics widen. "By the AllSpark, lay her down on the medical berth."

Optimus did as told and Ratchet started doing different tests. At least it was not painful, but it's some of them were unpleasant like, for example, a long then stick where it enters your nose and is like touching your brain! When the tests are finally over, Ratchet held a datapad and looked serious. "Her body is very weak and needs a lot of vitamins in order to make the chance of defeating the virus higher. She needs to drink a lot of water and eat 3 fruits per day."

Optimus nodded. "Thank you, Ratchet."

"Make sure that she has plenty of rest. I'll make sure that the children stay away for their safety. I'll come to check on her health every 3 megacycles (hours)."

Optimus nodded again, gently picked the weak human up, and walked towards his berthroom. The Bots are lucky that they can visit Y/N without a single problem but Jack, Miko, and Raf have to stay away. Optimus entered his room and closed the door behind him. He then laid Y/N down on his berth. He watched her breath for a moment, then he transformed small. He laid down next to Y/N and pressed against her body. Y/N snuggled against him and opened her eyes tiredly. Optimus gave her a soft and soothing smile as he pressed his dermas against her soft lips. Y/N responded by kissing him back happily.

When the kiss was over, Optimus spooned her. "I'll make sure that you're strong again, Y/N."

Y/N smiled while enjoying her sweet cuddles with her new boyfriend. Optimus continued to spoon her and leaving soft kisses on her.

[rhaenyraisadyke]

My New Purpose Transcript: 8/4/21

It's the entire thing! Heres it on a google doc if thats easier!

T: Hello, Big Q! Hello?

Q: Ah! OH, oh, sorry sorry sorry sorry, I was just just making sure that they went- they left hehh

T: Are you alright?

Q: That was ha-heh

T: That was, that was pretty

Q: No no no yeah that was interesting huh

T: Yeah I didn’t expect that- but they seem to be a lot more you know like… agitated then I thought. I didn't think this was gonna be too much of a big deal hehe

Q: Ha ha well yeah it's just what happens when people start you know.. when people start competing against you…

T: Yeah yeah

Q: And Tubbo here’s the thing, the saying I’ve always heard… is people will root for you until you are doing better then them alright?

T: Really?

Q: When you start doing better than them, that's when everyone turns on you and starts getting jealous and all that… you know um so I think this is a situation where maybe I don’t know Wilbur was rooting for us until

T: Until

Q: We started doing better than them?

T: Heh yeah I mean we know, you know we haven’t really made any burgers yet and we’re not quite doing better yet but we should- we gotta work on that

Q: Oh Tubbo, Tubbo you shouldn’t even worry about that, I have so much trust in you to run this place, you know, I- this, this place ah has had the possibility of having many employees and I thought you were the best, and you, you were telling me telling me this whole thing about how you needed to find purpose, how you needed to do something

T: Yeah

Q: And um, you know this, this I think this is a good place to start!

T: I just want to say thank you so much for letting me work here man I feel like I’ve not had much to do ever now since I’ve had this job like its nice to finally have a purpose, something to do, a reason to do stuff

Q: Yeah Tubbo listen, it doesn’t have to end here, a lot of things are happening in the country you know there’s a lot of people in here um

T: Yeah yeah

Q: Things move forward in a really really good way and Tubbo I- I trust you I mean we were comrades in Lmanburg and all of that so this is, this is great this is really good

T: Thank you I appreciate that

Q: But

T: Especially after that little blip we had

Q: Yeah, thats what I was gonna say- but

T: Yeah

Q: I don’t want to ruin, I don’t want to ruin the moment but there is something we have to discuss

T: Yeah yeah maybe we should head over there, yeah okay

Q: I, listen I’m putting a lot of trust in you

T: I appreciate that as well

Q: But we ah

T: This is a really nice- this is really exciting

Q: I do want to talk about that one thing um and we never really discussed it

T: Yeah we kind of yeah we left it, I kind of didn’t want to jeopardize my chances of getting the job you know?

Q: no and at the end of the day its not even about the job Tubbo it's more that our friendship and the history we had together

T: Yeah

Q: I think that's the most important part to me because you know what? Um jobs come and go, you you are meant for so many bigger things, this is where we’re starting Tubbo but you know um

T: Yeah you know, first this, tomorrow the world I guess

Q: Yeah absolutely - waha I’m just, I’m gonna be straight up with you wh-a

T: Why the fuck is there a duck on it? Haha

Q: What what's this tubbo?

T: I’m gonna be honest thats not me- I didn’t I didn’t do that one

Q: So the cookie outpost, we had a discussion, you and me we were fighting

T: Yeah it was getting pretty heated

Q: And so what is this really for tubbo?

T: It was to mainly sell cookies if i'm honest, I - I just I- I wasn’t myself that day

Q: Tubbo… Tubbo….. Tubbo….

T: Yeah?

Q: What was it actually for?

T: I- uh just wanted to keep an eye on you I wanted to see what everyone was up to, it wasn’t a sign of aggression or anything I kind of wanted to see what everyone was up to and me being nosy, I wasn’t acting like myself, I’m sorry

Q: I- I it just felt super uh out of nowhere and build this whole entire thing

T: Yeah this complex

Q: In Front of my country so um, you know what uh, it still feels a little weird, it it feels like a needle poking, I have no problems with you but there is something there that keeps me uneasy

T: Yeah, I 100% understand that

Q: Tubbo, I don’t think , this is a really nice structure, this is a really nice structure.

T: Aw I appreciate that

Q: You have full ownership of this place right?

T: More or less yeah, Started it all out under my name, definitely, I mean I’d like to leave the past in the past you know and just work on building from there

Q: I- I can’t figure out any other way to do that than probably to take- no no you know what Tubbo? You know what?

T: What?

Q: Clean slate clean slate. I don’t think we should take it down because at the end of the day, you, you built it and I think its uh

T: I think it also helps show my initiative on what I can bring to the burger shop as well.

Q: Of course, of course but I have an idea, how about we integrate this land, this structure into Las Nevadas?

T: Wait, you want it to become part of Las Nevadas?

Q: Yeah yeah!

T: That could be cool

Q: Yeah you know what we can- forget about everything in the past forget about everything in the past, we can integrate this beautiful place into las Nevadas its built close its built in proximities,

T: It makes sense it's on the outskirts and maybe-

Q: Yeah, yeah yeah yeah so we can integrate it into the las Nevadas outskirts and we can do you like that idea? Are you down with that? We can just make it part of las Nevadas

T: Well yeah yeah I mean

Q: It’s your structure, your property

T: Yeah i'm a little apprehensive but I mean as long as I get ownership, it's just that you own the land

Q: Yeah yeah yeah! I own the land, its like rent but you’re not going to be paying rent obviously

T: Yeah yeah yeah

Q: I just can't make sure this can be part of Las Nevadas and so there’s no confusion and stuff. Is this cool with you?

T: Yeah its cool with me just like keep it as it is, keep the pond keep the farms

Q: Yeah it's your ownership but yeah it does have to be a part of Las Nevadas land and everything. How about we make it official?

T: You want to make it official?

Q: Yeah yeah yeah I have a book and quill

T: Oh, okay I wasn’t expecting you to move this quickly already. Could we sign it up to the top of the needle so we can have a look at it while we do it, you recon?

Q: That is a wonderful idea, let's go there right now.

T: Yeah I mean it makes sense, its where we first had our first discussion about this, it only makes sense to you know cross the t’s dot the eyes, put the past in the past

Q: Yes yes especially since its part of las Nevadas

T: Yeah It makes sense to sign it in one of the most significantly important buildings in las Nevadas here I'd say

Q: Absolutely Absolutely tubbo, hey I think it's great you’re taking steps to move your life forward um wow- how you know, I haven't really spoke to you properly after everything that happened in Lmanburg

T: Yeah everything with Technoblade… Damm

Q: Yeah we talked about this whole project and you and me but um you know what I want to know a little bit about your insight of what happened in lmanburg and all of that

T: What happened with Lmanburg? Oh yeah I didn't see you after Technoblade left, to be honest I haven't seen much of Technoblade either, I barely have seen anything or anyone, like yeah I kind of have been isolated on my own just hanging out, like I said no kind of purpose, just walking around, drifting kind of you know living in the past mainly and im trying to move that behind me, uh well what happened with- uh after um well you went Awol in lmanburg well its all kind of a blur, all the values just changed away um like we lost our core values and the country fell after that. Which is really, yeah that's more or less it.

Q: Yes, yes sorry I feel like I’m not paying enough attention, im writing the thing im sorry my bad

T: No its fine

Q: We will insert the coordinations later but yeah, just yeah really fast just sign that

T: So “Tubbo cookie outpost proper is now part of las nevadas land and is under its rules and constitution.” Yeah this um

Q: yeah we’ll well insert the coordinates later

T: I- I sign on the second page right?

Q: Yeah yeah yeah go ahead and sign it on yeah the second page there

T: Okay done and I still feel like I own the property there, everything still belongs to me it's just part of las Nevadas which is cool

Q: Right which, right it's just part of las Nevadas, its territory,, its rules constitution and all that, but you inergreating into the country is that first big step and Tubbo,

T: Yeah?

Q: I just want to say thank you for your disposition to just to just you know help out with las Nevadas and everything it- it means a lot you wanting to manage the place and again I felt like it was the right thing for you

T: Aw thank you man.

Q:I mean briefly you told me about how much you miss Lmanburg, how much you miss those times….

T: Yeah it's been, it's been I’m gonna be honest it's been a little bit upsetting as of late especially, I’ve just been missing it as it was a year ago yesterday… it all started and I've been there since the beginning of it and to see where its all come now has been a bit upsetting

Q: I- yeah…

T: but it's really admirable with what you’ve done here,

Q: Thank you tubbo, thank you tubbo

T: It’s got a solid foundation, you're really inspiring I feel very inspired just looking around

Q: Thank you, thank you tubbo. You know, I uh, thank you, that means a lot man

T: It’s alright man

Q: It's been uh, things can, things can get difficult, but I appreciate that Tubbo, but at the end of the day, you know whatever you need from me, whatever you need or require anything at all from me tubbo, just let me know. That restaurant you managing it now, you have a project to go off on

T: Yeah

Q: And there’s a lot of opportunities so if there’s anything you need, anything else you need you can cem talk to me

T: Will do,

Q: And we’ll figure stuff out

T: Will do yeah, I think it's about time for me to get back to work, I wanna scope out - they apparently they said they had a burger shop they said so yeah

Q: Yeah

T: I wanna make sure we are taking strides in the right direction for the competition, i'm gonna make burgers that will be remembered.

Q: Right, would you want me to go with you? Would you want to-

T: I- I think I’ll go alone I think I can see it just actually, is it that little thing behind the pool area, by the penthouse thing?

Q: Yeah yeah I like to call it a market study

T: Yeah yeah

Q: Yeah I usually do that alone, so Tubbo, Tubbo, I’ll. Be up here

T: Yeah when I’m done with my market study we can come up with some groundbreaking material for the burger shop!

Q: Oh yeah absolutely, actually you know what, just meet me at the burger shop, I’ll be there working on it, making some changes doing some redecorating and stuff

T: Alright, sounds amazing! Again, thank you so much for the job!

Q: Of course Tubbo!

T: Thank you!

Q: Oh Tubbo you shouldn’t be thanking me, I should be the one thanking you- you you are a great, you are like a gear in the machine and you are one of †he most important gears in the machine, you know when the machine loses a gear and it- Tubbo you’re a pillar you’re like a pillar to our structure is what I’m saying

T: Aw thank you man I do appreciate it

Q: Alright

T: Catch you later mate

Q: Alright cya

T: Ohh I thought he was gonna be more upset about the cookie outpost, I thought he would be a bit more upset, Alright let's check out the burger shop, I think it's gonna be nice, I think it's gonna be really really nice because the way Wilbur described it it was a really nice place.. oh oh! Ranboos here!

Hello!

R: Oh! Oh uh - hel- hell- hello

T: Hi Uh

R: Uh ho- how are you doing?

T: Um im I’m doing alright

R: W- what were you up to?

T: Well I- I was just talking with Quackity over the burger business and stuff you know

R: Well is everything okay with that?

T: Yeah, Yeah I'm pretty sure it's fantastic!

R: You- you sure?

T: Yeah 100% I think it's going really well. Can I come inside? I kinda want to have a look at your place!

R: Sure- I mean its it's not all done we are still uh me and Wilbur are still working on it and stuff

T: Why do you trust Wilbur so much?

R: Hmm?

T: Why do you trust Wilbur?

R: Well, here here’s the thing, basically I I don’t trust trust Wilbur yet but I do have more trust in him then you do

T: Yeah

R: But I mean 13 years I mean a guy is gotta change throughout all of that right?

T: I mean I suppose so I don’t not think he has changed, I just think he has to have the opportunity to prove it because- trust

R: Yeah thats why, why I am here so when he does something that does redeem himself, then someone can be there that will be able to see it and everything and honestly I rather it be me the person, rather it be me than someone else. So um

T: I guess I guess that makes a lot of sense I guess, I I don’t know I guess I don’t think I feel I can put my life in his hands again if you know what I mean.. heheh..

R: Well this isn’t this isn't putting my life in his hands this is just making a little little burger shop and everything… Are you okay with all of this right?

T: Oh yeah I yeah its fine its fine

R: okay that's that

T: Yeah it's enjoyable, yeah I understand it all it makes a lot of sense

R: You sure you understand? Because like- if if you need me to stop, then i'll stop

T: Yeah yeah, I noticed, is there a reason that you haven't told Wilbur about the tax reasons.. marriage hehe

R: Yeah yeah thats just because from what I’ve heard from Tommy and everything the Wilbur that thirteen years ago at least used stuff against Tommy and everything so you know just incase I mean I still trust Wilbur not super fully just at least a little bit

T: Ahh, I can fully completely understand that honestly

R: I like working with him as well its nice it's just nice to do something

T: Yeah, fair enough, I think the competition will be good yeah I mean i'm very excited I haven't felt this happy in quite awhile, I feel like I finally got something under my belt, something I can you know really sync my teeth into and be apart of, it feels like I am part of a bigger cause now, like-

R: So, so you’re sure now that this is the - you’re all okay with what’s going on?

T: Yeah yeah it's just friendly competition man, it's gonna be awesome, if anything it will just be better for consumers which means its gonna be better for everyone

R: Yeah yeah that makes sense at least

T: I mean are you alright?

R: How did you bury the hatchet with Quackity though? That's what I don’t get…

T: Bury the hatchet, what do you mean by that?

R: I mean, how how did you make peace with him because the last time we spoke with him you were talking about how he had a roll in your… unfortunate uh removal of life

T: Yeah he did, but to be honest, this, it's a lot… Well no I’m not even sure it is as much Quackity’s fault as Wilburs, I don’t like- I was gonna die no matter what that day, it just happened. I mean, I I dont have much quarrel with him, he seems to uh I mean look at what he's built, he seems good

R: yeah

T: I mean I managed to also clean up all the ruckus over the cookie outpost and stuff as well so that's in the past now.

R: Wait, he's all okay with that now?

T: Yeah he promised me a good life,

R: What do you mean? Was your life not good before?

T: No- no no no no it was, he talked a lot about Lmanburg and he

R: That wasn’t really much of a good life for you though was it?

T: Oh no you- you’ve only heard the bad bits of Lmanburg, lmanburg was amazing

R: So he promised you the good bits?

T: Yeah yeah basically yeah which is awesome

R: Thats good thats good

T: Yeah so I- I figured out how to get rid of the tension regarding the cookie outpost, I signed a contract, dotted the t’s and the i’s put the past in the past I’m excited to uh keep moving forward its exciting

R: Okay… a-a awesome. So he's Okay with the cookie shop now?

T: Yeah hes 100% okay, we basically came the agreement,

R: Awesome

T: I wasn’t being myself like before when I was working on the cookie shop, I- I was

R: MHm

T: upset and sad and I - I was like I just wanted to have something to feel part of something bigger again but then I realized that instead of fighting the thing that would of given me that feeling I tried to make my own, I dug my heels in, it wasn’t really the right thing to do I-

R: mhm

T: So we signed a contract, so the cookie shop is owned by me. It just exists in las nevadas now and.. yeah, it follows its laws and regulations.

R: Okay So is, is everything everything, um everythings everythings… w- wait so how exactly sorry did you make Quackity okay with it all?

T: We went up to the needle, we just talked it out, we wrote up a contract, we talked it out, basically agreed to have the cookie shop become part of Las Nevadas. Because I mean-

R: Wait, you gave away the cookie shop??

T: I didn’t give away the cookie shop away, I still own it, its just now part of las nevadas,

R: part of las nevadas which is owned by quackity,

T: Well yeah, but not entirely

R: Y-yeah entirely,

T: no.. that's not how it works at all it it's still owned by me just exists in his territory

R: Which is property of las nevadas which is owned by quackery…….

T: Noooo it's not like that at all

R: Okay…. It seems like you just….

T: No there’s a lot more than that, it's not black and white like I just “gave it to him” I still own it I still have full control over it, it follows his laws which is fine

R: And his rules- ……..

awesome cool um that's great oh which would you look at that the bread is stale, it was nice um it was nice uh talking you to, I’m gonna go throw this bread in the river

T: Okay

R: Alright thanks for stopping on by, ill ill talk to you later alright?

T: uh okay, buh bye

R: bye

T: That was….. that was um uh I wasn’t expecting that to go uh quite like that, I didn’t think it mattered that much. wuhhh… uh that was I was not expecting to- he seemed, oh god that felt a little awkward, I I didn't, I mean it's mine to give away I built the entire place, I built all of it, that's so weird…. Okay I’m gonna come up with some burger recipes I didn't actually manage,

I probably should've done some research that would of been nice- OHFUCK

Q: oh god holy shit

T: Sorry honestly

Q: You fucking scared me

T: I didn’t notice you just then

Q: Tubbo tubbo you were supposed to be here uh work has already started your a little late

T: Oh sorry

Q: you’re a little late tubbo

T: sorry sorry, I’m sorry

Q: Remember we can’t build a kingdom here of fast-food burger- sorry sorry I got like 10 things in my mind right now uh tubbo

T: Yeah

Q: You can’t keep arriving late okay

T: Okay?

Q: We gotta make sure you- this place runs very well, listen I have an idea help me take this thing down

T: Oh, okay…

Q: You’re gonna love this tubbo, when Wilbur sees this because I know hes gonna be fucking spying around hes gonna freak out, hes gonna finally realize what an idiot- Wilbur is for whatever he decides to do

T: Why do you care so much about what Wilburs is doing?

Q: Check this out check this out

T: I’m excited for it

Q: That guy really thinks he can go in and blow up the godam restaurant, who does he think he is? Who does he godam think he is?!

T: I thought you weren’t that bothered?

Q: It’s so fucking annoying that he does this shit its annoying man. Check this out Tubbo, you ready?

T: What's this what’s this? Oh my gosh,

Q: What do you think?

T: That's awesome dude what the hell??

Q: I cant wait to see the look on- what his stupid fucking face is gonna look like- im gonna absolutely, Wilbur’s gonna see this and realize he messed with the wrong fucking person Tubbo and that I am no one you want to mess around with and his little buddy Ranboo is oh- oh sorry I don’t know if you, guys are friends-

T: Yeah yeah we are

Q: but for fucks sake they FUCKED up Tubbo

T: Did they?

Q: They fucked with the wrong person, he is going to regret what they did to me

T: What did they do?

Q: And to my fucking country

T: What did I feel kinda left out?

Q: What what?

T:What happened?

Q: I’m sorry, I'm sorry , ignore me, I'm just rambling, I'm just rambling, you know what we gotta do, besides selling burgers we gotta sell more shit, we gotta do this NFT, did you hear about these NFTs?

T: Yeah yeah, the turburgers NFTs?

Q: The tuburgers NFT system they have a system, we are gonna make a system too

T: Not just one, but TWO

Q: Yeah yeah, I need you to try this out, its Wilburs burger

T: Oh okay,

Q: It’s smelly— Tubbo, do you see this fish tank?

T: Yeah?

Q: It looks normal to you and it looks normal to them, but to them, they left a huge crater in my goddam restaurant and they could think they could fucking get away with that but this fishtanks means much more then that

T: Does it?

Q: IT means much more than that, this fishtanks is not who he thinks he is right? He used to be slick and all this powerful guy in lmanburg, he's not the same guy.

T: Do you think he's changed? Hes- old age I guess?

Q: Changedd? Haha Tubbo you think Wilburs changed? Comeon, Wilbur hasn’t changed one bit and Im excited, I’m excited once he realizes everything we are doing and everything we are up to its not gonna be the fucking same, I am going to destroy him, we’re gonna destroy him

T: woahhh

Q: WE”RE gonna destroy him in

T: friendly competition of course?

Q: yes yes of course

T: We aren’t gonna hurt them right?

Q: No no no no I’m sorry I get. Little startled

T: Financially maybe

Q: I’m sorry I’m sorry I just like completion

T: Competition is good for everyone, friendly, the only people that win here are the consumers and that's what matters. That could be our motto, “the customer is all that matters''

Q: I love it I love it, let's do that, lets do that Tubbo uh I apart from this, sorry I got a little startled I think it is important to recognise we need competition at the end of the day

T: Oh of course we can’t exist without them

Q: This is your place this is your place now its set in stone

T: That is such a cool sign

Q: You’re the manager, what's the next boss?

T: Do you want to hear my three step program? I have a three step program for this

Q: Oh sure sure!

T: Well be in the kitchen woohoo I thought of a couple of ways to make burgers quick and not sacrifice the flavor so from what I can see in their place they don’t have smokers and you still get the quality, we can smell smoked steak burgers

Q: Oh really??

T: We can sell the wagyu burgers if you know what I mean?

Q: Wait actually???

T: I think we are doing wagyu burgers,

Q: I love that I love that, Tubbo, based on what you’ve told me this means a lot to you.

T: Thank you

Q: Resources, items, what farms, what do you need, you say it's an important project, what do you need to make this thrive?

T: We need grain we need a lot of grain, we need a way to make fresh dough, our supplies are a little dire

Q: Just, just close that chest

T: This is like my first actual day

Q: We will get you the best of the best products

T: When will you get the grain farm down?

Q: Is grain different to wheat?

T: nonono its the same just we take the grain from the wheat and grind it to make the dough

Q: Tubbo, come with me… look at this!

T: WOAHHH

Q: I thought you had seen this

T: I must have completely overlooked this!

Q: Yeah!! And we also have a spot for meat. They are grass-fed tubbo. Look at this Tubbo listen, I want to emphasize that this is all you man, this is your project. The sign out there says tub burger so as far as i'm aware you are incharge of the restaurant. I know there’s also food regulations that are put down and stuff

T: Oh yeah yeah

Q: If you need any way around the constitution let me know

T: I noticed the kitchen is a little worse for wear, I noticed the kitchens a little, we are gonna have to get that cleaned up because it's probably a health violation

Q: Yeah yeah we will get that cleaned up for you

T: Yeah its really gunky its genuinely, it's really strange

Q: Ah I had a friend who lived there for a little while

T: In the kitchen……?

Q: Yeah he kinda was like yeah.. he left the place a little slimy, I’ll get it cleaned up

T: How… what?

Q: He he actually uh -

T: When was the last time he showered?

Q: You know what, you know what man? You should meet him one day

T: Does he still live there or does he have a place now?

Q: He-he's around I think, I haven't seen him in a bit but he can…. I haven't seen him in a bit of tubbo…. Besides before

T: You haven't seen him?

Q: He should come back soon

T: Well if you ever need anyone to lead a search if it gets to that point, I can do that

Q: No no no don’t worry

T: It’s not like a big deal- no?

Q: focus on your project instead of worrying about these other issues others may have…

T: Let's get started on naming the burgers shall we? Do you have any signs or. anything?

Q: Well for original or classic tubbo? The tubburger right?

T: Oh defiantly, we should number them so it's easier to order them and on this side we do like… gold, I’ve seen your city

Q: Ohhh so you’re thinking more than fast food

T: No i'm thinking we can account of the masses like the people who want that find dining and the people who want the quick bite

Q: That's genius

T: Do you want to know the second step in my three step program?

Q: Yes, yes tubbo of course

T: We need a drive through on this place, we need drive through wagyu beef

(Goes to break a wall down)

T: Wait- uh people live there

Q: uh I try to act impulsively its-

T: No no it's okay

Q: I really really

T: It makes sense

Q: I think it would be really badass

T: Yeah yeah, do you think we could get like a road going through here for the drive through, do you think that could work?

Q: Oh yeah yeah

T: They got a burger van, they are on the roads, we are in the roads if you know what I mean

Q: 100% tubbo, 100%, Tubbo you’re coming up with all of these great ideas I- I couldn’t of chose a better person to run this place then you tubbo

T: Aw thank you man

Q: I think that's one of your more underrated features

T: I’m gonna be honest I’m just enjoying a place to feel like I’m doing stuff again

Q: I don’t know if anyone has told you this Tubbo but one of your most underrated features is your creativity and drive to do good things, I dont think I’ve ever seen you tubbo and thought on this is a bad person

T: Oh… oh the fish may have just offered itself….

( A couple of beats of silence, then quackity goes and eats the dead salmon

Q: One of the most underrated features Tubbo and I don’t think anyone has told you this

T: Yeah?

Q: That your drive to do good things

T: AW

Q: I dont think I’ve ever seen you and thought oh this is a bad person, I think you are inherently good

T: Aw thank you so much mate

Q: Yes tubbo build up the menu

T: I will I will get on it

Q: I’ll make sure everything works well, the wheat farms…

T: Oh what the hell have you seen this book? “YO SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH YOUR DOOR YOU SHOULD PROBABLY CHECK THAT OUT I THINK YOU GOT THEM HALF OFF AND I DON'T MEAN PRICE WISE” Sorry I mean

Q: That- Wilbur, fucker that guy… that guy thinks hes so fucking funny “Yeah big q don’t you think there’s something wrong with your doors you should probablyy check that out I think” shut the fuck up, fuck you fuck you how the hell do I get rid this this I will spit on it and throw it in the fucking garbage can

T: Woahh woahh

Q: What the hell is wrong with that guy

T: Who wrote that, how do you know who wrote that?

Q: WHO DO YOU THINK “WROTE IT”

T: What Wilbur?

Q: Of course it was fucking Wilbur wanna know what he did to this place he fucking came and blew ahhh oh my god

T: Yeah I heard about the explosion, I never got to see it though,

Q: It doesn't matter it doesn't matter, you know what Tubbo, don’t ever even like bring it up in front of him don’t talk about it it never happened

T: Okay so we,- we just are better than that. We just

Q: We’re better than that, bigger and better and everything good

T: We don’t need to resort to staboutouge

Q: 100% 100% I - ahh whatever man, listen tubbo, I’m gonna go back to my office and count how much money I have and then I’m gonna come down here for a quick lunch break and then, I’m gonna tell everyone to start helping with your wheat farm, your grain farm, your bread farm

T: uh huh

Q: And we’re gonna up the production with cow meat

T: And I’m gonna get more recipes down thank you so much, thank you so much im gonna get on and start working on that

Q: This is all you tubbo, this is all you

(Sam logs on, maybe to ellude quackity is going to torture dream in the vault who knows)

T: This is unbelievable , I can’t thank you enough honestly

Q: I can’t thank you enough tubbo, I’ll go back to my office and get some work done, and how much money we have

T: I’ll get to the kitchen. Goodbye mate cya later!

Q: Not gonna lie tubbo, that fish was some bad shit

T: hah ahha, ohhh

Q: my stomach I really have to go I really have to go

T: Oh god i'm so sorry I’ll get the fish water treated, bye mate

Q: Yeah… yeah- bye mate!

T: Yeah okay, time to get off and work. I'm gonna start working on some new recipes, let's be excited, it feels so good to have this new job finally.

[chemicallady]

Daddy is home

Greg Sanders x Reader

A/N: Thank you everyone for reading this. If you want some fluff with just a little sadness, you're in the right place.

Couple: Greg Sanders/Female!Reader

Category: Mostly fluff with a little piece of angst. Family slice of life for Greggo.

Content Warning: none

Summary:  Reader is use to feel Greg absence.... but what about is own children? And Greg? What's more important? His job or his family?

*****

You are use to feel Greg absence, almost every night and, sometimes, even for days. It wasn't a big deal when you two started to see each other. You were a grad student, looking for a PhD out of town - searching for a new experience- and he was a lab tech at the crime lab in Vegas. Your relationship had worked for 5 years while you were in Salt Lake City, even if you constantly missed him so much and viceversa. He spent a lot of utahns weekends at your apartment and you came back in Nevada for every break.

After your PhD graduation you came back to Vegas and he proposed to you. It was an hard time, Warrick was dead, he had printed is first book on Vegas history and you just settled down at UNLV. You had lived togheter two months and then he proposed. Of course you said yes and the two of you had a small cerimony at the Eclipse, Catherine's casinó. It was an intimate cerimony, with your friends and co workes and relatives from Norway and (your hometown/country.)

You had worked hard on your post doc as a teaching assistant and a researcher and he has continued his job as a csi. You have always prefered working at night the days you didnt have any class, in order to be awake when he came back home in the morning.

It worked since you discovered that you were pregnant. Both of you were so excited to become parents, it has always been something that you desire, having your own kids. Start a family.

After Bjorn birth, by the way, everything changed. You have started to work in the morning and sleeping at night in order to provide the best standard of living for your son. And, after two years and half, Jodie came to the world, complicating thing but coloring your life even more.

You constantly miss Greg, of course. You miss your youth with him, the mornings spent in making love with jazz music in the background before a lazy afternoons sleeping in his arms. The days he came to the University after job to pick you up.

But both of you love your family.

It's stil working.

Because you love him and Greg loves you more than anything.

More than that, he is born to be a dad. He was scared as hell, but he perfect fits that role.

Even more, he is methodical.

He is really good in keeping job separating from his personal life, even if his coworkers are his family. And yours as well.

☆

...But is hard for kids to understand why dad is never home. Especially for Bjorn, who is the eldest. He has started to notice this situation in the last weeks and you have been scared of this moment since you gave birth to him.

《 Why daddy can't come today?》

You look at your baby boy, feeling really sorry for the whole situation. It is his first baseball match with the pre school team as a player in the field from the first minute and it means a lot to him.

Bjorn's really smart for his age, he understand that his parents jobs are important because is a duty... But is natural that he feels so betrayed. He is still too young to even imagine how demanding is Greg's job.

《Because daddy has a case》, you try to explain with a soft voce, caressing his blonde hair with two fingers. He seems totaly like his father in this moment. 《He has to catch this big bad guy and-》

《Why uncle Nick is not catching him for daddy? Just for today! 》

《Because they work togheter, sweetheart... you know that. We already talk about daddy's job...》

Not in a specific way, of course. Greg is more like a super hero to Bjorn.... he is too innocent and young to know how cruel and horrible could be the world sometimes.

《It's not fair. He never came to see me play》

《That's not fair... you know that daddy is so sad for this... he ask me to shot everything so he can see it as long as he will be home!》

That doesn't help.

《And I'll be already in bed》 he snuffles, before running in his room, nearly cry.

You don't know how to manage this. Both of Greg and you are really indipendent.... that's why your wedding is so strong, because you don't need the other around one all the time.

But for Bjorn is different. He needs his daddy as he needs you. Most of that, he wants to make Greg proud of him, shows him how he has improved thanks also to their weekend practices on Sundays.

You are still thinking about a solution, but Jo start to cry from her playbox.

You have to speak with your husband and decide what tell to Bjorn, togheter.

He deserves a good explanation.

☆

It's late when Greg comes home.

He is surprised when he notice that the kitchen lights are still turned on. You are sitting at the table, looking at your laptop as you can't really see it.

《 y/n, baby?》, he calls you, waking you up from your thoughts. 《Are you ok? It's like 3 in the morning, sweetie.》

《Yeah, I was looking over some notes from next week semenary when I realised how late it was, I decided to wait for you to come back.》

《Thanks, after a couple of double shifts, I really need to speak with my wife》, he says with a smile, before kisses your lips and take a sits next to you. 《I've missed home in those last two days.》

《Have you slept a little?》, you ask worried. When a case is so demanding, the team works till they are exhausted. 《Did you have a propel meal?》

《...I ate two sandwiches Dr Robbins' wife made for us.》

《....there is some roast left. I'm gonna warm it for you and then I'll put you in the bed at least for nine hours, bright man》

He laughts a little. 《Yes ma'am.》

You stand up, caressing his hair, after place a kiss on his head. 《Tell me about the cause. Was that bad?》

《More like a nightmare....》

He starts talking about the brutal abductions he was working on those last days. In the meanwhile you are cooking for him. You open a good bottle of wine your father sent to you last week and prepare a couple of fine glasses. Is not a problem for you when Greg talks about his job. For some unknown reasons, it grows on you during the years togheter. You also have helped the team sometimes with you competences. It's quite normal for the two of you speaking about your day. It helps to split away the stress and find always your connection. And is always reliving for you see that even if the job is so demanding physically and emotionally, Greg can totaly handle it. Not only. He loves is job. Even in dark days like this one.

《Poor girls....》, is the only thing you can say, while you're watching your husband eat like he was starving. 《No one deserve this kind of fate...》

《Think at the parents 》, he observes, moving his elbows quickly. 《If someone would have done something like that on Jodie, I'd went mad.》

You stop thinking about the case immediately.

《Sorry for the unhappy connection.... but if you are not too tired, we need to speak about our boy.》

Greg looks at you surprised. 《What about him? Bad day?》

《Yes》, you answer, surprising him even more. Bjorn is really talented in sports, unlike his father. 《He played 10 minutes than he had an argument with the coach and spent the rest of the afternoon warming the bench.》

This is unusual. Bjorn is a good lad. Always smiley and obedient at preschool. Teachers love him because he is so good and he knows a lot about science and stuff even if he is four. Mom is an academic, a college professor and daddy is a scientist. How could be different? He is also responsible and he always take serious the baseball trainings. That's the first time he disobey this much.

《What happened y/n? Oh, no. Let me guess.》 You look him cover his own face with a hand. 《He is mad at me, isn't he?》

《Yep babe, he is really mad at you. And at me as well. By now, I think he is mad at the world because you didn't come today.... I explained him that's not your fault, but...》

Greg sighs 《But it is my fault. When he born I swore to God that I'd be a good father even if my job is.... the 70% of my life.》

《But you are》, you say with a stubborn tone in your voice. 《You are a good father. It was just and unfortunate Saturday. He have never missed a game before. You'd be there if it wasn't for the case. 》

《I know but he deserves more than all those 'if' statements. 》 You look at him, feeling the heaviness of this thoughts. 《I should stay in the lab.》 He finally says and you realise a long sigh. This is not going to be an happy conversation, not with your regretting husband weak moment. 《The moment I met you, I knew you were the one. I wanted to start a family before changing job, work on field. It was a stupid decision. If I continued to work as DNA tech we would have more money and more time to spend all togheter.》

《.... I throught we were out with 'if' statements.》

《Y/n, honey-》

《Don't you dare 'honey' me, Greg Sanders.》 You stop him. You keep his hand in yours and smile. 《You are an amazing father. One day, when he will be older and wiser, he will understand. Now is easy to handle the situation. If you spend a day with him, he'll forget about it. Is just a kid, G.》

Greg seems not satisfied. He feels like an idiot, not thing about how mad is son would be noticed his absence. But he also trust your judgement. He always says that you are an amazing mom and even more, the best of wives.

So he smiles back.

《Maybe you are right.》

《Maybe?》, you ask with an ironical tone. He stand up and comes near to you. He offers his hand and you keep it, staning on your feet.

《Sorry Dr Sanders》, he replies, while you are wrapping your arm on his neck. 《You're completely right y/n. I'm already planning an afternoon, just for boys.》

《He'll love it》, you reassure him, before asking for another kiss, with more passion. You both find a good arrangement so you can clean the kitchen and try to sleep at least three hours.

.....or maybe do something more interesting with you husband, who seems to have plans, looking the way he is lifting the t-shirt of your pijama....

You are use to feel Greg absence, that's true.

But when he comes back, well.... that's the moment you realise how much you actually have missed him. And how much you love him and be loved in return.

○Fin○

[appleflavoredkitkats]

Thank you for being there and making amazing AU’s

Take some of this

Also does anyone in the main trio of Las Nevadas AU experience panic attacks yet? My main bet is Fundy

AAA UR SO SWEET <333 and you're asking the important, angsty questions here, aren't you >:D

tw: panic attacks, dissociation, derealization, existential dread

/dsmp /rp

fundy does experience panic attacks, but i'd like to argue he experiences it the least out of the three, but not by that much. i say that fundy shuts down more than anything when he gets told off. his main trigger is when someone tells him that he isn't the person they thought he was, or just an ignorant comment about fundy's identity and how he's “changed”. more than anything, fundy dissociates rather than have a full-blown panic attack.

fundy only dissociates when he experiences a nightmare or is faced with an identity crisis. panic attacks can happen for anything else (but it still happens for the first two things mentioned, but much more seldom). if he's overstressed at work, or a pet dies, or he watches any familial issue unfold— that's when the panic attacks settle. fundy's panic attacks are messy, especially since he cries the most amongst the trio. his breaths are erratic, and because he applies heavy makeup from time to time, it smudges against his cheeks.

easy breathing tricks work though, and quackity and schlatt easily can help fundy with them since they're good at working together as long as it helps fundy. these two literally cannot cooperate unless fundy is in the picture, which fundy does tease about after the panic seizes. to be fair, it's easy to comfort fundy because he swoons from the simplest terms of endearment and comfort.

i'd say quackity and schlatt on the other hand have worse experiences with panic attacks. to start of with quackity, quackity loves to put a façade up in las nevadas a lot. he is a good actor, and sometimes, even fundy and schlatt can't tell if he's genuinely upset or not. it's difficult because quackity likes to withhold his negative emotions, but doesn't realize how much he's suppressing 'til it spills over when the smallest, negative thing happens.

from losing to a slot machine, to tripping in the sidewalk, to thinking that the music was too loud for his ears— quackity gets panic attacks a lot, and he gets them in the weirdest places possible. the main downside to this is that his main sources of comfort, fundy and schlatt, don't often witnessing him having these attacks. sure, when they do, they'd obviously help, but when quackity gets these attacks in the worst places possible.

so sometimes, he handles them alone. he tries to seep into the darkest spots possible and try to handle the attacks independently. sometimes, he'd try sneaking into bathrooms when they happen, and in these times, schlatt and fundy typically know q is having a panic attack. quackity tries to go to bathrooms less because he really doesn't like bothering the other two, especially in terms of comfort and venting, but of course, schlatt and fundy don't relent.

when quackity handles them in bathrooms, and the door is locked, it's schlatt who usually talks to him through the door. schlatt is way better at words of comfort than fundy, so fundy usually stays aside (or handles the casinos while q's gone), and schlatt does most of the talking. it does help— schlatt's words easily ground quackity back into reality because quackity's way of being comforted is... not easy. there are specific words he wants to hear, stories, instructions; and schlatt is the main one who can deliver it correctly.

besides schlatt and fundy, quackity also has had his fair shares of... other sources of comfort from other people. he's had at least one or two experiences with sam, jack, and charlie whenever he has attacks in the more obscure places. of course, they're not much of an expert at it as much as schlatt, but they have attempted helping. sam once found him next to the garbage outside of his bar, and sam sat by q. he did the typical five senses trick and tried asking quackity to remember certain fond memories of his. jack had a more... messy approach, but his tone was soft, and he tried his best to get quackity to do some breathing exercises. charlie was definitely similar to schlatt but with a bit more comedy and stutters. he doesn't really like showing his gratitude outright after the attacks, but he does raise their salaries and leave gifts for them when they don't expect it.

schlatt's panic attacks are more spontaneous. no build up required, no outside force needed to trigger a panic attack, but schlatt is an immense thinker. he thinks a lot when he's doing his job, he thinks a lot in his bed while sipping wine, he thinks a lot as he smokes next to fundy or quackity during their breaks and dayoffs. problem is, sometimes, he spirals too much downwards in his thoughts.

this is his version of limbo. he often gets haunted by intrusive thoughts of how he is deteriorating, how he won't be able to leave a mark on anyone's lives (especially his own), that he won't be able to achieve his purpose in life (as well as just. not be able to find a new purpose in life). it's frustrating, and he gets lost in thought so much, and there is always that one dark thought that will trigger the panic. sometimes, something tells him that his skin will keep flaking and his body will be reduced into a pile of disjointed bones. sometimes, something tells him that he isn't that flame of ambition that he used to be, and everyone would think of him as mundane and grey and lifeless. sometimes, something tells him that he's going to live as purposeless as ever, and he will slowly be devoid of any emotion or passion.

it's just those simple thoughts that will make his breath hitch. it's obvious when schlatt gets to this point because he visibly shifts and shakes, his eyes staring at nothing as it twitches. he would muster a whine or a groan and if he's with fundy or quackity, they immediately know what's up. he didn't necessarily tell them how these entire ordeals work, but quackity and fundy are analytical enough to understand how he gets to this point, so they don't question it. instead, they've learned to help him.

because quackity and fundy's presence alone does remind him that yes, his life still has a purpose. yes, he still has someone to care for. his life isn't meaningless, and these people he's with is telling him that yes, they still see something worthy in him.

quackity and fundy don't need to say much, but they are allowed to hold his palm or ruffle his hair and tell him that they're here, and they need him to breathe for them. he finds comfort in knowing that his safety means a lot to the other two.

they've also tried to develop a system which helps them inform each other on whether or not they have gotten a panic attack and need help. this was mostly for schlatt at first since he really needs other people's presence to get over with his attacks, but they've also implemented this for fundy and quackity because schlatt berates them on keeping their attacks a secret.

they basically need to send a comma in chat whenever they are experiencing a panic attack and need help. for quicker typing, they represent different places in las nevadas with certain digits so they wouldn't have to type out something long. for example, the main casino (which i now headcanon is the four casinos combined into one big casino after quackity remodelled it) is represented with a “$”, the hotel lobby is “G”, sam's bar is “&”, fundy's room is “f”, schlatt's is “s”, quackity's is “q”, and you get the gist.

for fundy's dissociation, it's difficult for fundy to type out stuff, so quackity always remembers to ask fundy how he's doing if he isn't seen at work. if fundy doesn't reply, that their cue to check how he's doing in his room. fundy makes it a habit as much as possible to reply to quackity when he isn't dissociating to make their system work.

[tinyboxxtink]

"Doppelganger" *Part 18*

Alright I went back and forth with this one, I even had a whole other idea where to take this, but I ended up here. And you know to be honest I think it ended up working out because it really does explain a LOT. I just did it inadvertently.

Also I hate to ask this but if you enjoy my stuff can you PLEASE reblog it and not just like it? It really helps me out more because more people see it, liking it doesn't really do anything.

I love you all!!!

Part 17

Part 19

Tag List

@madamsnape921

@lolliepopsicle

@chasingeverybreakingwave

@milkshqke

@wanniiieeee

@word-scribbless

@gibbs274

@sassyada

@aprildecker-blog

@bookishfanfic

@stars-in-the-skies-world

@stars-trash-18

@omgsuperstarg

@objection-argumentative

[OMG I LOVE HIS FACE SO MUCH. I don't wanna give any spoilers but watch it when you read the line that starts: "I don't know what else to do--" . Wait, can you tell it's a face he's making like, he's about to cry because he doesn't know what you expect him to do because that's the context of the gif. It's when Alex is like I didn't do shit blah blah blah and he's like "It's all gonna come out Alex, I don't know how else to help you if you're just gonna be this way! Kinda like Cest La Vie, ya know? Did I overexplain it?]

--------------------------

The next few days consisted of a lot of cuddling and binging, you two in your own little bubble. Rafael didn’t have any big cases at the moment, so he was able to do most of his paperwork and things from home. After a long discussion, you decided that you were going to take the rest of the semester off; at least until things cooled down, people forgot about the whole ‘Nevada’ debacle, and wouldn’t hound you anymore. You were enjoying your bubble when Rafael just had to pop it.

You were in the middle of binging some courtroom drama [DUN DUN] when he turned to you and said:

“...Baby, remember when you said you’d talk to someone…?”

There it was. The other shoe dropped. The music had come, you had to face it.

“I um, yeah…” You looked down and played with the string on Rafael’s HARVARD hoodie you were currently wearing.

“Well I found numbers of some pretty good psychiatrists that deal with PTSD and--”

“Psychiatrists?!” You suddenly sat upright. “Y-You want me to go to a shrink?”

“Well, I thought that’s what--”

“I thought you just wanted me to talk to one of your-- squad, people,” You were starting to panic. You didn’t want some stranger knowing your business; how would you even begin to explain the situation?!

“I mean, if that’s what you want--”

“That’s what I want,” You cut him off. “As long as it’s not Olivia,”

“Okay, whatever you need baby,” He kissed the top of your head.

-----

That next week you had agreed to sit down and talk with Sonny Carisi. Rafael was stunned when you asked to talk to a guy, but you said it made you feel more comfortable for whatever reason. He was seriously hesitant for some reason, but then agreed. The conversation went like this:

“What are you worried I'll latch on to him, fall in love with him like people do with their mentors?” You teased.

“Ha ha….” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He didn’t find it amusing at all.

“....Baby I was just kidding,” You put a hand to his chest. “That takes months-- or y’know, a glance at a photo in a temp office,” You giggled, thinking about how you met and fell in love.

“Yeah no I know,” He gave you a very weird smile. “Just um, y’know don’t get into too much detail about us, okay? Just stick to the Nevada thing,”

“...Um, okay…?” You looked at him curiously.

“I just don’t want my co-workers knowing our personal stuff, carino,” He assured you. Well that made sense.

----

So here you were, sitting in an interrogation room with Sonny Carisi. He looked about as uncomfortable as you felt. Though you couldn’t understand why he would be worried, you were the one ‘on trial’ here.

“So um, Miss Y/L/N,” He cleared his throat.

“Y/F/N is fine, Mr. Carisi,”

“Sonny, please,” He nodded. “So, Y/N-- I uh, so...did you wanna talk about anything?”

“....I mean, you’re the SVU detective here Sonny. Don’t you have a list of questions you have to ask me?”

“I mean, we already know most of it. You were kidnapped by a guy who looked like Barba, you had sex with him a lot--”

“Excuse me?” You cut him off. “Is that what your little paper says? ‘I had sex with him a lot’? I was assaulted, multiple times,”

“Right,” He nodded nervously. “Yeah no, of course I’m sorry that’s what I meant,”

“...Did Olivia write this?” You narrowed your eyes.

“Excuse me?”

“Did Olivia write this report?” You repeated.

“Why would you ask that?” He asked you nervously.

“Because it doesn’t exactly sound like I’m the victim in that report,” You crossed your arms. “It sounds like someone who has a personal bias towards my fiancé, who thinks that this was my fault. That I should’ve known the difference between him and some criminal. Maybe someone who thinks they would’ve known better if they were in the situation. Maybe someone who thinks he should be with someone who knows them like they do,”

“....That’s a lot of assumption on your part, Y/N,” Sonny turned the paper upwards while he dismissed your conspiracy theory.

“...Is it?” You narrowed your eyes. “Let me see it,”

“Y’know these things are private information for the NYPD Y/N, and--” Before he could finish, you swiped the paper from him. You noticed his face go white, he stopped talking. Jesus, did everyone want to protect precious Olivia? You scanned the paper, your eyes went wide when you saw who filled it out.

“....You filled this out,” You said softly, looking at him. He was looking at the floor. “Y-You, filled this out Mr. Carisi,”

“Sonny--” He said in a shaky voice.

“Oh ok, SONNY,” You tossed the paper at him. “You--You don’t even know me. Do you? Have we met before? Did I offend you in some past life?”

“No, no of course not--”

“.....Or have I offended you by dating your mentor--oh my god, your mentor,” You suddenly remembered the conversation you had with Rafael a few days before.

“I...I have to go,” You suddenly stood up and walked out of the room briskly, Sonny trailed behind you. Rafael had been waiting in the squad room to take you home after you were done, you stomped across the room to him.

“Hey, baby done so soon--? What’s wrong?” He looked at you with concern.

“....Were you screwing Carisi?” you growled.

“Excuse me?” He asked in a panicked tone.

“WERE YOU FUCKING YOUR MENTEE BEFORE ME,” You practically screamed, causing the whole precinct to stop and stare. Rafael looked around the room horrified, then glanced at Sonny who had an apologetic look on his face. “He--”

“Oh no no no, don’t blame this on him,” You stood in front of his eyeline to Sonny. “...Is that what you do, Rafael? Y-You seduce your interns and sleep with them? W-Was I just a tick on the wall?”

“NO,” He shook his head and took your hand. “Can we-- Can we do this outside, please?”

“Why? Because you don’t want everyone to know ‘our’ personal life, or ‘yours’?” You huffed as you skulked out of the building.

“Barba I’m sorry, she just--” Sonny tried to explain.

“We are not done with this, Carisi,” Rafael growled at him before he ran after you.

-----

He caught you outside the precinct, breathing heavily trying not to have a panic attack.

“What is wrong with you?” Rafael asked you, making you stop altogether.

“A-Are you serious?” You half laughed in disbelief. “You send me into the lion’s den without any warning, and then I just get to find out that I’m just one of the many--”

“Oh knock it off, Y/N,” He stopped you. “You know that’s not true,”

“It’s not? Then what the fuck was that?”

“Okay,” He sighed. “Okay fine maybe I should have-- insist on you talking to someone else,”

“....You think THAT’S the problem here?”

“Look Y/N. Carisi and I...we... we got drunk a few times, and we-- y’know,” He shrugged uncomfortably.

“Oh God…” You wouldn’t throw up on the sidewalk, you told yourself.

“And he caught feelings from it! I can’t control how he feels!” He gestured towards the building.

“...So does that mean that you ‘y’know’ with Olivia a few times, and SHE ‘caught feelings’ from it? Because I distinctly remember you telling me that nothing ever happened between you two,”

“....Under your spell,” He mumbled.

“Excuse me?” You almost fell over.

“I--” He looked around nervously. “I said that, under your spell. You think that when I was ‘in love’ with you I was going to tell you that I fucked the woman you were threatened by?”

“...Did....did you just use quotes? Did you just air quote you being in love with me?”

“Well I wasn’t exactly under my own free will now was I?” He snapped.

“I can’t...I can’t believe you’re using that against me,” You looked to the side with a dry laugh, refusing to cry.

“Look I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to--” He tried to go for your hand, but you weren’t having it. “Look my point was, you and I-- we’re not the same. Our relationship isn’t the same as them--”

“No, it’s not. Because you slept with them WILLINGLY, right? And I just tricked you into it? Like Nevada did with me? Because we’re the same?”

“Alright now you’re just--” He rolled his eyes.

“What? What am I JUST--?” You crossed your arms, upset he wasn’t taking this seriously.

“I thought we were doing all of this to get past this, Y/N,” He sighed in frustration.

“So did I!” You stomped your foot, tears choking your throat. “But--But, what if we can’t? This whole time, this WHOLE time. You--”

“Y/N baby stop--” He tried putting his hand on your shoulder but you backed away.

“You KNEW how bad I felt about doing that to you! You told me that, that I just ‘brought out your real feelings’, but….but that’s not true, is it?” You paced while talking and then paused when you asked the question.

“Yes it is! I mean, mostly….” He added the last part with a mumble.

“Mostly?” Your blood ran cold.

“I mean I thought you were attractive, but I didn’t know anything about you. And--And you didn’t know anything about me, Y/N. You weren’t in love with me either, you had a crush on me. But that day we spent together, it really did make me fall in love with you! After I remembered how I felt, I wanted to keep feeling that way all the time! I wanted to be with you, I knew we were meant to be together after that--”

“Oh my god--” You laughed again, putting your hands over your head. “This is insane. This is...this is insane,”

“Baby look when you think about it the whole thing is insane. But we’re here--”

“No, you’re right Rafael,” You put your hands in between you, preventing him from coming closer. “We are insane. But I thought it was the ‘only in the movies kind of love’ insane. But apparently, it’s just an insane mental institution insane,” You started to walk away but he ran in front of you.

“No. Uh Uh. You’re not walking away from this. Not again, not ever again,”

“What are you gonna hold me hostage now? Like I did with your feelings?” You rolled your eyes, but then it hit you. That was your entire problem. That’s what this all boiled down to. This is what it’s ALWAYS been about.

“...That’s it,” You whispered.

“...What is?” He looked at you curiously.

“...We started this on a lie, I started us on a lie,”

“Wha--- no, no you--” He shook his head.

“I did!” You finally let tears fall. “You just said it yourself, I made you feel those things. You--- you didn’t feel anything more for me than Olivia or Carisi! You just wanted to sleep with me! But I--I made you have romantic feelings for me. And-- And ever since that day, that magical perfect day when I accepted that it wasn’t real, I was right!”

“No, no--” He tried to protest.

“YES, Rafael! And-- and ever since then, ever since you, we-- I’ve always had it in the back of my mind that you’re STILL under that influence! That-- that one day you’re going to realize ‘oh hey you know what I actually don’t give a shit about you, my bad!’,” You began pacing, thinking out loud as it all came to the surface.

“And--And, I just still have it in my mind that I’m not good enough for you, I’ll NEVER be good enough for you! And-- these things just keep happening, that are telling me I’M RIGHT. I couldn’t tell you apart from Nevada, I did things with him knowing it hurt you, I did DRUGS even though on some level I knew it would hurt you, and what it all boils down to is I’ve kept you hostage in this relationship!”

“NO, you have not,” Rafael took you by the shoulders. “I get why you feel like this, Y/N baby I really do. And-- And I’m sorry I wasn’t upfront about Sonny and Olivia but I knew you are already so insecure about our relationship--”

“FOR GOOD REASON!!!”

“NO! NOT for good reason!” He tried not to yell as not to cause a scene but he needed you to hear him.

“Look maybe we-- we started out unconventionally. But that was MONTHS ago, baby. Have I-- have I not shown you time and time again, how much I really do love you? I--I made a fucking flash mob for you, do you know how long that took? How much self esteem did I have to suck it up to perform in front of people again? But I did it for you,” He started to cry.

“I risked my life for you so many times when Nevada had you. I could have just let him keep you. Especially after--” He stopped, quickly noting that bringing that up again was only going to take three steps back.

“I--I dropped everything to stay home and protect you! Do those things not make you feel loved? Do you think that all of that is...is fabricated?” He was the one crying and laughing in disbelief now.

“I don’t--- I don’t know what else to do to prove to you that I love you of my own free will. TELL ME what I can do to prove that to you, and I’ll do it! What is going to prove to you that I won’t leave you, that I won’t suddenly wake up one day and realize I was under some spell all along? Tell me!” He begged you, tears rolling down his cheeks.

“....Marry me,” You finally answered softly.

“....What?” He looked at you quizzically. “Baby I already proposed--”

“Yeah but that’s not definite, Rafael,” You held up your bare hand. “Look! It’s not even real right now!”

“A piece of jewelry doesn’t--”

“It does to me!” You took his hands. “Look, I’m--I’m sorry I am the way that I am, but I can’t change it. I--I need physical proof. I know that you’ve done all of this heroic and crazy stuff for me, but-- but my stupid brain won’t accept that! I need something, something physical. Actual proof that I can look at, to know I’m safe. To know you’re going to stay with me,”

“....Okay,” He nodded, looking down at your hand while rubbing your ring finger.

“Okay?” You asked warily. “You’re just going to accept that?”

“....I’ve put up with all of your other craziness up to this point, have I not?” He smirked.

“Hey that’s not--” You started to argue but he gave you a look. “Alright fine, yes you have,”

“Okay,” He looked up at you with a smile. “I’ll marry you. I’ll marry you right now, we can go into the chapel in the back and--” He started leading you back to the station.

“Wha, no no no,” You cried and laughed, wiping the tears from your face. “Okay I didn’t mean this second. Just...soon,”

“Soon?” He looked at you curiously.

“Really soon?” You bit your lip.

“Like, tomorrow soon?”

“Like….I don’t know, maybe a month? Two? I kind of want a reasonably cute wedding,”

“Not a huge expensive one….”

“Rafael how many people do I know that would come to my wedding? You and Chloe. That’s it. And Chloe will be standing next to me,”

“You have Maria,”

“Maria’s your...mom?”

“Second mom,” He chuckled. “But she could sit on your side. With her husband. And if you go inside and make nice with the rest of the squad, they can sit on your side,”

“...Make nice with the people I just had a meltdown in front of?” You raised an eyebrow.

“...They’ve seen worse, trust me,” He teased.

“...Okay but after that, can we--?” You raised your hand, and he read your mind.

“I’ll call Tiffany's and tell them we’ll be stopping by,” He shook his head with another laugh.

“...Really? Fancy,” You grinned.

“You’re easy to please,” He shook his head with a laugh as you walked back into the station hand in hand.

[slapshot-to-the-heart]

Shotgun - m. tkachuk

And here is 8.7k of a road trip with Matthew Tkachuk, which honestly, is the real dream. Let me know what you think of it, reblog (I love looking at tags!!) and pop into my inbox if you’d like!

Wine pairing from someone with zero authority on the subject: a nice brut rosé - crisp, fruity, bubbly. Plus, I like the vibes. 

It all started with a text. What are the chances you can get the week after next off? Matthew had sent. Madison’s brow furrowed. Doubtful, but I can try. Are you going to tell me what this is about? There was a week left in the season before playoffs started, and with the points spread in the Pacific being what it was, the matchups were all but locked in. It took less than a minute to get a response. No :) I’ll let you know once you get an answer. She got approved for the time off two days later. Her phone rang as soon as she texted him the news. “How do you feel about road trips?”

---

Maddy had met Matthew about a little over a year prior, soon after she moved to Calgary from her hometown of Toronto. Having finished her first week of work as a computer programmer, there was nothing Madison wanted more than to let loose and enjoy a few drinks with her friends. She was sharing a two-bedroom with her best friend Emily, who Maddy would swear up and down was the sunniest, warmest, most kind person she’d ever met. Not like Maddy wasn’t a nice person — she was — but where her idea of relaxing meant going out bouldering, or camping, or a last-minute road trip, Emily was more of a homebody. 

But going out meant going out, and so Emily was happily dragged along to a bar downtown; which one, she couldn’t really say. Madison walked up to the bar as soon as they entered, catching the bartender’s eye and ordering a Tom Collins. She tapped her fingers on the counter as she waited, glancing around the room. It was ten o’clock on a Friday night, so it was plenty packed. “What are you getting?” Madison asked Emily curiously. 

She held up her Molson. “I’m a woman of simple tastes. Plus, I didn’t feel like waiting around for the bartender to actually make me a drink,” Emily added dryly. 

Maddy rolled her eyes. “What’s the point of going out to a bar when you’re just going to be drinking something you could get at the liquor store?” Emily stuck her tongue out. The bartender slid Maddy’s glass over, taking her card and swiping it through quickly. “Thank you!” she chirped, whipping around to head over and snag a free table she had seen a few minutes before. 

She never ended up getting to the table. Instead, she ran straight into 6 feet, 2 inches of pure Midwestern beef. “Woah!” Matthew said, steadying her as she watched her glass fall to the floor, thankfully not breaking but absolutely spilling its entire contents over the wood. “You good?” 

Madison nodded, grabbing a rag from the bartender. Matthew followed suit, joining her on the floor. “Got a little on my shoes, but it’ll be fine. They won’t stain.”

Matthew nodded, giving a final wipe before taking her rag and handing both back over the counter. “Did me spilling your drink all over you ruin my chances of getting your name?”

“Madison St. Pierre,” she said, laughing and sticking out a hand for him to shake. 

“Matthew Tkachuk, but—”

Maddy cut him off. “I probably already know that?” Matthew ducked his head sheepishly. “I may be a long-suffering Leafs fan, but I don’t live under a rock.”

He took a sip of his beer, leaning up against the bar. “Not from around here, eh?”

Maddy shook her head. “Just moved a couple weeks ago. I’m from Toronto, moved here for a job. I do computer programming,” she said by way of explanation. 

“A smart girl.”

She tilted her head. “You could say that.”

“Well,” he said, “I feel bad about spilling your drink on you, let me buy you another.” 

Maddy laughed. “If you insist. It’s really the least you could do.”

Matthew nodded at the bartender, ordering her another Tom Collins and putting it on his tab. “You and your friend are more than welcome to join us,” he gestured behind him to where the rest of his group was sitting, “we were playing a drinking game and could use a few more players anyway.”

And that was how Matthew met Maddy. 

---

Day 1 

Ten days later, Madison was hefting her duffel bag into the trunk of her Nissan. It was 7:00 on a Tuesday. Normally on a day off she’d be taking advantage of every possible minute of sleep she could get, but lines to cross the border could be long and they wanted to get to Montana by lunch. She waved goodbye to Emily, hopping in the driver’s seat and starting the engine. Matthew had initially suggested they just get a rental car, since it would save Maddy the 20-hour drive back. But a quick Google search let them know that the chances of finding a company willing to let them drop off a Canadian car in Nevada were slim to none. Plus, Maddy had always liked driving, so it wasn’t really an issue for her. They weren’t going to be alone on the trip; Matthew had invited Elias and Rasmus along. She felt a little bit like a school bus driver, stopping at Elias’s complex to pick him up, then Rasmus’ condo, finally pulling into the underground lot of Matthew’s apartment building. Holding one hand up in greeting, he wheeled his suitcases over to her car.

Maddy unblocked her seatbelt, hopping out to help him. “Why on earth did you need so many bags?” she huffed, turning one on its side and wedging it in between hers and Elias’s. 

He shrugged. “I’ve got a bag for the trip, a bag of actual clothes and workout stuff for the series, and the suit bag.” He hung the offending article on a hook. “Did you think I’d be able to set my vanity aside for a whole four days?”

“I should have known that would be too much to ask.”

Matty threw his head back, laughing. “Anyone ever told you how funny you are, Mads?”

“Once or twice, Ratthew,” she said, slamming the door shut. 

Maddy hopped back in the driver’s seat, jamming the key in the ignition and turning the engine on. “Next stop, boys, is America.”

---

Well technically, the next stop was a gas station off of Highway 2, about twenty minutes from the border. “Wait, wait,” Matthew said, a conspiratorial grin on his face as Madison took the pump out of the gas tank. 

She raised one eyebrow. “What?”

He made grabby hands at her keys. “Let me drive.”

“Why?” Madison asked. “I’ve been driving for like what, two hours? I’m not tired yet.”

“I’m the only American in the car.”

Maddy put the pump back. “And?”

Matthew looked sheepish. “Someone said that the border patrol officers will tell Americans ‘welcome home’ when they’re coming back. It’s never happened to me flying so I wanted to see if it would be different in a car.”

“If it means that much to you?” she said, tossing the keys over the hood of the car. Matthew caught them. Maddy rounded the back of the car before she could see him ducking his head, blushing. 

They arrived at the Piegan/Carway crossing shortly after. With exactly zero cars in front of them, Matthew pulled straight up to the booth. 

“Purpose of your visit?” the officer said, looking into the driver’s side. 

“Three of us play hockey, we’re road tripping down to Las Vegas before our playoff series starts in a few days,” Matty answered easily. 

He nodded. “And how long will you be in the States for?”

It was clear either this man had never watched a series of professional sports in his life, or he was just following a standard script. “Depends?” Matthew said, fully aware of how questionable that sounded. 

Maddy piped up from the passenger seat. “I’m driving the car back, so I’ll be back in eight days.”

“Right,” Matthew nodded, “But this trip to the US, we’ll be back in seven days. We’re flying back on the team plane, so it’s not a land crossing.” He decided to forego mentioning that, barring a sweep, they’d be back again in two weeks.

The poor officer looked bewildered. “Team plane?”

Matty shrugged his shoulders. “We play for the Calgary Flames, the team charters a plane to fly us from Calgary to wherever we’re playing and back. We decided to take the scenic route this time.” 

“Okay,” he said, but Madison still wasn’t convinced he actually understood what Matty was saying. If the border officer thought anything of the American, Canadian, and Swedish passports he was handed, he didn’t say anything. Giving a cursory glance, he handed them back. “Welcome back,” he nodded to Matthew, waving the car through the gate. Matthew pumped his fist.

---

An hour later, Matthew pulled into a dirt parking lot on the edge of Glacier National Park. “WE MADE IT!” he exclaimed, putting the car in park and throwing his hands up. 

“We drove three hours,” Elias said from the back seat. 

“And?” Matty challenged, opening the door. 

Maddy grabbed her backpack, stuffed with sandwiches and snacks that they had gotten on their way in. “If you guys brought hiking boots or good tennis shoes, now’s the time,” she said, lacing up her own boots. “There’s a loop around here that’s a little under four miles long, doesn’t sound like it’s too difficult but there is some elevation climb, so better safe than sorry.” People typically didn’t peg her for it, but Maddy was a very outdoorsy person at heart. She had taken up rock climbing in high school, and was a regular at the bouldering gyms back in Toronto until she moved. She’d found a climbing gym she liked well enough in Calgary, but with Banff just over an hour away from the city, the park had become her go-to for climbing and hiking. Matty had come with her on more than one occasion, and had surprised her with a long weekend camping for her birthday in March. The snow hadn’t all melted yet, and waking up to the powder-dusted fir trees outside of their tent had been one of the most beautiful sights of her life. 

“Everyone’s got a full water bottle?” she asked, tying up her hair. The last thing anyone wanted was to get heatstroke in one of the most remote parts of the park with only one phone that could even connect to an American cell tower. 

The group started off at a leisurely pace, wandering off-trail to check out anything and everything that caught their interest. The edge of the St. Mary Valley served as the perfect backdrop for lunch, Maddy pulling the sandwiches out from her bag and doling them out. “Oh thank God, I’m starving,” Elias said, grabbing his food from Maddy practically before she even had it in her hand. 

“Did you not have breakfast?” she asked incredulously. 

He nodded. “I did, but I’m still hungry. Should have brought snacks.” Off to his side, Matty snickered. 

 Day 2

Elias had volunteered to take over from Matthew to drive through the night, switching off sometime around sunrise with Rasmus. “I 100% have a crick in my neck,” Maddy grimaced, blinking the sleep out of her eyes and checking her phone. 

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Matthew smiled. Maddy groaned, leaning into his side. Almost instinctively, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. He unscrewed the cap of his water bottle, taking a few gulps before setting it back down on the floor of the car, where it promptly rolled away. 

“Who do I have to blow to get a decent cup of coffee around here?” Maddy groaned. Matthew almost choked on his water. He had to get his mind off of the idea of Maddy blowing anything or he was about to have an issue. He pulled out his phone, jumping on Google maps. 

“There’s a little coffee shop a few miles ahead, off of the Spruce Drive exit?” he asked tentatively. 

She yawned. “As long as they sell caffeine, I’m game.” They did indeed sell caffeine, and after inhaling two cappuchinos and a small mountain of pastries later, Maddy hopped back behind the wheel. “You sure bear claws and muffins are on the meal plan, boys?” she asked, a smile playing on the corner of her lips. 

Rasmus waved her off. “It’s not like you’re going to rat us out, are you?” 

She shrugged, wiggling her phone in her hand as she pulled up at a stoplight. “Bold of you to assume I don’t have Coach’s number in my phone.”

Matty plucked her phone from her hand, placing it back by the center console. “Be that as it may, sweet Madison, you neglect to remember that I’m the only one with coverage in the U.S.” He might not strike most people as a particularly sentimental person, but Matthew loved his family, and decided that the extra charge was well worth being able to call his parents and sister whenever he was missing them. 

She stuck her tongue out at Matthew. “You ruin all of my fun, you know that?” All he did was grin. The drive to Mesa Falls wasn’t long at all, they had just finished their food — Matty popping bites of muffin into Madison’s mouth as she drove — when she pulled over to the curb by the sign. Maddy threw the boys’ backpacks to them, pointing to the single bathroom stall in the tiny rest area. “Go change, I’ll use the car.”

“Why can’t we have the car?” Matthew complained.

She looked at him. “Three full-grown men, all over six feet, in one car. I know you see each other’s dicks all day in the locker room, but I’d really rather not have that in my car. Think.”

Matty made an “o” with his mouth. “Gotcha.”

Swim trunks were much easier to get on than a wrap bikini, Madison was finding, and the boys were finished changing well before she was done figuring out her top. She bit her lip, poking her head out of the door. “Matty?” 

He turned around, eyebrows raised. “Yeah?”

“Could you help me tie this?” she asked, gesturing to the halter top. “I think it’s stuck or something.”

Matthew swallowed hard, his eyes widening as he tried to stutter through a sentence. “Uh, yeah. I can do that. For sure,” he said, shuffling over to the car. He gently untwisted the straps, gathering them into a bow at the base of her neck and trying very, very hard to not think about how soft her skin felt underneath his fingers. This was one of his best friends. And best friends weren’t supposed to think about that kind of stuff. Right?

Behind them, Elias and Rasmus shared a glance. They had expected something was going on between them, really ever since the party in November, but this was something new. They had never seen Matthew gone this far for a girl before. And they liked this side of him. 

“Thanks,” she said, squeezing his shoulder before disappearing back into the car to throw on a coverup. “How long is the walk to the actual waterfalls?”

“Not long,” Elias responded. “Ten minutes or so?” It was an easy walk to the falls, which were mercifully empty when they got there. They kicked off their sandals, leaving the bags under a nearby bush. Matthew knew Madison was pretty. She wasn’t a nun and he wasn’t a saint; she had seen him shirtless more times than he could count and he had seen her come out of his guest room in nothing but an oversized t-shirt of his after she stayed the night. His thoughts hadn’t exactly been innocent. But as she pulled her t-shirt over her head, leaving her clad only in that damn red bikini, he was convinced he’d never seen a more gorgeous sight. 

She turned around just as Matthew tore his eyes away, looking mischievously at him. “Last one in?” They sprinted to the water. Matty let her win. 

---

About half of their stops had been planned in advance; the others were pulled from websites or Google suggestions or whatever their waitress’ recommendation was for a local must-see. The Idaho Potato Museum fell into the latter category. Rasmus had floated the idea shortly after they had left Mesa Falls, and seeing as how nobody had anything better to suggest, they ran with it. 

“Free taters for out of staters,” Matthew said, reading off of the pamphlet they had been handed at the welcome desk. 

“Will they give me extra since I’m Canadian?” Madison wondered aloud. “For all intents and purposes they think you live in Missouri, Matty.” The nickname rolled off her tongue so easily, she didn’t even think twice. 

He passed the paper to her, the tips of their fingers barely brushing together, but Matthew could have sworn his heart skipped a beat. “Don’t get greedy, Mads.” They walked down a dimly-lit hallway lined with black-and-white photos. 

“Did you know that the first potatoes grown in the United States were planted in Londonderry, New Hampshire, by Scotch-Irish immigrants?” Elias read off of a placard, his voice sounding like a disinterested radio announcer. 

Maddy shook her head. “I didn’t, thank you so much for imparting on me this most important knowledge, Elias.”

“My pleasure,” he replied. 

“Did you know that you could survive off of a diet of only potatoes and butter?” Rasmus chimed in, reading another sign. 

“Really?” Matthew asked, leaning in to read. He turned to Madison a moment later. “Really, apparently.”

Half an hour of wandering later, Matthew and Madison had stumbled into the “artifacts” portion of the museum. “What kind of artifacts does a potato museum have?” Maddy asked, looking supremely confused. 

Matthew wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Why don’t we see?” For some reason, he decided it would be a good idea to hold his hand out for her. And for some reason, Maddy took it. 

The “artifacts” turned out to consist of some old farm tools, dusty burlap sacks, and the world’s largest potato chip. Elias and Ramsus were on the other side of the museum, leaving Matthew and Madison to drift through alone. “Crisp, actually,” Matthew said, reading the card under the glass case. “Because I guess they’re worried about people stealing it?”

“There’s a difference?”

He shrugged. “Apparently it’s only a chip if it’s a slice of potato. This was made from dehydrated potato flakes, or something like that.” Maddy wasn’t sure if it was the sepia-tinted lighting, or the lingering memory of how Matty’s fingertips burned like fire against her back as he tied her bikini, or if there was something particularly romantic about dehydrated potato flakes, but they were alone in the room and suddenly she was looking at him a little bit differently. Matthew looked at her, gaze soft as his eyes flickered almost imperceptibly down towards her lips. Her lips. His body leaned in, and just as she closed her eyes, waiting for his lips to meet hers, wondering if they were really going to do this in the middle of the Idaho fucking Potato Museum—

“We were wondering where you guys had gone off to!” Elias’s Swedish accent cut through the silence. Matthew threw his head back, silently cursing his teammate’s timing. If Elias and Rasmus realized anything was off, they didn’t say. “The lady at the front said it’s closing in ten minutes, so we thought we should head out and get something to eat.”

Maddy nodded in agreement, her cheeks burning. “Sounds good. I could go for some food.” They made their way back outside, Matthew settling behind the wheel as he steered the car back onto the highway. He tried to shake the almost-kiss from his mind, but the more he tried to forget it, the more the memory stuck. 

Elias looked down at his phone. “Yelp says there’s an Indian place coming up on the left if that sounds good to you guys,” he said, shaking Matthew from his thoughts. 

Maddy scrunched her nose. “All due respect, I don’t trust this town to make good Indian food. Potatoes, burgers, meat, sure. I buy it. But I haven’t seen a single person of color since we left Glacier.” 

“Fair.” 

The burgers were good; nothing to write home about, but Maddy was honestly thrilled to eat something that didn’t come out of a bag. The plan had originally been to drive through the night again to reach Salt Lake City by the early morning, but Maddy made it clear her back didn’t take too well to sleeping in the car, and the others agreed. “Rasmus, mind finding a hotel nearby? Doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just somewhere not too far off of the freeway,” Madison asked. He nodded, pulling out his phone. They had gotten tired of passing around Matthew’s phone anytime they were out of Wifi range, so after a little complaining and one of Maddy’s puppy-dog eye looks, he finally relented and turned his hotspot on. 

“There’s a Holiday Inn up off of the next exit if that sounds good to you guys,” Rasmus said. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the Post Malone song that Matty had plugged in. They switched the aux every few hours. 

“Yeah, works for me.” Madison hummed her agreement; Matty nodded. Rasmus flicked on the blinkers, gently cruising down the offramp, pulling into the parking lot of the Holiday Inn about half a mile down the road. 

Madison bit the inside of her cheek. “They’re going to have rooms available, yeah?” 

“Mads, it’s May in the middle of nowhere, Idaho. I don’t exactly think they’ve got business lining up out the door.” Matty said, looking at her from the side as they walked into the hotel lobby. 

The whole trip was Matthew’s idea, so he insisted on footing the bill, handing his credit card and license over to the receptionist. Maddy snickered behind her hand. Matthew turned back to look at her, one eyebrow raised questioningly. “Something you’d like to share with the class, Madison?”

“Missouri licenses look weird,” she commented.

“And Alberta’s any better?”

She scrunched her nose. “We have a dinosaur on ours. Beat that.”

“I’ll let you have that one,” Matty said, the corner of his lip twitching as he thanked the receptionist, tucking the cards back into his wallet. She handed over the room keys, Matthew passing two to Rasmus and Elias and one to Maddy. “I had us together, if you don’t mind.” 

Madison shook her head. “Fine with me.” It wasn’t unusual for her to stay over at Matthew’s apartment, either after going out or when their movie nights ran a little long and she woke up to Matty tucking her into the bed in his guest room. She had a toothbrush in his bathroom, a change of clothes in the dresser. She had offered to take her stuff back a few months ago, not wanting any girl he might bring over to get the wrong idea. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” he had said when she asked, waving her off. Though, come to think of it, he hadn’t brought any girl home — that she knew about — since sometime around the beginning of the year. 

They waved goodbye to Rasmus and Elias, promising to wake up bright and early to get the first crack at the breakfast buffet when it opened at 7. Matty swiped his card, holding the door open when the light turned green and the knob twisted. “After you, m’lady.” 

“Why thank you, good sir,” Maddy giggled, ducking under his arm into the entryway. She stopped at the end of the hall, eyes flickering into the room. 

Matthew stopped behind her. “What’s up?”

“There’s only one bed.”

His head jerked around the corner, not like he doubted her word or anything, but he needed to see it for himself. There was only one bed. One big bed, one very comfortable-looking bed, but one bed. Matty dropped his bag on the floor. “Uh...D’you want me to call down? I can see if they’ve got another room if that would make you more comfortable.”

Madison pursed her lips for a second before shaking her head. “No, it’s fine. We’re adults, we can share a bed without burning the house down.” It wasn’t like Maddy was lying for Matthew’s sake; she really was fine with it. Maybe a little too fine. But they had slept together — in the innocent sense of the word — before, and everything had turned out okay. His arm draped over her shoulder as she cuddled into his shoulder on a late night, her legs tangled in his when some of his friends from St. Louis were visiting for the weekend and took the guest room. He had offered to take the couch that night, but Maddy didn’t want to relegate him to a night of back cramps and drafty breezes, especially when he had an early practice the next day. Nobody ever made it weird, so it wasn’t weird. 

She took her bundle of clothes into the shower, relishing in the feeling of hot water raining down on her aching muscles. Maddy was loving the trip, genuinely, but being in a car for twelve hours out of the day took something out of a person. Slipping into an old college t-shirt, Madison thought for a moment about putting on a pair of sweats. It wasn’t particularly cold — the opposite, in fact — but she didn’t know if it would make Matthew feel weird if she wasn’t wearing pants. Fuck it, she thought, pulling up her boyshorts. If he had an issue with it, it was his problem. Throwing her hair up in a towel to dry, she turned the doorknob, poking her head out the door. “Shower’s open if you wanted to hop in,” she said.

Matty nodded, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. “I shouldn’t be too long, why don’t you find something for us to watch?” he asked, tossing her the remote. It wasn’t quite nine o’clock, and while she was tired, Maddy knew if she tried to go to sleep she’d wake up well before dawn, and that wasn’t something anyone wanted. Madison climbed up onto the bed, tucking her feet underneath her and grabbed the channel guide. True to his word, Matthew was in and out in under ten minutes, rubbing his hair with a towel as he walked out. Athletic shorts. Shirtless. Maddy couldn’t help but give him the once-over, having to jerk her eyes back up to his face the moment she realized what she was doing. Matthew met her eyes, the ghost of a smirk playing on his face. “I can put a shirt on if you’d like…”

“No! You’re good,” Maddy replied, maybe a little too quickly to avoid suspicion. 

He ducked back into the bathroom, throwing the towel over the shower curtain. “So, what did you settle on?”

She looked back at the TV. “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives?”

Matty jumped onto the bed. “Guy Fieri. What a legend. Awesome. Where’s he going?”

Three and a half episodes later, it was almost eleven, and Madison’s eyes were starting to droop. Sometime midway through the second episode, when Guy was visiting an Asian fusion restaurant in Colorado, her head had drifted onto Matthew’s shoulder, where it had stayed ever since. His arm wrapped loosely around her, Matty brought his hand up to brush away a stray piece of hair that had drifted into her face. “Getting sleepy, Mads?”

She yawned, nodding and trying to push herself up. “‘M looking forward to a good night’s sleep in an actual bed.”

Matthew laughed softly. “Let’s get you in bed, then.” He threw back the comforter, Madison crawling under, and reached over to the nightstand, turning off the lamps and TV. “Give me your phone,” he said. 

“Why?” Maddy asked, her brow furrowing. 

“You always forget to charge it overnight, and I don’t want you to be grumpy when it dies at 10 AM.” She mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like a concession, handing over her iPhone. Matty plugged it in, clambering beneath the sheets. “Sweet dreams, Mads. Good night.”

“Night, Matty.”

 Day 3

 The first thing Madison noticed when she woke up was the warm, unfamiliar weight slung around her waist. It took her a moment to realize that it was Matty’s arm, who hadn’t woken up yet. For some reason that she couldn’t quite identify, or maybe didn’t want to confront quite yet, it wasn’t unwelcome at all, and she savored the last few minutes of physical closeness before he woke up. And he did, wake up, that is. His cheeks reddened as he opened his eyes, pulling his arm away to wipe the sleep out of his eyes. “Sorry about that,” he said sheepishly.

Maddy ducked her head. “Nothing to be sorry about. I didn’t mind.”

Matthew yawned. “What time is it?”

“Uh, just before seven,” she said, rolling over to look at the alarm clock. “I’d love to stay in bed a little longer, but we did promise the boys we’d meet them down at breakfast soon.”

He nodded, making a very concerted effort to not read into her statements any more than he absolutely had to. “Yeah, good idea,” he said, tossing the covers off and walking into the bathroom. “I’ll sit on you if you’re not up by the time I get back out there.” Maddy took the opportunity to change, threading a belt through her jeans and half-tucking a t-shirt. “I like the look,” he said when he walked out, as Maddy was twisting her hair up into a bun. It wasn’t entirely unusual for Matthew to compliment her; she had accompanied him to more than one charity event for the Flames as his date, but she had always been dressed up. Dress, heels, makeup that she probably stressed way too much over. Dressed to the nines, never in jeans and a t-shirt before. But she didn’t really notice, the compliment meaning just as much to her as if she’d been in a floor-length gown. 

“Thanks,” she said, stuffing her clothes from the night before back into her duffel. “I packed the rest of your bag while you were in there, figured I might as well.”

It was Matty’s turn to thank her, squeezing her hand appreciatively before giving the room a quick look. “We didn’t forget anything, then?”

Madison laughed. “We really didn’t stay long enough to unpack, but yeah, we’ve got everything, don’t worry.”

---

Elias had volunteered to do the drive down to Salt Lake City. Matthew’s inner six-year-old had returned, insisting that the group stop at a dinosaur park in a rural part of Utah. What “dinosaur park” meant, Madison wasn’t sure, but it made Matty happy, so she didn’t fight it. 

The museum was mostly outdoors, with life-sized dinosaur models dotting the massive field. “Were you much into dinosaurs as a kid?” Matthew asked Madison. 

“Kind of?” she replied noncommittally. “I always loved learning about them, but never had like a ‘dinosaur phase’ like David or Cody,” she said, referring to her older brothers. “My family used to go to the Canadian Museum of Nature a ton when I was a kid, since it was only a few hours away in Ottawa, and it has like a billion fossils in it.”

“Which was your favorite?”

“Pachycephalosaurus,” she said easily.

Matthew blinked. “Pachycephalo-what?” he asked in confusion. He thought he knew all of them?

Maddy laughed. “Pachycephalosaurus. They had these really spiny heads. But secretly, I think I was a little bit of a teacher’s pet who just liked saying the name. Pretty sure they were actually native to Alberta?” she added. “What about you?”

“Well, now I’m embarrassed to say.”

“Oh, come on,” Madison said, nudging him with her shoulder. “Promise I won’t make fun of you.”

“Fine, fine,” Matty gave in, “it was the brachiosaurus.”

“How come?” she asked curiously. 

“I liked the long necks.” 

They spent another hour or so at the park, Matty grabbing a keychain on the way out. “They didn’t have a brachiosaurus,” he muttered, half-angry, picking up a T-rex one instead. It wasn’t a long drive to the actual Great Salt Lake, and for some reason, they had trusted Elias with the aux. Much to Maddy’s chagrin, he didn’t end up playing ABBA, and they were instead led to cruise down I-15 to the dulcet tones of J.S. Bach. 

Madison looked down at her phone. “Anyone want to go see the Joseph Smith sphinx?” 

“Joseph Smith?” Rasmus questioned.

“Sphinx?” asked Elias.

Matthew laughed. “You know those Egyptian statues of like the cat ladies? Where they have cat bodies but the faces of people?” 

“Joseph Smith was the founder of the Mormon church,” Madison explained. “Well, technically it’s called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but—”

“Know-it-all,” Matty said in a sing-song voice. Madison shot a glare at him from the back seat. 

“But most people still call them Mormons. And apparently they made him into a sphinx.”

Elias looked at her, still dumbfounded. “But why?”

Maddy shrugged. “Honestly? Beats me.” The weather had dropped too much by the time they had reached the lake to make swimming very practical, so the four of them settled for taking off their shoes, rolling up pants, and wading into the shoreline. 

Matthew bent down, picking up a chipped white rock from the ground, the water just lapping at his fingers. He handed it to Madison. “For you.”

She took it gently, running her hands over the jagged surface. “Aren’t you not allowed to take anything from a national park?”

He winked. “I won’t tell if you don’t.” They stopped at a Chipotle just as the sun was beginning to set, Matthew taking over driving duties from Rasmus. The plan was to drive for another two hours or so, stopping somewhere in southern Utah for the night to spare themselves from another night spent in her Nissan. 

They drove in silence for a while, Elias and Rasmus drifting to sleep in the back row, before a road sign caught Matty’s eyes and he spoke. “I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon, you know,” he said as they continued down I-15. 

Maddy looked over at him. “Do you want to go?” She didn’t know where the suggestion came from, but it was out of her mouth before she could take it back, and after a moment, she realized that she didn’t even want to.

His eyebrows raised as he glanced over at her before turning back to the road, the car’s headlights the only thing in sight. “You mean it?” 

Madison shrugged. “Yeah, why not?” She quickly popped the directions into her phone. “It’s only a few hours out of the way, if we drive through the night instead of stopping somewhere we should have more than enough time.” 

“But didn’t you say sleeping in the car made your back hurt?” Matty asked curiously. 

She smiled softly. “I don’t mind, really. I’ll drive. You’re more important.” Honestly, Maddy surprised herself with her boldness. She wasn’t shy by any stretch of the imagination, but it hadn’t escaped her that the dynamic between her and Matthew had changed in the past few weeks and was about to come to a boil. Matty wasn’t exactly the type of guy Madison expected to have a lot of friends who were girls. And a part of her hated that, hated that because of his reputation she automatically assumed when they became friends that all he wanted to do was get in her pants. There had only been one time in their entire year of friendship when they’d even done so much as kissed, and it wasn’t exactly what you’d consider normal circumstances.

---

It was November of the previous year, about six months after Matthew and Madison had met. Matthew had been even more in his head than normal; he hadn’t scored a single point since midway through their East Coast road trip over two weeks ago, and the disappointment was really starting to rag on him. It might not have been something he outwardly showed all that much, but those who knew him knew that Matthew was actually a deeply sensitive person, who took pride in his wins and carried losses with him well after they had faded from the minds of the rest of the hockey world. 

When it had gotten to the point where his frustration was starting to affect his game, Maddy knew it was time to do something. “You’re so much more than your stats, Matty,” she had said, calling him right before she left for the Saddledome. “I know you take this personally, and you feel like you’re letting down the team, but that’s bullshit and somewhere deep down, I know you agree.” Matthew grumbled something that might have been an agreement. “Your team trusts you, they trust you with the puck and with the A, and you’re never going to disappoint them as long as you’re giving it your all. And if you’re the Matthew Tkachuk I know, there’s never a time when you don’t. And win or lose tonight, there’s nothing you could do to change the fact that your family loves you, and your friends love you, and I love you too. Okay?” Clearly, something in her little pep talk had flipped a switch in Matty, because he returned in spectacular form that night, scoring a hat trick in a roaring 5-1 win over the Coyotes. And he didn’t throw a single punch all game. 

A good game without a travel day following usually calls for going out, and a great game with your best friend scoring a hat trick definitely calls for going out, so she dragged Emily along to the bar that Matthew had told her to meet the team at. Matthew had pulled her into a hug the moment she arrived, kissing her cheek and trying his damndest not to spill the beer in his hand on her shoes. An hour and a half into the night, Madison was four drinks in, well and truly drunk, and Emily had wandered off and appeared to be flirting with an extremely oblivious Noah Hanifin. 

“How are you doing, Mads?” Matthew asked, coming up from behind her barstool and resting his hand gently on the small of her back. 

She looked back at him, a goofy smile on her face, and took another sip of her drink. “I’m good, I’m realllly good,” she giggled. “Did I ever get a chance to tell you how good you were tonight?” Matthew shook his head, very poorly concealing a laugh. He had had more than one beer, sure, but he was nowhere near as gone as Madison. “Because you were really good. A-ma-zing,” she added, punctuating each syllable. Her eyes softened as she leaned in. “I know the points drought was starting to weigh on you, and I’m really glad you were able to do this for yourself. I’m always proud of you, Matty, but I was a little extra proud of you tonight. People sometimes write you off as just another good player without any real subsistence,” she paused, correcting herself, “substance, off the ice, but I know the real you, and the real you is even more incredible than the you that plays hockey. It’s my favorite thing to see.”

“It is?” Matthew asked softly, leaning into the hand that had begun to caress his cheek a little bit imprecisely, but that somehow communicated every kind of unsaid word between them. 

Madison nodded, touching his forehead to hers, and then she tilted in. And then she kissed him. Her lips met his, and she tasted like lime and spearmint chewing gum and his favorite kind of tequila. Her lips met his, and it seemed like the room stood still; he barely heard his teammates’ wolf-whistles or Emily’s elated gasp in the background. Her lips met his, and he drank in every second of the kiss until she pulled away. 

---

Maddy hadn’t been drunk enough to black out that night, and she came to the next morning with a roaring headache and the pang of regret in her heart. She thought it was shame at her behavior, embarrassment that she could act so impulsively, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized. The fact that she kissed Matthew wasn’t the issue, not to her, at least. It was the fact that she was drunk in a bar after a hockey game and that wasn’t how she wanted it to happen. She pushed her feelings to the side, trying desperately to focus on work and supporting Matty through the rest of the season, but they always tended to flare up when they were least welcome. Like at the Idaho Potato Museum.

Which of course meant that Matthew would choose this moment, driving down I-15 with two sleeping Swedish hockey players in the backseat, to bring it up. “I remember when you kissed me, you know,” Matty said softly, reaching up to brush his fingers over his lips, like if he tried hard enough he could remember what it felt like to have Maddy’s pressed against his. 

Madison froze, which isn’t exactly what you’re supposed to do when you’re driving. She thought he had forgotten. He had never brought it up, so she really had no reason to believe he would have remembered. “You do?” she asked, swallowing.

She saw him nod out of the corner of her eye. “Mhm. I hadn’t thought about it in a couple weeks, but back in Idaho, in front of the World’s Largest Potato Crisp…” He let out an airy chuckle. 

Maddy breathed in sharply. So she hadn’t imagined that. Her fingers tapped nervously against the faux leather of the steering wheel. “Yeah…” She trailed off nervously. “I was drunk.”

“Oh, you were hammered,” Matthew agreed. “But do you regret it?”

There it was, the million-dollar question that she somehow actually had the answer to. A long moment passed before she answered, figuring it would be best to just rip the band-aid off. Worst case, Matty would hate her and she’d only be stuck in a car with him for ten-odd more hours. No big deal. “No,” she whispered, voice so small he almost didn’t hear it. 

“I’m glad, because I don’t either,” Matty said. Madison hazarded a glance to her side; he looked almost nervous, and nervous wasn’t a look Matthew Tkachuk did all that often. “I had wanted to for a few months, but it always seemed like it was never the right time, or something interrupted us, or I didn’t know how you felt about me. But you made the first move, and I’m glad you did.”

“How come?”

He sighed. “I don’t know how long I would have waited to do something, or if I ever would have done anything. I feel like sometimes…,” he searched for the right words, “the confidence that I have on the ice can be misleading. Hockey is about reflexes and instincts and knowing the game, but it’s also thinking three steps ahead, anticipating every possible outcome and preparing for them. And that’s the part that I carry off the ice. I think I was worried if I ever brought it up with you, if I ever mentioned that I so much as remembered the kiss, you might clam up and tell me it was a stupid, drunken mistake, and I don’t know what I’d do if you said that. Because I don’t know how you feel about me, not like that”

Her breath caught in her throat, but she managed to force the words out, as scared as she was about admitting them. “I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you and I’m terrified.” Matthew had never seen Madison like this before, unsure and worried and downright vulnerable, and it meant so much to him that she was letting him see her like that. 

Matthew let out a watery laugh. “Only pretty sure? Hurts my ego a little bit.” Maddy opened her mouth, but he waved her off. “Because I’m definitely sure I’m in love with you.” This wasn’t ever how she imagined telling him, and it wasn’t how Matty thought he’d tell her, on a freeway in Southern Utah on their way to the Grand Canyon, but sometimes life throws unexpected things at you and you have to roll with the punches. 

“When did you know?” Madison asked curiously. 

Matthew bit his lip. “Few months ago? I knew I liked you as more than a friend probably since you kissed me, but it was after that game against Vancouver that I really understood I had fallen in love with you.” Maddy remembered the game. It had gone terribly for the Flames, a 4-0 shutout with more than one fight and the bench racking up penalty minutes. What she didn’t know was what made that one special. Matthew looked over at her, answering her unspoken question. “Why that one?” She nodded. “I think it’s because it was such a shitty game. I wouldn’t have blamed you at all if you had just skipped out after the end of the third, I know I can be hard to deal with after a loss. But you didn’t leave, you stayed. I remember seeing you outside the tunnel, swallowed by my jersey because it’s three sizes too big for you and you refuse to let me buy you another—”

“I don’t want another because it’s yours, and I love it,” Maddy said quietly.

Matthew smiled. “Your call. But when I turned the corner and saw you, I realized three things at the exact same time. You were there for me when you didn’t have to be, and I wanted to be able to do the same thing for you. Second, you’re who I wanted to come home to. And last,” he gathered his thoughts, “I realized if I never saw another girl in my jersey for the rest of my life, that would be fine with me.”

“I think I knew when you introduced me to your family, when you flew me down for the All-Star break?” He nodded in recognition. “Just seeing you with them, how much you love your parents and adore Taryn. You even managed to not chirp Brady for a whole dinner.”

“My mom threatened me.”

Madison laughed. “Even so. It just gave me a whole new side to you. I had seen you with your friends, and with the boys, and with me, but it wasn’t the same. How deeply you cared about making sure I fit in with them, and had fun, and felt included. It was the last piece of the puzzle, really.” Her hand rested on the center console after she downshifted.

“So, are we going to do this? Do you want to do this, Mads?” Matty asked, wrapping his fingertips gently around her free hand. 

Flipping her hand around, she interlaced her fingers with his. “I’m all in if you are.”

Matthew bent down, kissing their hands. “I’ve been all in since the moment I met you.” He glanced behind him to the backseat, where Elias and Rasmus were still fast asleep. “What do you think they’re going to say when they wake up?” 

“I’m not sure,” Madison said, laughing. “Probably tell us it’s about time. Pass me my phone, will you?” Matthew pulled out her phone from where it was charging on the passenger side. 

“What do you need to look up?” he asked curiously as she pulled off of the freeway and into a gas station; the directions were already programmed into the car’s navigation system.

Maddy gave a coy smile, gently putting the car into park. “I’ve got to text the girl’s chat, tell them they’ve got to make me a jacket. They’re going to go wild.”

 Day 4

 The chat did go wild, even more so after she sent a picture of her kissing Matty’s cheek. After about a half-dozen “we called its” and a promise for her jacket to be ready by the first home game of the series, she turned her phone off, leaning over to ruffle Matthew’s hair; he had taken over driving sometime around four o’clock. “I like that I can just do this now,” she mused, playing with his curls as they crossed the border into Arizona. 

“Please, no PDA in front of the children,” he said playfully, gesturing to the backseat. Elias flipped him off. 

The entrance to the Grand Canyon was only an hour past the state line, and there were more than a few cafés to grab a quick breakfast at. Most of the day was spent walking around the vast expanse of the park, marvelling at its natural grandeur, and taking more than a few incredibly aesthetically pleasing Instagram pictures. A few minutes before they had to pack up and leave for the last leg of the drive, they had hiked over to the South Rim. 

Matty leaned on the barriers overlooking the canyon. “It’s so big.” 

Rasmus snickered from behind them. “Duh, Tkachuk. That’s why they call it grand.” 

He ducked his head, blushing. “Yeah, I mean, obviously. But it’s just kind of surreal, you know?” Madison nodded, leaning her head on his shoulder. He wrapped one arm around her waist, and if either of them had turned around they would have seen Rasmus and Elias sharing a very “I-told-you-so” look. “Kind of reminds us how small we are in the grand scheme of things.” 

It seemed like only a few minutes later that they were pulling into Las Vegas, Rasmus steering the car into the underground lot of the team hotel. None of the boys were expected at practice until the next morning, and they had decided before leaving that the easiest thing to do would just be to book the rooms for the one night. 

“Anyone feeling up to going out?” Maddy asked as they walked down the hallway to their adjoining rooms. “I found a tiki bar a couple blocks away, great Yelp reviews.”

“Sounds good,” Rasmus said. Elias nodded. 

“I’m in,” Matthew added, unlocking the door. “Meet out here in ten?”

The break allowed Madison to get a much-needed change of clothes while Matthew hopped in for a quick shower, emerging in a T-shirt and very, very nice-looking pair of black jeans. Maddy bit her lip, looking him up and down. “You like what you see?” Matthew asked, expression cocky. 

She shrugged. “I don’t have to hide it now.” Madison slipped her phone into her back pocket, grabbing her jacket from where it was slung over the lounge chair. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah,” Matthew said, poking his head out the door. “Boys are already out.”

The walk to the bar couldn’t have been more than five minutes, but it felt like twenty in the best way possible. She was holding hands with Matty, his thumb absentmindedly rubbing over the top of her hand, the twinkling lights of dozens of Vegas casinos in their view. Two and a half mai tais and an hour later, the group sat at a table in the corner as Maddy giggled, retelling a particularly embarrassing moment on her high school volleyball team when she tried to make a dive that instead ended up with a ten minute pause in gameplay and the worst nosebleed of her life. She finished the story to raucous laughter, leaning into Matthew’s side. He bent down, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “What is it, Matty?” she asked, pulling away to look at him. 

Eyes soft, he tucked a piece of her hair back behind her ear before speaking. “Just thanking God I invited you on the trip. And for the Idaho Potato Museum.”

Madison laughed, the sound like music as it reached his ears. “We should write them. Thank them for helping to get us together. Maybe they’d give us season tickets.”

“Who needs season tickets when I have you?” Matty chuckled, leaning in and pressing his lips to hers.  Sure, Madison was a few drinks in when she kissed him. And sure, it wasn’t like Matty was exactly sober either. But this kiss was different. This kiss was the start of everything. 

[literaila]

how could this ever be different?

spencer x reader 

warnings: criminal minds stuff. its not all accurate, i am not a genius.  thats it? suprising 

summary: spencer goes undercover in Las Vegas to catch an unsub. he might just catch feelings along the way...  part one: 

Blunt force trauma. 

Multiple lacerations. 

Young women. 

Different dump sites. 

The unsub had been killing women all over Las Vegas, with no specific victimology, just a bunch of different women who were in the right place at the wrong time. 

There was nothing distinctive about the unsub, nothing that made him stick out to the team. 

After a week in Vegas, a dreadful week filled with nothing but more questions and the sun. 

They were not getting anywhere. 

On the 6th day, after 10 bodies had been found total, and the unsub had stopped killing for two days, Hotch decided they couldn't be of any help, and that the case would be declared “cold” until more evidence came out. 

All of them were disappointed, angry that all of those women had died, and they couldn't do anything to avenge them. They all wanted to prevent anyone else from losing their life at the unsubs hands, but without more information, they couldn't do anything. 

They all left Nevada with sour expressions and hopeless mindsets. 

Four months later, more women had died. 

It had slowed down significantly when they had left, but one month after that, the unsub had picked up his pace, 2 women dead in the span of a week. More weeks went by, with no other signs he was still killing, and then suddenly he was killing once a week, then twice, and then during the fourth month, it had picked up so much he was killing an average of five women each day. Sometimes, multiple women a day. 

And while this provided more evidence, helped the team dig deeper into his mindset, it still wasn't enough. 

They were still sitting around the round table, still thinking. 

There wasn't enough. 

“Hotch, we aren't getting anywhere, we don't know enough about this guy.” 

Derek sighed and sat back in his chair. 

“I think we know some-” Prentiss argued, her frown plastered on her face. 

“But not enough.” Derek interrupted, his eyes were tired, and he wanted to move on to a case where they could actually save people, not a case where none of them knew what they were doing. He felt like he was holding this case on his shoulders, and until they were through with it, the weight wouldn't go away. 

There wasn't enough coffee to cure the exhaustion running around the room. 

“Do we move on again?” Hotch asked, not exactly sure what to do, they’d never had a situation quite like this one. 

They could keep working, keep searching for answers that weren't there, or they could move on, they could work on something, on someone, where they actually knew the answers. They could go home and start over again tomorrow. 

Or they could stay, exhausted, unmotivated, and keep working. 

It was clear what they all wanted to do. It was clear that the easiest answer wouldn't be the right one. 

“If only we could find some sort of pattern.” Rossi looked through his file again, looked at all the girls' history, read over the things he had already read hundreds of times. There had to be some sort of answer somewhere. 

The rest of the team copied him, all of them reading everything over and over, desperate to find something, anything. 

“Hotch we’ve been over this hundreds of times.” Derek sighed and rubbed his eyes. He was the most exhausted out of all of them, angry that they couldn't stop this guy from killing more women, angry that they couldn't save the other girl's lives. 

“I know, Morgan, but I don't think giving up is the right idea-” 

“Wait.” 

Everyone looked over to the genius interrupting, his brows were furrowed and his mouth was turned down, but they all recognized the look on his face, they could all see that he was thinking of something. 

If anyone had figured out anything, it would be Spencer. 

“It looks like it's some sort of schedule…” 

The tall man got up to walk to the whiteboard in the front of the room, he frowned as he wrote down different numbers. 

The rest of the team watched confused as he scrawled messy numbers, again and again, they were all trying to make sense of it, make sense of anything, but they aren't geniuses, and they didn't understand. 

“Reid do you mind explaining-” 

Spencer cut Derek up with a finger signaling he needed a minute. It caused a moment of laughter between the team as Derek looked startled. 

When Spencer looked back over at the other people in the room, capping the marker he was holding in his head, he smiled as if he was laughing at himself. As if he should’ve realized sooner. 

“It's a schedule- I mean, look-” he pointed at the numbers, laughing as he said it out loud for the first time, the rest of the team just stared at him, waiting for a bigger explanation. “He only kills between the hours of 6 AM and 6 PM- I mean look-” he pointed up at one of the girls “Megan Cooley was killed at 7:28 PM, Hannah Zen was killed at 5 in the morning, and all of the other girls correlate with this schedule.” 

They all stared at the board, the dots connecting, everything suddenly coming to light. It was so strange that just a small realization could change everything for them. 

“Garcia,” Spencer said, suddenly put into action. Penelope looked immediately at him, her eyes alert. “Can you find a list of Employees that work 6-6 hours in Las Vegas? It's probably as a manager, a position that doesn't allow sick days.” 

Insistent typing went on as they all stared Garcia down. There was a pinch of hope in the room, just the slightest realization that maybe they could finally start to do something. 

“There are… 48 total employees who worked on those days, who haven't taken any sick days,” Garcia said as she continued typing.

“Okay, how about employees that started working overtime a month after the case was opened?” 

A second went by, two. 

“There are 12 results,” she said, looking back up at Spencer, suddenly excited. 

Spencer thought for a moment, wondered what would stick out about their unsub. “How about someone who doesn't work under their degree? Like a manager of a store, or something like that?”

Another moment, every person in the room, waiting with anticipation, waiting for something, an answer, anything. 

“There's only one result.” 

‘Who?” 

“A Y/N Y/L/N. She works as a manager at a book shop, never takes any sick days, and has a 6-6 schedule every day.” 

It was silent for a moment. None of them knew what to say. 

“Maybe that's what we were missing,” JJ spoke up, “it's out of character for a woman, but I don't doubt that it's possible.” 

They all nodded in agreement, not wanting to start over again. 

At least this was a place to start. 

*

“Are we just going to arrest her?” 

After the discovery they had all decided to take a break, to take an hour for just themselves, to get lunch. 

Now it was back to the case. 

“We can't arrest her without any probable cause. As of now, we don't know enough about her to get a warrant.” 

A sigh ran across the room, filling all of the heads with hopelessness again. 

Until Emily spoke up, remembering something they’d done before, an idea popping into her brain. 

“What if we sent in an undercover agent?” 

She had asked Hotch, but everyone was debating it, thinking of the possibilities, the risks that could come with being that close to a murder, the past experiences. 

It could be a very bad idea, something could potentially happen to an agent, more victims could get killed, the unsub could stop killing at all.

But, it was one of the only options they had, besides waiting for more evidence to show up. 

“We sent someone in, and they get to know the unsub, they profile her behavior, gage her way of living, look for similarities. And undercover, they could get a lot more information than any of us could get by arresting her.” Emily went on, her mind running over the positives. 

Hotch sighed. He knew it wasn't something they often did, the BAU was used to getting through cases, used to arresting people immediately. But this was a special case, and he knew that it would only get worse and worse as long as they waited. 

But he wasn't sure. 

“We don't know what she's like, what if she suspects something? She could kill an agent.” He said, doubtful, stern. 

“So we send in a male agent, she isn't interested in males, she's less likely to kill them.” 

“We still don't know if she will even connect with a stranger, we don't know if she can connect with anyone. It won't be helpful if the agent can't get to know her.” 

“But, Hotch, we could still learn her schedule, we could learn about where she goes when she's not working. 

With each sentence that Emily said, they were all becoming more convinced. 

A nod went around the table, and they all looked to Hotch for confirmation. 

He sighed and rubbed his eyes, exhausted with the day, with the case, and nodded. 

Relief went around, all of them glad to finally have a plan. 

“So who do we send?” Rossi asked. 

There were dozens of agents they could send, plenty of them trained for this exact thing, but they were all looking around the room. They all knew the case best, they knew how to gage human behavior, they knew what they were supposed to look for in the unsub. 

It had to be one of them. 

“Prentiss and JJ can't go,” Derek said, looking at the two of them who looked relieved at the fact. 

‘And Hotch you can't go, you have to take care of Jack.” 

Rossi cleared his throat, his team members looked at him. “I’m taking my name out of the ballet. I’m too old for this,” he said, sending a laugh around the room. 

Derek sighed and looked at Hotch. “I don't think I’m a good choice. I’m more intimidating, and she would be more comfortable around someone her age.” 

They all silently looked to Spencer, who was looking down at his file, reading everything over again. 

It was only when Hotch cleared his throat that he looked up. 

“Reid? Are you comfortable going?” 

Spencer stared at him shocked. “Me?” he asked, his voice cracking. 

He wasn't good with people in general, and he’d never been good with girls. If they wanted to make the unsub comfortable, he was the worst option. 

“Come on kid,” Derek started, “You’re the closest to her age, you’re the most approachable. You’ll remember the most about her behavior, and you’ll learn her schedule quicker than any of us. Plus, you already know your way around Las Vegas.” 

The rest of the team nodded in agreement, while Spencer still looked terrified. 

“And plus,” Emily spoke up, hoping to convince Spencer, “She works at a bookstore.” 

Everyone but Hotch and Spencer laughed. 

Spencer was stuck. He didn't know how to talk to people, he didn't know how to get to know someone. He was only good with facts, and talking to an unsub- one that he was supposed to make comfortable -did not involve facts. 

But, he knew his team needed him, he knew that they were all stressed, that the others had taken the losses harder than he had. He knew that if he could do this if he could learn about this girl, the world would be clearer for his family. 

“Reid, I only want you to do this if you’re comfortable.” Hotch pulled Reid out of his thoughts, his eyes stern and unmoving. His voice was completely serious, and Spencer could hear hints of reassurance in his words. It was comforting to know that Hotch trusted him to make the right decision. 

Spencer took a deep breath. Reminded himself that his team trusted him too. 

“Alright. I’ll do it.” 

***

An apartment. 

They would get him an apartment. 

He would live in Las Vegas for as long as he deemed necessary. 

He would stay and he would learn everything he could about Y/N. 

He would profile her, send reports back to his team. 

He would try and talk to her. He would try to get to know her. 

He would change everything. 

He would do his job. 

He would talk to a girl. 

A girl. 

A murderer. 

A girl. He would have to talk to her. 

He would. 

A girl. 

“Hi, I’m Spencer.” 

***

reminder that this is part one, and its more of a introduction than the actual story

sorry if it sucked 

my masterlist: 

part two

[thecagedsong]

Forgotten Light: Chapter 7: Preparations

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11

Chapter 7: Preparation

Agad came in over breakfast.

“Agad, welcome to my home,” Seth said, taking a long drink of milk. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, “Have a seat. What have you got on Kendra?”

Agad looked more tired than Seth had ever seen him, and let Seth’s joke go flat. He sat down and the six-armed woman that worked in the kitchen put a plate of oatmeal out for him. “Thank you, Simrin,” Agad said. “I have some news, not much of it good. I was able to track the goblins that stole the barrel, they were hiding in Goblin town.”

“Sounds like a fun place,” Seth said.

“You would probably enjoy it,” Agad said, bowing his head, “Just make sure not to lose your eye, or your tooth. It’s in Nevada, not a proper preserve, no caretaker. But they keep to themselves and have general distractor spells, so everyone leaves it alone. I found Slaggo there.”

“Long trip for a goblin on the run.”

“The Sphinx probably helped him, and a wizard named Vernaz. I thought she was an ally and gave Mendigo’s materials to her to be reconstructed. She was good at laying enchantments, much better than me. Her other talent is teleportation, and could have easily helped Slaggo leave Fablehaven with the barrel. I’m positive the barrel made it to the Sphinx.”

Seth finished his last bite of oatmeal, “Then we’re sure that the Sphinx and Ronodin are working together. That sucks, one of them is bad enough.”

Agad massaged his forehead, “I fear it was a mistake to make the Sphinx an Eternal. It will certainly keep the new demon prison closed from him, but I underestimated how cunning he is, even with his Shadow Charmer powers diminished.”

“What did you do to him?” Seth asked.

Agad shrugged, “Not enough apparently. He can’t hear the undead anymore, but we couldn’t dampen much else without killing him. He can put out fires, undo locks, shadow walk. That’s apparently enough to strike against us.”

“The Sphinx had this huge rant about refusing to be a captive,” Seth said, “We should have paid more attention to it. There was no way he was ever going to live by someone else’s say so. Remember, you gave all of us the call, we’re all to blame.”

“Yes, the long life seemed the greatest weakness to the mortal locks,” Agad replied, “It made sense at the time to have at least one person who would not feel that burden, but you are right. He firmly believed in his own rhetoric, and not acknowledging that was a mistake. Both the Sphinx and Vernaz have slipped away. Vanessa is going to be insufferable, and I am going to deserve every minute.”

Seth gave a joyless laugh, “Plenty of mistakes to go around. If the Sphinx happens to die, will that open the new prison? Asking for a friend.”

“No, the prison will remain closed,” Agad said, finally a little amused, “I do not think you would be able to let him die, and that’s fine. But if he happens to die, there are enough already constructed locks in place that the demons of Zzyzx will remain sealed. If the Sphinx comes under your power, save him because you are good, or do not save him because he has harmed those you love and will continue to do so for his own benefit. Do not worry about Zzyzx.”

“Noted,” Seth said. Agad finished breakfast and Seth led him to the War Room.

“I also examined the barrel here,” Agad explained as they walked, “The other half appears to be deep underwater.”

“Why would they do that?” Seth asked. “Did anyone touch the letter we left?”

“Your letter remains in place. An interesting response, and I see only advantages in it. The letter remains physically here, my only recommendation is to make it waterproof so when they pull the barrel up and remove the letter, it doesn’t get ruined by surrounding water. Which answers your other question. They didn’t destroy the barrel, which means they likely intend to use it again.”

“Can you find it?” Seth hoped. “Even a general location would help narrow down the search.”

Agad was already shaking his head, “It’s too deep, and somewhere protected. I can’t get a read on it aside from the fact that it is deep enough that the pressure would kill a human.”

“Great,” Seth said, running a hand through his hair. They approached the War Room, and Seth sat down with Agad across from him. Grandma and Grandpa were already there, and rushed to greet Agad. They updated him on Tess running around the preserve with the Cloak of innocence. Agad gave them the same information about Kendra.

“Any other leads?” Seth asked when everyone was caught up.

“Not quite,” Agad said, “I was unable to gain contact with the Fairy Queen, so we are waiting to see if her connection to Kendra remains strong. No further leads on Bracken either. The only good news I have is that Warren and Vanessa managed to help the caretaker regain a foothold of the Crescent Lagoon sanctuary.”

“I have Bracken’s horn,” Seth said, blinking. He was glad that his friends had some success, but they were okay, Bracken was not. He pulled it out of his emergency kit, “Kendra gave it to me before she lost her memory, along with the medallion and a bunch of information she was keeping to herself.”

“Bracken did say that he had re-established full connection with his horn,” Agad said, “May I see it?”

Seth nodded and offered it to the wizard. Everyone was silent as Agad’s brow pinched in concentration.

“The connection is weak, it feels as though he is under water. No, underground and under water,” Agad said, snowy eyebrows rising, “I would not have been able to tell had I not recently examined the barrel, but working around the water, earth and darkness, I can sense that he is not currently in pain. He seems…bored. He can’t sense me on this side of the connection. But…I would venture to say, he’s at approximately the same depth as the barrel. Within a couple hundred feet of each other.”

“Good,” Grandma said, “Ronodin is handling everything from a master base. There is a good chance Kendra is near them as well. Can you tell Bracken anything about Kendra being near him?”

Agad concentrated, then shook his head, letting out a shaky breath and lowering the horn. “At most, I might be able to push his subconscious thoughts in a certain direction. But I’m positive thoughts about Kendra already haunt him. His last prison ended with her after all.”

Uggh, of all the times to be a lovesick dummy. “Ronodin wants the horn,” Seth said, “That’s what Kendra told me, and I think he tried to get her to give it to him at the Dragon feast.”

“I shudder to think of why he wants it,” Agad said, then offered it back to Seth. “If he wants it badly enough, he’ll find whoever has it. He will likely be more willing to deal with you, knowing how much you want Kendra back. He will also suspect that you have it if Kendra does not. If he contacts you, use your judgement, rely on your grandparents and allies, contact me, and do not endanger the world.”

Seth took it and nodded, placing it back in his adventure kit, silently thanking Agad for placing the lead back in his hands. He would have thanked him out loud, but didn’t want Agad to rethink the choice.

There was a knock on the door, and Knox opened it, letting Tess fall through. “Seth! Seth! I saw the nice dragon! It was so huge!”

Nice dragon? Oh, she left with Eve and they went to see Dromadus. That’s okay then.

“Tess made it back,” Knox said, following her. Patton Burgess’s stingbulb shut the door behind them.

“We took turns flying the winged mounts and walking along the road, over all a very short trip,” Patton said, taking a seat next to Seth. “We heard about Kendra losing her memory. I’m so sorry.”

Patton offered his arms for a hug, and Seth took it, squeezing tightly.

Patton smiled and patted Seth on the back, returning the hug. “Don’t get too attached, I only have a day left.”

Seth released him, “I know,” Seth said, “But I’m glad you’re here while you are. Kendra was kidnapped by Ronodin and the Sphinx working together, and we’ll take any help you can give.”

“Hey, I deserve a hug too,” Doren protested, and both he and Newel tackled Seth in hug, ruffling his hair, before settling back like nothing had happened.

They went through yet another round of catch-up, as Tess squeezed herself in between Knox and Seth, fairly bouncing while waiting to tell her story.

“Tess, this is serious,” Knox scolded, “Kendra’s in a lot of trouble.”

“I know,” Tess said, holding still, “But the fairies at Fablehaven told me all about Bracken and Kendra. Bracken is like, this super cool fairy prince who likes Kendra and totally saves her all the time. And Kendra has a bunch of wicked cool powers from the Fairy Queen, they’re going to be okay until you and Seth rescue them, if they don’t rescue themselves.”

Not how Seth would describe them, Kendra spent a lot more time saving Bracken than the other way around, far as he knew. He was surprised that the Fablehaven fairies were that nice about Kendra though. He wasn’t the only one.

“The fairies said that?” Grandpa asked.

“Well, they said Bracken pitied her, not that he liked her,” Tess admitted, “but that’s what girls always say when the cool boy likes someone else. And they said that the Fairy Queen gives Kendra powers to do stuff for her, and the Fairy Queen is the most powerful person ever. So everything is going to be okay. Really, we need to worry about us.”

Attention snapped to Tess like a guitar string.

“The Dragons are planning to attack us. Tonight! Dromadus doesn’t know how, but he heard them acting like they already won,” Tess explained. “I was supposed to tell Seth. Oh! And don’t tell anyone who told us about the dragons, that’s a secret.”

“Tess,” Knox said slowly, “That’s the kind of thing you say right away.”

“But it’s rude to interrupt people,” she said, confused.

Seth stood up, and he saw Grandpa raise his eyebrows in surprise. Why was he surprised? This was Seth’s job, after all, for a little while longer anyway.

“Okay Agad, welcome to the next round,” Seth said, “Did you check the magical defenses? How are they holding?”

Agad shared an amused look with Grandpa, who just nodded. “I did. The protections seem more secure than ever, even more than when I was caretaker here.”

“The Dragons are certain of victory, but will be unable to mount a frontal assault,” Grandma mused.

“Is Celebrant being hasty?” Patton asked, “From what I understand, dragons with losing streaks don’t stay king for long.”

“Perhaps Dromadus is toying with us,” Marat offered, “His help is rather unexpected.”

“I don’t think Dromadus would do that,” Seth said, “When Kendra and I met him, he seemed kind of like the Fair Folk. Didn’t want the sanctuary to fall, but not gonna do anything about it. And if he isn’t right, and the dragons don’t attack, there’s nothing to gain. If he lied, we wont trust him in the future.”

Marat tilted his head, acknowledging Seth’s statement.

“Anything is possible,” Agad said, “It could be that Dromadus is working with Celebrant, and they are hoping to find a weakness as we scramble to cover ourselves.”

“We have to treat it like a real threat,” Seth decided. “Whatever we show, it can’t be worse than them coming after us when we are unprepared. Possible weaknesses?”

“We should go over our magical defenses one more time,” Marat suggested, “Review the treaty and see if there is anything we missed. It is possible we have a traitor in our midst that will grant them access.”

Unfortunate, but true. He hoped they had been careful enough, though he hadn’t been around much to make a good guess himself.

“What about the barrel?” Knox asked. “We know where that is now, right? Could that be the weakness?”

Agad frowned, “It feels out of character for Celebrant to brag of a victory achieved by allies on the other side of the barrel, but we should not discount it. It is currently the greatest hole in our defense.”

Something about what Knox said bothered Seth. They know where it is now. They weren’t dealing with the Sphinx, but they kind of were. What had the Sphinx done in the past while they thought they were safe? And what was it about Knox’s statement that bothered him?

There wasn’t the textbook method: create a problem, send a friend to help, friend is a traitor. This was a different tactic. The Sphinx liked to stay one step ahead, control the board from both sides, and make threats to force you into action when you’d really just like to sit on your winning streak. Seth thought about the stories he had shared with Knox. Sometimes he planted a traitor, and sometimes the Sphinx sent invisible assassins after you because he already knew where you were going to be. Sometimes he let demon dragons out of their prisons when you weren’t looking.

“Guys,” Seth said, a sick feeling in his stomach, “Hey,” he stopped Marat and Agad in the middle of their discussion about magical defenses. “Bad thought. Someone was controlling Mendigo way before when the barrel was first stolen, right? Probably Ronodin, since he’s been hanging around the preserve and making deals with the Dragons. We thought the person left with the barrel, but it was in the basement the whole time.”

He waited for someone to deny what he was hinting at.

“Ah,” Grandpa Sorenson said, “I see. Between the time the barrel was lost and found, both sides of the barrel were out of our control, and Mendigo was available on our side to assist a sleeper agent.”

Grandma, Tanu, and Agad all looked like they were about to throw up.

“What are you saying?” Knox asked.

“Seth is suggesting the possibility that someone is already here, but remaining hidden,” Marat clarified, “An insightful observation and deduction.”

“Celebrant could claim credit for successfully distracting us,” Agad admitted, “Not as good as a frontal assault, but enough for him to claim the win. Especially if he can claim the kill. If the enemy is hiding near the Blackwell, it would be nearly impossible to sense them around the aura of the undead.”

“The question is,” Grandma said, “whether the source of the threat is already here, or will it come through the barrel yet. I am loathe to give up our only connection to Kendra.”

“Any way we can make sure we aren’t being listened to, Agad?” Grandpa asked.

“Not that I can create without knowing our spy and what he is using,” Agad said, shaking his head. “We will have to plan even though we may be spied upon.”

“There can’t be a bunch of them,” Seth decided, “I can see through most hiding spells, and I haven’t seen anyone. I can’t get around distractor spells, that was Kendra’s half…” he looked down at Tess, fairy struck, who was sitting still and paying attention like a good girl. Plans were starting to come together “Let’s not talk about everything here. I want everyone to split into groups. Agad, Marat, where’s the best place to examine the magical defenses?”

They shared a look, “The tower where the Roost used to be,” Agad said at last. “The protections still form a small dent there, where a dragon may come closer than other area.”

“Okay, head to Seth Tower, I’ll meet up with you after.” Seth said. It was energizing, being heard and listened to. And to actually be doing something! The brothers nodded.

“Tanu,” Seth said, “I want your potions ready by dinner, whatever happens, you’re going to need to be stocked and ready to go.” Several people caught his emphasis, but didn’t say anything, just like he wanted. Well Tess asked, but Knox shushed her.

“I would appreciate an assistant,” Tanu said.

“I’ll help,” Patton said, standing up, “Unless you have a job for me elsewhere.”

Seth shook his head, “Helping Tanu is perfect.”

He turned to Grandma and Grandpa, “I need you guys to work with the staff. Let them know we’ve been warned of a threat, organize extra lookouts and patrols, organize a watch over the barrel, that kind of stuff. We don’t know what direction the threat coming from, so we cover as many directions as possible.”

Now it was time for Grandma to look amused, and Grandpa to look proud.

“Understood Seth,” she said. “We will retreat to the Winter Study to plan. Henrick will be back soon, and his help will be invaluable with this. We should wait to inform the staff until after he joins us.”

“Great idea, go for it. Er, where’s the Winter Study?” Seth asked, trying to remember from their tour.

“Directly below Kendra’s bedroom,” Agad said. “On the first floor.”

Seth nodded, he’d knock on doors until he found the right one.

Seth turned to his remaining players, “And finally: Doren, Newel, Tess, and Knox. I have a very special job for you. Wait outside the door while I make sure of something with Agad.”

“That’s our cue to leave,” Grandma said, patting a hand on her husband’s leg.

“The abundance of caution while in command suits you,” Grandpa said, standing up. He put his hand on Seth’s shoulder as he passed, “I’m proud of how you’re handling this situation.”

Considering a little over a week ago, he’d gotten a stern lecture about endangering his cousin and the consequences to trying to trick magic, this was quite the change. Grandpa smiled, and walked past him. There was a small lump in his throat. This feeling was why Kendra always did her best to make people proud of her. It was rarely sent his way.

Tanu and Patton also left, then the satyrs and his cousins went just outside the door.

Seth walked close to Agad and lowered his voice, “Tess is Fairy struck, can she see through distractor spells?”

Agad nodded.

Seth smiled and nodded as well. He whispered. “Can you bring the treaty document to the tower?”

Agad shook his head, “It is locked in a box in the Winter Study. The medallion opens the box. I recommend against moving it.”

Seth looked at Marat.

“I agree, with my brother. We have the contents memorized, we should only consult them upon need.”

Seth nodded, then stepped back.

“See you at Seth Tower soon.”

The two of them left, and Seth took a moment to fling himself on the couch and groan. The energy had left when everyone else did. Leading was such hard work! For the millionth time, he wished Kendra had let him turn the key. Sure he’d be kidnapped and being trained into an evil Shadow Charmer right now, but Kendra was so much smarter than him, she would have figured out about the intruder way before.

Probably because she had better judgement than him and didn’t usually trust terrible people right off the bat. And like she said, people usually had enough confidence in her to just trust her with important stuff.

The door creaked open, “Uh, Seth, did you have a job for us?” Newel asked.

Seth got up and went to the door. Remembering from his first day, he used the medallion to unlock a desk drawer in the corner, and pulled out a key ring, slipping it into his adventure pouch.

“Yeah, follow me, I don’t know how much of the keep Tess and Knox got to see,” Seth said, “And it’s a good time to get an updated map of it, in case we come under siege. It’s possible the Dragons are just going to stare us down until we run out of food. Any of you got any talent at drawing maps?”

There was a pause as Seth led on.

“I’ve dealt with a fair amount of treasure maps in my day,” Doren admitted, “And I’m not a shabby hand with a pen. I can draw.”

“Awesome,” Seth said, “Start with the storerooms in the basement storerooms, where the barrel was before, then the dungeons, then the ground floor. If you can get through those floors by lunch, that’d be great, but make sure to do them all. I want you three to go with him, and look for anything that seems suspicious. Look through the dungeons, but if any of you touch the Blackwell, or the chain next to the Blackwell, I’m throwing all of you inside it,” Seth said.

Seth had led them into the library and started pulling out loose sheets of paper, “Doesn’t matter how small. If it seems out of place, make a note of it.”

“Are you sure this is the best use of our time Seth?” Newel asked dubiously.

Seth grinned, “It’s a very good use of your time.”

Seth started writing on various blank papers, while they all watched him. He turned to his younger cousin when he was finished.

“Right. Tess? I want you looking for pictures and weird things on the walls.”

On this sheet of paper, Seth had written:

Every single time you see a person or creature, point at them, say something nice about them, and ask if you can talk to them. Knox will either say that you’re busy, or that the person isn’t there. Nod and keep walking every single time. Don’t let anyone know what’s written here, keep it a secret. Put a clean sheet on top of this one.  

“Here’s a list of the things you should look for. This is an old castle, there might be secret passages that we need to find out about before someone sneaks in,” Seth said, handing her the paper. She immediately started reading.

“Knox, you’re looking up higher, pay attention to cold or warm drafts and the items in the rooms, make note of which ones have weapons, look for places where the intruder could be staying,” Seth said, handing him a piece of paper that read:

Tess is going to ask to speak to everyone she sees. She has magic eyes like Kendra. If you see who she’s pointing to, tell her that you’re too busy to bother them. If you don’t see who she is pointing to, tell her that there’s no one there and you don’t have time for games. Make notes, but don’t engage.

He turned to Newel, “Your job is to make sure no one runs into walls while writing stuff down, and make sure to explore everything. Bring the cool stuff back to me, so that our item troll doesn’t try to keep it for the shelves.” Seth said, spouting nonsense. “Write down where you find it though, in case Agad says we need to return it or unleash another apocalypse.”

“Better to ask forgiveness than permission,” Newel nodded with a salute. Seth handed him a paper that read:

If someone was listening to our meeting, they are going to be following you. Watch for them. Tess and Knox are going to be acting weird, just ignore them. You’re on protector duty.

And Seth handed fully blank sheets to Doren, “And, of course, you’re on the map. Here’s paper, pens, clipboard, and scotch tape. Everyone know their job?”

The four of them looked excited as they nodded. “Good,” Seth said, “Meet back in the War Room after lunch.”

Doren and Newel slung another salute. Tess tried to copy them and slapped herself in the face. Knox just rolled his eyes.

They left, and Seth debated between going to check up on Grandma and Grandpa, or heading straight to Seth Tower.

His grandparents couldn’t set anything in stone without Hendrick, so he’d head to the Tower. He’d be able to see Henrick coming back, and take him to Grandma and Grandpa when the Alcetaur arrived.

Up at the tower room, Marat and Agad were waiting for him.

“So, magic defenses in place?” Seth asked.

Agad nodded, “Perfect, just like I said twenty minutes ago. Mind explaining more of your plan?”

“Sure,” Seth said, “Grandma and Grandpa are doing exactly what I said they were. Running the past week from Blackwell made them the best people for that, until Hendrick gets back to help. Tanu is also doing exactly what I told him too.

“I sent Tess, Knox, and the satyrs looking for people hiding themselves with distractor spells, but they look like they’re creating a fresh map of the lower floors. Tess is pointing out everyone she sees to Knox, Knox is telling her that they’re too busy to talk to anyone and taking note of the people that Tess sees that he doesn’t. Because they’re the group doing the most suspicious work, I’m hoping any spies here are following them, letting the rest of us get things done. Newel is on the look out for someone following them, and thinks that’s what he thinks they’re doing. Doren is actually creating a map.”

Seth was rather proud of that plan, and feeling pretty ingenious for coming up with it in only ten minutes.

“Once again, not bad,” Agad said.

Seth gave a dry smile, “I learned from the best teacher. The Sphinx betraying me and my friends over and over. After this, I’m going to do my own sweep, trying to see through the shadows while shadow walking.”

“Might I recommend also holding your unsheathed sword at the same time?” Marat said. “That is the sword of Tregain, yes?”

Seth glanced down, “Oh that’s right! This sword helps make people look away from me, especially bigger creatures. I’ll definitely do that.”

“A very pro-active plan,” Agad said, “I will admit to not even considering the idea of someone hiding in the Blackwell. The barrel messes with the traditional rule of only allowing visitors a single night of stay, as that magic is activated upon crossing the boundary.”

“I do not believe that is all to our caretaker’s plan,” Marat said, amused, “I believe he feels he will do more for our mission elsewhere, and intends to return the mantle of caretaker to me.”

Agad gaped, then turned, “Is this true, Seth?”

Seth nodded, “Celebrant is no longer co-caretaker. The issue we came here to solve, the weakening barrier, is fixed. There’s no problem with Marat being caretaker, according to Dromadus, so long as he stays in human form. I’d be a lot more useful helping track down Kendra and Bracken.”

“Before you go any farther,” Agad said, holding up a hand, “There are things I wish to disclose to the caretaker of a dragon sanctuary. The remaining lines of defense after the sanctuaries fall. We can continue to discuss your possible resignation afterwards.”

Seth hopped onto a wide window ledge, “Okay, hit me. What else we got before the next apocalypse?”

“These secrets should not be repeated,” Agad warned, “Except to your most trusted ally at the time of greatest need.”

Seth glanced at Marat, who nodded, “I am already aware of the provisions my brother speaks of. Do not worry.”

“The first is why Dragons from fallen sanctuaries have yet to invade the mortal world,” Agad explained, “There is a magic item, perhaps the most magic item in existence —”

“More then the Wizenstone?” Seth asked, eyebrows raised. He was starting to suspect that there wasn’t an actual standard for how ‘magic’ an item is.

Agad paused, and Marat chuckled. Agad continued, “No, I suppose, not greater than the Wizenstone. Possibly it’s equal. I would not like to test either object against the other. The skull of the first dragon that ever lived, Abraxtus, is more heavily ensorcelled, than any other object I have ever come in contact with. It is called The Sovereign Skull. It takes all the disbelief in magic that all mortals generate, and creates a repulsive barrier against dragons. This is our absolute last line of defense, and must be protected at all costs. Only a few wizards know the location, and that information will never be divulged for its own protection.”

Seth nodded, “Can I have the name of a wizard that does know? Just in case.”

Agad looked him straight in the eye. “No.”

Seth nodded, “That’s fair. Sounds like we’re hoping it doesn’t get that far.” As though they had ever had any luck in that department.

“Another line of defense: the Dragon Slayers,” Agad said.

Seth grinned, “The Somber Knight was so cool. A bit of a downer, but a real life-saver. He’s still a bit…messy, after rescuing Kendra from being dinner. You’re talking about the ones at the other six sanctuaries, right?”

Agad nodded, “In addition to the other six at sanctuaries, there are five others that have been living in the world, waiting to be called upon again. It will take a while to wake them up, but Celebrant declaring war was the key.”

Seth nodded, “You did the same thing with the dragon preserves that you did with the demon prisons. How are these guys at handling immortality? We sure they didn’t try to off themselves?”

Agad said, “They all already had experiences with extended lifespans, so hopefully we are rousing them from a pleasurable retirement. And then there is a line of defense you are slightly more familiar with: the three treasures in the secret dragon temples.”

“Right, gauntlets that control dragons. Every dragon in a hundred miles comes by to kill you if you look at them funny,” Seth recited, remembering Thronis’s warning.

Agad nodded, “There are two other items, and two other sacred temples guarding these items at dragon sanctuaries. The harp that can send any dragon to sleep, and the shield that can defend against any dragon’s attack. These items were necessary to winning the war against the dragons the first time, and now that we’re facing war again, we need them back.”

Seth tilted his head, “Did they already get new guardians for the temple here at Wyrmroost? Cause we killed them, and its not like those were your ordinary, everyday dragons, and no one besides Gavin and Thronis knew we went there for the obsidian waste key.”

“It would be foolish to assume they aren’t guarded,” Agad said, considering carefully, “Though it is also strange that Celebrant has never ranted against your party for that affront. The answer is that I do not know.”

There was a moment of silence as everyone thought about the predicament.

“Well,” Seth said, “How buried is the translocator? Me and Kendra have been in the temple treasure room, we, er, I, for the moment, could grab the gloves and come back in a snap.”

Marat spoke up, “Bringing the translocator back into play at this time would be a dangerous move. That item is really too powerful. Dragons in human form could use it to escape the sanctuaries without a fight.”

Agad nodded, “All the artifacts are currently inaccessible. We used the Chronometer to hide the translocator, the sands of sanctity, and the occulous six more years in the future, waiting for us to finish designing the vaults. The Font needed to remain in the present, to support our first immortal, but that is the only artifact accessible. At least, until the Sphinx made off with it during his escape. Good thinking, but unfortunately untenable.”

A horn sounded from the parapet over the gate.

“That means a dragon is coming, right?” Seth asked, turning around in the window. “Raxtus maybe?”

“It means official visitors,” Marat clarified, “It certainly has been seeing its use this week. It also announced the arrival of the carriage from Stormguard.”

“Got it,” Seth said, standing up, “Anything else you need to tell the current caretaker of wyrmroost about the grand scheme of defenses?”

“No, those are our three lines: talismans, dragon slayers, and The Sovereign Skull,” Agad counted.

“Okay, I’ll keep those in mind, and never tell anyone, unless I absolutely have to,” Seth said, drawing a cross over his heart for good measure. “My plan is simple. Celebrant is a great big ego, right? He hates Kendra for insulting him, and it’s embarrassing that he keeps losing to a couple of kids. He’s getting help, he’s getting desperate, no matter what his plan is, right?”

Agad nodded.

“So, I’m going to offer him one last insult as caretaker,” Seth said with a grin, “His little rebellion isn’t even worth my time. After we deal with our guests at the gate, I’m going to do my sweep of everywhere while walking through shadows. Then I’m going to give being caretaker over to Marat, and we’re going to leave, with the barrel. That’s Blackwell’s biggest weakness, and it doesn’t need to be here for us to use it. I’ll leave Marat with a parting note to read to Celebrant, letting him know that we have better things to do.”

Agad started chuckling, moving his hand to cover his mouth when it didn’t stop.

“Boom,” Seth said with relish, “Biggest weakness removed, whoever is in the castle has to figure out how to kill Marat, who’s going to be a lot harder to kill than me, I get to go after Kendra, and we throw one last insult over our shoulder.”

Agad continued to laugh, but the most Marat gave was an amused look.

“And how exactly do you intend to leave?” Marat asked, “The walkway between the typical entrance and the Keep will not be guarded for this trip.”

“We have some pretty cool rides,” Seth said, “Not sure you saw them when Patton came in, but Kendra met up with a fairy godmother and boom, the luvians we were riding all have wings. We’ll need to make it so they can leave the sanctuary with us, but if they can make it through the sky on a festival night, they can probably get us past the barrier. We’ll have to ask them of course, but I think we’ll be in pretty good shape. They strike me as adventurous.”

“I would like to make one suggestion,” Agad said, wiping a tear from his eye, “Leave in peace, no one attacks at all, and leave before night falls. I’m sure they intend to strike in the dark. You leave two hours before sunset, and Celebrant likely wont have time to demand to know what you’re doing. Use Tess’s cloak of innocence to see you safely past the barrier.”

“Oh, that is wicked,” Marat chuckled. “But we have dawdled enough. The horn summons the caretaker to official business.”

Seth took one last look out the window and down the road, and paused. He pulled out his eyeglass from his adventure pouch. “Is that…Henrick leading a bunch dryads?”

[poptimus-prime]

Here is what the kids call my highly disorganized, half-baked list of stuff that could have been done with Jack to make him a better character.

@yeetmetothehell I am sorry if you are disappointed by my ideas.

“Optimus was more like...Jack.” OK…so show us that.

In my opinion...Jack seems like he was intended to be written to be almost a parallel to Orion’s journey to becoming Optimus Prime, at least how he is used in the plot. Jack is described as “smart and responsible”, which can also be read as “hardworking and responsible” and really this can be achieved in narratively using a few points, IMO:

Long hours in his room/the library studying outside of work and school. 

Filling out the background of the garage more with sketches/print outs of motorcycle blueprints (to keep the idea that Jack really wants a motorcycle and show hints of extreme dedication, but they’re kept in the garage rather than his room to metaphorically show that distance he’s put between himself and what he wants)

“Man of the House”/”Grew up too fast” (This will be discussed more later but TL;DR “I’ll handle the electric bill this month, Mom”)

Somewhat fragile work/school/life balance that Jack somehow perfectly maintained before meeting the team

Orion was very physically passive. Jack seems to be intended to be written as passive but it comes off as an apathetic reluctance that Orion doesn’t possess (Orion may not believe in violence but he clearly wasn’t unwilling to communicate his thoughts; it’s how he got the title of Prime in the first place.) However, Orion had to learn to become more outspoken over time probably, so we can keep him as being aloof/reluctant at the start of the series.

“Man of the House”/”Grew up too Fast”

It’s no secret Jack came from a nonconventional home; June is very explicitly portrayed as a single mother with a dad nowhere in the picture. However the situation surrounding Mr. Darby is unknown. The way June talks about it makes me personally feel like Jack’s dad either ran out or divorced June and doesn’t bother with his kid. Dysfunction in the family really just goddamn changes you TBH. (can confirm bc hi, I come from a dysfunctional home) Sometimes you just grow up super fast. Jack probably spent his childhood missing his mom as she worked shifts at the hospital and seeing how lonely and hurt she was. He maybe went out and got a job the first day he could and helps with smaller bills (“I’ll handle the electric bill this month.”), or maybe other expenses like groceries and his own phone bill. June probably makes enough to comfortably support her and her son, especially given her job and the cost of living in rural ass desert Nevada. But Jack still does this anyways--it’s how he copes with his issues after what happened with his dad. Doubling down and trying to be what he thinks is the bigger man because his dad couldn’t be fucked. 

This would make the disruption him letting the bots into his life creates more staggering; June doesn’t expect her son to pay bills, but the sudden change in behavior (skipping out on work) would be a cause for concern because sudden shifts like that are Usually Signs that Something is Very Wrong. Especially because Jack is usually responsible and open with his mom; he would have told her if he was gonna cut hours at work, theoretically.

Jack feels like he has to constantly put his own wants aside to contribute to his household. Even if June doesn’t force this expectation upon him, it’s a feeling that he will have, especially if he watched his dad just abandon him and June. Maybe he has resentment towards his dad for this and that is causing some anger he’s keeping tightly under wraps? And maybe the bots give him an excuse to do something he actually wants to do for once or some excitement in his life and that’s why he goes along with it? Lots of options, people!

Clothing Choices: The Hoodie™

You are going to have to deal with me being a whore for costuming choices and what they can mean. The show has a problem with the humans wearing the same shit every time they’re on screen and I’d love to rant about all of them (yeah yeah I get it saving money) but I’m focusing on Jack right now. Give Jack a hoodie 2020. A grey one or some other dull and drab color. And make him actually always wear the hood (except like in scenes where he is working bc workplace dress codes obviously) As time progresses, the drab hoodie is changed to a more vibrant color, but he still always has the hood over his head. And then, at a pivotal moment, the boy takes the hood off. (You could even throw in Miko cracking a joke about Jack actually having hair if you really wanted TBH.) Why this? The narrative is that Jack is constantly holding himself under wraps because of his self-imposed responsibilities. As he starts to become more into his own, he decides to express himself more with brighter colors, but still has some reservations. When he takes the hoodie off, that’s when he’s fully realized himself in this process and thus completes the parallel.

Actually make him interact with Optimus in a meaningful manner.

Arcee can still be his guardian in the field and I think working on strengthening their relationship is vital. But also, if you’re gonna make Jack the confidante holding the key to Vector Sigma, there actually has to be...meaningful interaction. Optimus asking Jack what he’s so engrossed in reading and Jack explaining the book he’s got with passion before shutting himself up and saying “it’s kinda dumb though” or something. And Optimus just responds “I don’t think it’s dumb, tell me more.” Coaxing him towards more self-discovery and expression. Optimus maybe sees more of his old self in Jack and starts attempting to be a quasi-paternal figure without really thinking about it because he is, after all, Dadimus. Jack maybe lashes out about how he doesn’t need Optimus to be his dad and that makes the space between them tense for a while. Eventually Jack comes to apologize and maybe there’s an important Talk.. Just a few ideas I will expand on later. I feel like forgiveness and lack thereof is a good theme--I know I was held back for a long time because of how convoluted the concept of forgiveness is with family.

The Character Arc

 So, what would Jack’s character development throughout the events of season 1 be? My basic idea for a Jack arc that mirrors Orion’s self-realization and coming into Prime-hood without being a carbon copy is essentially: 

Jack is portrayed as a responsible, hardworking, studious teenager who constantly turns down chances for fun and excitement to handle his responsibilities. Has clear dreams for after high school and for his own personal life; but he’s constantly contemplating and changing his mind about whether he will or not because he’s extremely dedicated to helping his mom and all that. However, he still gets super curious about Arcee and gets swept up by her in the Vehicon chase, and he still has whispers of courage and protects Raf during the altercation. He first tries to ditch Team Prime because he’s concerned about his responsibilities, but eventually returns because he’s drawn to the opportunity to finally go buck wild for once in his life (even if he spends his time being hesitant about everything.) His hesitancy and dedication to severe self-imposed responsibility is a result of his inability to move on from what his dad did to him and his mom; he’s under the impression that he 1) Has to forgive someone to move on, and thus 2) He cannot move on because his dad isn’t there to bother to say sorry and take on his position as Dad. In essence, he becomes less the character telling Miko to stop and more the character being pushed by Miko to be more adventurous. In lulls in action, Optimus starts to take interest in him when he notices his constant hesitance to express himself and is just being dragged along rather than going willingly. Has a conversation with him about a book Jack’s reading, which Jack attempts to shut down because it’s “dumb and childish,” but Optimus urges him to continue. The idea that June knows about Arcee as a bike and Jack explaining that he bought a motorcycle as a fixer-upper for dirt cheap can stay. (He probably still is saving up for his motorcycle.)

The longest portion, after Optimus starts interacting with Jack on a level of bonding and gently coaxing him to be himself— Jack becomes more outspoken and he’s shown as curious, analytical, quick witted, and has a deep sense of justice. Being young and craving a childhood lost to his trauma and self-imposed obligations to help his mom with running the household, he suddenly starts spending more time at the base pursuing hobbies and going on missions rather than studying and work, which concerns June. She tries to press Jack, and is met with what can be described as typical teenage headbutting that gets progressively worse. She grounds Jack after the fight, MECH takes her, the rescue happens. (That makes sense to stay in this narrative IMO.) Around this time, Optimus has effectively started becoming Jack’s own Alpha Trion—teaching him things that he’s picked up that he may feel apply to Jack. Jack interprets one of these lessons as Optimus trying to be “dad” and he’s not having it. Makes it VERY clear that he does not need a dad (“didn’t need one before and sure as fuck don’t need one now”) and definitely snaps at Optimus, which then pushes his progress in the arc closer to the end. He eventually comes back to apologize, and Optimus forgives him. He and Optimus have a heart-to-heart about one of the hardest lessons Optimus has had to learn—how to let go of the past without forgiving those who have hurt you and refuse to make amends, so that you may determine your own future. It’s very clear he’s talking about Megatron, even though he never says his name. Jack takes this lesson to heart.

His final bit of development before the hood removal thing probably happens during the events of “Rock Bottom” and reinforces that hard lesson, right when he’s faced with the option to off Megatron. Maybe there’s some taunting about how Optimus preaches softness and forgiveness too much when Jack refuses to kill him. Jack gets angry, and he’s about to fucking do it. But then he stops, takes a breath, and says “Optimus doesn’t preach forgiveness, he preaches moving on from those who refuse to move on themselves. He will never forgive you, but he’s learned to live on despite what you’ve done.” Soon after this, when Megatron comes to the base, Jack takes off his hood, stares Megatron right in the face, and says “This is not forgiveness, Megatron. Don’t you forget that.” Later, when Optimus gives him the key, he tells him something along the lines of “you have grown since we’ve met, Jack, and even though there is still a long way for you to go...” he hands Jack the key. “...Remember that even I am a work in progress.”

Anyways this is again, half-baked. And needs lots of polishing. But it’s something.

[olivia200312]

Valentine's Love~ TFP! Optimus x Human! Reader (Lemon) *Request*

Requested by the lovely @Tianna814193.

Plot: Optimus hears of Valentine's Day for the first time and learns more about what it is thanks to the kids. He wants to do something special for Y/N so he took her to a special place and made love to her ;)

There was no plot nor which Optimus version so I had to choose.

Npte: the art goes to the onwer!

Head area: Brain: Processor / Brain Module Head: Helm Face: Face plate Ears: Audio receptors / Receptor Orifice / Audials Nose: Enstril / Olfactory Sensor Eye brow: Optical Ridge Eyes: Optics Mouth: Intake Lips: Dermas Teeth: Denta/Dentas Tongue: Glossa

Chest area: Chest: Chassis / Thoraxal Cavity Back: Hexa-Lateral Scapula Spine: Bipedalism cord / Back Strut

Chest and back armour: Chest plate Back plate Mid-section plating Neck guard Side plating

Arm area: Arms: Arms / Restarlueus Forearms: Bitarlueus Hands: Servos Fingers: Digits

Arm armour: Gantlets Shoulder pads Arm guard

Lower area: Pelvis: Pelvis Butt: Aft / Skid-Plate Thighs: Tibulen Calves: Cadulen Feet: Pedes - the high heel bits are called Struts or Heel Struts.

Lower armour: Skirt plates Aft plate / Skid plate Thigh guard Ankle guard

General/Internal components: Muscles: Cables / Pistons - It depends on the area in question. Veins: Fual lines Stomach: Tanks Lungs: Vents - used to stop the con/bot from over heating. Heart: Spark Tattoos: D-con/A-bot Insignias and the lark T-Cog: The thing that allows all Cybertronians to transform, be that their arms or their whole body.

Bonus:

Penis: Spike

Vagina: Valve

Body: Frame

-----------------------------------------------------

Today was a snowy day in Jasper Nevada. Surprised, right? Usually, it's freaking hot and warm there since it's like... deserted place. Kinda like in Africa, Egypt. But don't get fooled! Weathers can change there too. Have you been ever to Alaska? It's tough to know when it's in fact night. Why? The occurrence takes place each winter because of the tilt of the Earth's axis. "This tilt makes it so that none of the Sun's disc is visible above the horizon," according to Chinchar. But that doesn't mean the town will be completely dark. It's also not always winter there like how you saw in the movies. 

So, it's February 13th... one day away from the official Vantine's Day. It's a day where you give your loved ones presents, to show love to them. You can give presents to your family and friends. It can be candy, cards, plushies, etc. 

Y/N was 18 and she was at her house. She sadly doesn't have time to hang out at the base. She got a lot of work to complete so she texted Miko, saying that she doesn't have time to hang out today.

At the base~

"Oh come on!" Miko groaned while throwing her hands up in the air, making her pink phone go flying and land on the couch.

Jack looked at her while Raf was listening while working on his laptop. Some bots were listening as well while others like Ratchet were busy. "What's wrong, Miko?"

"Y/N doesn't have time to come hang out in the base! Tomorrow is Valentine's Day!"

That caught every bot's attention, especially Optimus'. Once they all looked at the kids and Miko quickly noticed that every bot is staring. "What?"

"What's this 'Valentine's Day', Miko?" Optimus asked while walking over to the kids.

Jack looks surprised. "You bots don't know what Valentine's Day is?"

"On Cybertron, we don't celebrate holidays," Arcee said while her arms were crossed.

"Well, Valentine's Day is a day where you give gifts to your loved ones. Like to your family, friends, especially to your lover. It's also when someone confesses their love to their crush," Raf explained.

"And what gifts can you get?" Bulkhead asked.

"Oh, different things! You can get like candy, plushies, cards, prepare romantic dates, and much other stuff!" Miko answered with a big smile.

Optimus couldn't help but be interested. He's in love with Y/N ever since he met her. It's just... her beauty and especially her kind personality caught his attention. He offered to be her guardian and his spark beat happily when she said yes. She accepted the offer. But oh boy, he didn't know that Y/N is in love too with the handsome, kind leader. 

But of them didn't know that they'll be extremely sexually active like... they're both in the hard mood to do 'it'. It's normal when you are a couple but it's very important to be careful. Both of them won't admit to anyone but they both had wet dreams about each other more than once. Yeah... if they both showed signs or accidentally told it out loud, then they'll be so embarrassed (my best friend, who's a guy, admitted once to me in the school bus that he had a wet dream about a girl once).

"If you don't mind, will you explain more?" Optimus asked.

The kids nodded and they explained more. They even told me how it started. Optimus was thinking this whole time about how to confess his love to Y/N. He has no idea that he'll be sexually active right on Valentine's Day. His spike will be hard, begging to go inside of Y/N. Crap, he's getting naughty thoughts again. That's when Optimus has a plan...

The next day~

When Y/N woke up, she got dressed and brushed her teeth. She was surprised when Bumblebee picked her up instead of Optimus. The leader told everyone his plan to confess his love to Y/N, except for the naughty thoughts. He's having a lot of trouble keeping his voice under control. He's sexually active, needing to have sex. His spike is sure very hard behind his codpiece. Luckily, no one suspected a thing.

When Y/N arrived at the base, Ratchet told that Optimus was at the beach in the wooden cabin. Wait, how can he be inside since the wooden cabin is.. small? Welp. Only one thing to find out. Y/N went through the groundbridge when it was activated. When Y/N arrived at the beach, it was very breathtaking:

Y/N pinched herself to see if she wasn't dreaming. It was all real. Y/N then felt... hot. She couldn't help but let out a small moan. She quickly controlled herself and saw the wooden cabin. Once she opened it and went inside, she saw a big white bed, covered in beautiful rose petals. Even some candles were on to make it even more romantic, curtains closed. 

Y/N smiled brightly. Optimus loves her. She knew it now. She then heard metallic footsteps and she turned around to see the love of her life, except he's small! Y/N's mouth was open in shock while her eyes went wide.

Optimus chuckled and gently closed her mouth with his digit, but never left her face. He gently cupped her face with his soft, gentle servos and kissed her with passion. Y/N let out a surprised moan but she kissed him back. She slung her arms around his neck and kissed him harder. The Prime moved his servos to her waist and pulled her closer. Y/N couldn't help but let out a loud moan, especially since her private part was overheating and throbbing.

She pulled away embarrassed. "I-I'm sorry, Optimus. I... I just have a problem."

Optimus showed a gentle, kind, loving smile. "I know, sweetspark. I've read your body language." He then felt a little embarrassed. "I have the same problem with my spike."

Y/N felt confused at first until it clicked fast. His penis was hard. Spike is... you know. So, both of them have the same problem. But Optimus doesn't want to force his beloved since he's not that kind of a bot. As Orion Pax, he was shy, kind, quiet, overworking, helpful, respectful, and gentle. But now as Optimus Prime, he's stern, calm, strong, smart... So, he has kinda two sides. But there's still Orion Pax in him if you pay close attention to him. Ratchet told the story of who Optimus was before he became a Prime. The kids found it interesting, especially Y/N.

Y/N looked up to meet his optics. "D-Do you mind if we help each other. Clearly, our bodies want... you know."

Optimus doesn't respond, instead, he slammed his dermas on her lips. He backed her gently until she fell on top of the white bedsheets. At least the rose petals were soft. He climbed on top of her and looked into her eyes, asking for permission. Y/N nodded and started to touch his chassis, causing Optimus to purr. 

Some time passed by and Y/N was fully nude underneath the leader. She already has love bites around her neck. Optimus' optics was full with lust as his one digit entered her heated core. That caused Y/N to gasp and moan. "A-Ah! That feels so good! Please more!~"

Optimus granted her wish and added another digit inside of her. He moved inside of her, feeling her walls tighten around his digits. He's smirking inside. When he felt her orgasm, he pulled his digits away, causing Y/N to whine.

Y/N shot her eyes open when she heard a clank on the wooden floor. She saw his private member. His spike. "It's so big!~" That caused Optimus to look flustered and watched her as she used her hand to grab his spike and gently started to stroke it. Optimus moaned as his member twitched. Y/N stroked faster until Optimus shot his transfluid. It landed on her chest and stomach area. Y/N sill looked seductively and giggled. 

Optimus was surprised by the next act.Y/N lifted her legs up, and opened her heated core with her fingers, inviting Optimus to go in. Optimus then prepares and lined his spike right at her pussy.

"Please put in!~" 

Optimus smirked and went inside of her. He immediately grunted as the warmth and tightness greeted his spike. Y/N immediately moaned and instead of pain, she felt pleasure. Pure pleasure. She panted and moaned louder. "A-Ah, so good. Give all of you, Optimus. F-Fuck me so hard until I can't walk!~"

Optimus smirked and rammed into her. That caused Y/N to scream, moan and talk dirty. Like, really dirty talk. She couldn't help it! Her legs and arms are wrapped around him. "O-Oh, yeah! Yeah! H-Harder! I'm close!"

"As you wish, my dear.~" Optimus smirked and rammed even harder. 

Y/N felt her G-Spot being hit many times that she saw stars. She was just so in love, lost in pure pleasure... That's when she felt her orgasm. She screamed Optimus' name in pure bliss as he shot his transfluid inside of her. It was warm and sticky. Optimus stayed inside of her for almost a minute before pulling out. Some of his transfluid dripped down into the sheets. Both him and Y/N felt much better.

"T-That was amazing, Optimus."

Optimus smiled lovely as he laid down next to her and pulled her closer. He held her protectively. "It was, sweetspark."

Happy Valentine's Day!