#it may be surprising to learn that I love Jean despite having never written anything for him until now

[darkblueboxs]

Any headcanons about Andrew and Jean getting to know eachother? Maybe they end up on the same professional team or something... But! I believe there gotta be some sort of understanding between the two, some sort of solidarity, due to similarities in their life experiences. Like how Andrew grew close to Renee.

Oh, these guys are a great combo. Very similar experiences, very different ways of dealing with them.

Here is how I imagine how their relationship would have unfolded if Jean had followed Kevin to Palmetto (I love Raven!Neil as much as the next person but we all sleeping on Fox!Jean...play in this space with me...)

· Depending on where we are on the tfc timeline, Jean’s arrival would have sent up a million red flags on Andrew’s radar. Riko’s little pet just happens to turn up on their doorstep after Kevin defects to the foxes? No, he isn’t buying it. Much like Neil, Jean would register as a capital-T Threat.

· And what does Andrew do with Threats? He takes them to Columbia.

· Now, Jean has spent years in the nest, watching Kevin run around at the heels of his brother owner and cowering in Riko’s shadow because at least there he was safe from Riko’s cruelty. Until he wasn’t.

· So Jean arrives at Palmetto, takes one look at the deal Kevin has made with Andrew, and thinks, no. Jean payed dearly for helping Kevin escape Riko, and all Kevin has done is run from the arms of one psychopath to the other. Andrew and Riko are both violent, unpredictable, dangerous, and have far too many knives upon their person at any given moment. Jean decides very quickly that there is no difference between the two. To see Kevin cowering in the shadow of another “protector” leaves a black, bitter taste in his mouth, but Jean does what he always has done when it comes to Kevin’s poor choices: nothing. He has no interest in becoming another plaything of one of Kevin’s “owners,” and he won’t rock the boat if it means putting himself in another psychopath’s line of fire.

· So, to start off with, there’s heavy misconceptions on both sides.

· When Andrew tells Jean he’s coming to Columbia, Jean does not object. He remembers Riko’s games, and assumes that Andrew’s work just the same: if Jean says no to this, he will undoubtedly face something far worse further down the line. In this case, he isn’t entirely wrong.

· Kevin may come with them to Eden’s, but Jean isn’t stupid enough to rely on his help or ask him what Andrew has planned for him. Jean is used to Kevin looking out for himself, and he knows that reaching out to Kevin will force him to choose between Jean and Andrew, which isn’t a choice at all. Instead, Jean enters Eden’s with only his assumptions about Andrew to guide him.

· He knows the drink Andrew brings him is spiked. Andrew knows he knows. Neither of them acknowledges it. Jean sends a silent prayer to anyone who may be listening and downs it in one without making eye-contact. He adds “involuntary drugging” to the list of Riko and Andrew’s common hobbies.

· It’s after the drugs hit that everything gets a little confusing. This is usually the part where the torture starts. Instead, Jean is dragged onto a dancefloor where an excitable latino with rainbow eyeshadow is insisting on teaching him the Macarena

· Jean is not good at the Macarena

· He isn’t sure how long he’s been stumbling around the dance floor when a hand clamps down on his shoulder and pulls him away, through a set of doors and into what looks like a staff room

· Jean doesn’t black out, per se, but everything does go quite shaky at that point. He thinks he knows what is coming – has a vague idea, anyway – and he isn’t sure if it’s the knowing or the not being sure that locks up his body. For a minute or so, it’s like he’s watching himself from the outside. He came to Palmetto to escape this. There is no escape. This is Jean’s life, and he is trapped in it no matter where he goes. He can’t survive this again. He can’t.

· Then there are fingers snapping in front of his face. ��Do I need to pour water over your head?”

· Jean manages enough of a reaction to stop Andrew from making good on the threat. He still isn’t breathing right, still clearly in the throes of a major panic attack.

· And Andrew wishes he could find it suspicious – why be so afraid if Jean has nothing to hide? – but on the other hand, if this Raven is supposed to be some kind of sleeper agent, he has to be the worst choice in the world. He’s in pieces, and Andrew hasn’t even asked him anything, let alone made any kind of threat.

· And Jean has kept it together just enough to keep breathing in and out, but he’s still out of his mind on whatever Andrew gave him. He doesn’t even know what year it is at this stage. His mind is skipping to whatever straws he can grasp, and all he’s coming up with is the last time he felt like this, what Riko did to him, what Riko made others to do to him-

· And he doesn’t realise he’s been speaking out loud, pleading, begging, no, stop, don’t touch me, I don’t want to, please- until Andrew jerks away from him like he’s been burned.

· Andrew’s expression moves through several stages in quick succession. First, an awful, empty blankness, like Jean’s words have momentarily taken him somewhere else, another time, another life

· Then, searching. Calculating. Connecting.

· Understanding.

· And finally, less than a second but cutting through Jean than all the other expressions put together. The blackest, bone-deep rage, burning from deep within Andrew like an oil fire at the bottom of a well

· Not a spy, Andrew realises. A Runaway.

· And Andrew, curse his foolish soul, has always had a soft spot for runaways.

· “I’m not like them,” Andrew manages at last.

· Jean has no reason to believe him, but in that moment, he does.

· “So,” says Andrew, stupid, stupid Andrew. He doesn’t care what this broken, runaway Raven has to offer him, nor the threat he may still pose. Not now he knows what Jean was running from. Andrew has his rules, and there are some things he will never, ever allow. “Let’s make a deal.”

· That night, the monster’s newest recruit takes his first breath of air as a free man.

[billnoncipher]

Losing Time

This story is not in my usual continuity, but was written for Wendip Week 2021, topic "Time Travel."

for Wendip Week 2021

---

Mabel faced a hard decision when she called in that favor.

She was nearly thirty, she was a successful clothing designer, she had a steady romantic partner, life was good. But then on a visit to Gravity Falls, she visited the grave of good old Waddles, whose heart had given out the previous winter, while she was off in New York.

And she hadn't been able to say goodbye.

And despite the fact that she was all grown up and everything, it ripped at her heart—that she hadn't said farewell to her most favorite pet of all time. It wasn't that he hadn't been well cared for—Soos saw to that, giving the pig all the comforts and plenty of food. It wasn't that he was cut off in his youth—seventeen is a good long life for a pig. It's just that—

Well, now she knew how Dipper felt.

Speaking of whom.

Dipper and Wendy were coming up on their tenth wedding anniversary, they had adorable twins, age six, names Alexander and Amanda, and they lived in the Mystery Shack. Grunkles Stan and Ford still technically owned the place, and Soos ran it, but over the years he and Melody had expanded it until their own growing family caused Soos to have a separate house built just across the road, and he and his family of six—he, Melody, Benny, Betty, Alma, and little Stanley—had made the short move. Dipper had inherited Grunkle Ford's role as investigator of the weird, Wendy was a nationally-known consultant on forestry issues, and they took over the living space that Soos had left vacant.

Ford, now semi-retired, still came over to work with Dipper down in the secret labs when some project was afoot. Grunkle Stan came over to help when the Shack was swamped with tourists in vacation season, but he spent a lot of his time visiting casinos all over the world, where his odd luck always brought him a steady income.

The attic bedroom had become disused.

"Can I stay?" Mabel asked in a small voice just at sunup that day. "Just for a couple weeks?"

"Sure, Mabes!" Wendy said. "Any time, you know that."

Dipper, now sporting a goatee and wearing glasses to correct mild myopia, said, "Sis, what's wrong?"

With a sad smile, Mabel said, "You can tell, huh? Just getting all sentimental. Missing Waddles."

"Oh," Dipper said. "That. We're sorry you couldn't make it back in January."

"It was so unexpected," Wendy said. "He was OK, you know, kinda slow and sleepy all the time, and then one morning we found him in his stall. He'd passed in his sleep."

"He was comfortable to the end," Dipper said. "The heat was on. He didn't freeze or anything. He looked peaceful."

"We buried him down the hill," Wendy told her. "Come on, we'll walk you down."

The place was pretty, a small clearing off to the right of the Mystery Trail. Grass had greened the mound, dewy now with the dawn, and—Mabel couldn't help sobbing—Dipper and Wendy had put up a marker, one of those you could buy for a cherished dog or cat. It read,

---

WADDLES

2012-2029

Always Loved

---

"Could you just leave me here for a few minutes?" asked Mabel.

Dipper hugged her. "Sure, Sis," he said. "Take y our time."

Wendy hugged her, too. "You gave him a good life," she said.

When the two had left, Mabel took a deep breath and took something that looked like a thick button from her jeans pocket. She held it between finger and thumb, close to her lips, and said, "OK, Blendin Blandin, you owe me one."

And without fuss, explosions, or special-effects noise, he was there, beside her, in his old uniform. "M-Ma-Mabel," he said, smiling. "Hi. It's be-been a wh-while."

"Yeah," she said. "You're looking—exactly the same. How's Time Baby?"

"Te-te-teething," Blendin said with a grimace. "The ne-next thou-thousand years are go-gonna be hard. I gu-guess you want your fa-favor now?"

"I do," she said. "Waddles passed away last January. I don't want to bring him back to life or anything. I've learned better than that. But I didn't get to see him before he went, and I really want to visit him one last time. So—could I borrow a time tape?"

"I pro-promised," he said. "I always carry a sp-spare these da-days. Here."

"And I also need your advice," Mabel said, accepting the heavy time-travel device. "I want to visit Waddles on the happiest day of his whole life."

"You-you'll have to a-avoid meeting yourself," Blendin warned. "That would be cat-cata-catas—bad."

"Agreed," she said.

"Let me find out how to se-set the co-coordinates, then," he said. "Just a se-second."

He blinked out of existence for just three seconds, then reappeared, slapping at his hair, which was smoldering. "Th-that was two we-weeks of hard wo-work!" he said. "Lucky this-this is m-my va-vacation month. OK, I've reviewed Wa-Waddles' s li-life and this will ta-take you to the ex-exact day when he was happiest. You can ha-have the wh-whole day, or eight hours any-anyway, bu-but remember to a-avoid me-meeting yourself."

"Will do."

Blendin set the time tape, warned, "It will br-bring you ba-back to the present automatically. Ha-have a g-good time-tr-trip."

The strange noiseless explosion, a moment of spinning disorientation, and poof! there she was, at the edge of the woods behind the Shack. The sun was just rising.

"Out you go," she heard a girl's voice say from the back door.

She saw a rectangle of yellow light. Oh, my God, that's me, in my old sleep shirt! I'm twelve! I'm so young!

Her younger self held the door for Waddles—He's so cute and tiny!—and the pig stepped out, sniffed the air, and waddled over close to the woods to take care of his morning business.

Let's see. I always let him out, then had breakfast, then called him back in, so I have about half an hour before I have to duck out of sight.

"Waddles," she called softly.

He heard and galumphed over to her. He knew her. Her different size, her different voice, didn't matter. She scooped him up. "Oh, I love you!" she said as he curled into a ball and nuzzled her cheek. "Let's go for a walk."

She set him down, and they went down the Mystery Trail, past the Bottomless Pit—not yet fenced off—and as far as the bonfire clearing, where she sat on a log and played with him, laughing through tears. "I'm gonna have to say goodbye, later," she whispered. "But remember, no matter what, I'll always love you!"

Too soon she heard her own younger voice calling, probably for the second time and more loudly, "Waddles!"

"Go on," she told the pig, patting his bottom. He trotted back to the other Mabel, his Mabel.

What day is this? Mabel wondered. What day made him happiest?

She sat too long. Someone spoke, startling her. "Whoops, sorry, didn't know anybody was here!"

Wendy.

Mabel stood up. "I was just, uh—I used to come here when I was a girl—" she began.

"Mabel?" Wendy asked, blinking and staring. "Mabel? Is that you?"

"Haven't changed all that much, have I?" she asked. "Oh, my God, you're so young! Can—can I hug you?"

She was a little bit taller than the fifteen-year-old Wendy, who would add a few inches to her height in the next two years. Mabel couldn't help crying again. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to let anyone see me. Time travel. I came back to—to visit Waddles."

"Oh, man," Wendy said. "Dipper's told me about this kind of stuff! Come on back to the Shack and surprise him!"

"No, I can't," Mabel said. "Don't even tell him you met me. That would cause problems with time."

"Oh."

Something in Wendy's voice hit her then. "Uh—what's wrong, Wendy?"

"Just—just the end of summer," Wendy faltered. "I—I hate that you and Dip are goin' home today."

Oh, my God! Of course! Waddles thought I was gonna leave him, and I nearly had to, but Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford made the bus driver take him aboard—of course he was happiest on that day!

"Oh, yeah," Mabel said. "Our birthday was yesterday. We turned thirteen."

"Technical teens," Wendy said with a ghost of a grin. A tear ran down her cheek.

"But you don't have to cry," Mabel said.

"I—I guess I can tell you a secret," Wendy said. She sat on the log, and Mabel sat beside her. "See, Dipper admitted to me a while back that he has a crush on me. I already knew, but I had to let him down. You know, me fifteen, him twelve. But now he's going away, and I'll never see him again, and—I just can't tell him I'm kinda-sorta in love with him, too. It's hard, Mabel."

Mabel bit her lip. "Listen," she said. "I may get in big trouble because of this, but—OK, I'm gonna say it. You gotta give Dipper a note. Have all his friends here sign it. You sign it, too. Here's the most important part—write on it 'See you next summer.' And wait for him. He'll come back. And he'll grow up, Wendy. And if you wait for him—it's gonna happen. I promise. Just stay in touch, and—most important—when the time comes, the age difference won't mean a thing."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Trust me, I know. OK, I've got a few hours today. I'm gonna stay close to the Shack and get in as much time with Waddles as I can. Then I'm going back to the future, and thirteen-year-old Mabel and Dipper are going back to Piedmont. But he doesn't just have a crush, Wendy. He really and truly loves you. So write the note, give it to him before he gets on the bus, and things will all work out. Promise me?"

"Yeah. I promise."

"Oh—and tell Grunkle Stan that when the time comes for us to leave, to make sure Waddles gets on the bus, too! I—Oh, I love you like a sister, Wendy! You won't believe how happy you're gonna be with Dip."

"That—that means a lot to me, Mabes," Wendy whispered.

"OK, you'd better get back. Don't say anything to anyone about this. Be sure to do the note thing. Oh, and Wendy—do me one more favor?"

"Sure, what?"

"Tell Pacifica that Mabel's waiting—in the future. Don't explain."

"All right," Wendy said with a lopsided smile. "I'll do it." She mimed zipping her lip.

The day passed. Out of her eight hours, Mabel spent about three in Waddles's company as her brother and her younger self got ready to leave Gravity Falls. She spent more time standing out of sight, watching things unfold—finally the kids coming out, glum, with their suitcases, the bus pulling up, Dipper and Mabel and—finally—Waddles climbing aboard. And all their friends running as far as they could to see the twins and the pig off.

She stood alone near the Shack. The flash came. Benjamin stood there. "How d-did it go?"

"It went good," Mabel said, handing over the time tape. "I said goodbye." She sniffled and a tear ran down her cheek. "I'll still miss him but I—I can handle it now. Uh, how much time has gone by while I—?"

"A m-minute," Blendin said. "Well, I-I g-guess we're e-even."

"Thanks, Blendin. Goodbye."

"N-no, I d-don't think it's g-goodbye," he said, smiling. "I'll s-see you again. In time."

He flashed out of existence.

"Aunt Mabel!" It was red-headed Amanda, running down the hill to meet her. "Hi!"

Mabel swept her up in her arms. "Hi, Sweetie! Where's your bro-bro?"

Squirming, Amanda laughed. "He can't find his shoes!"

Carrying the six-year old up the hill to the Shack, Mabel laughed. "When your dad was six, he had the same problem! All the time! Every morning!" She paused and looked back at the green grave. "Hey, let me tell you a story about the most special pig in the whole world," she said, and they went back to join the family.

---

The End

[jeaniegreysummers]

crying power || Jean & Bruce

WHO: Jean Grey-Summers ( @jeaniegreysummers ) and Bruce Banner ( @hulkout ) WHERE: Stark/Avenger’s Tower WHAT: Jean has spent weeks planning a big science experiment, with a single intended goal - to bring Erik Lehnsherr back from the dead, sans Phoenix. She recruits Dr. Bruce Banner to assist. WARNINGS: death mention, murder mention WORDS: 3.7k

JEAN: The widely held view within the walls of the Institute was that the Avengers were a bunch of over-hyped frat boys in receipt of extensive preferential treatment, and Jean was loath to disagree with them. After all, the X-Men had been fighting this world’s battles for decades before Nick Fury put together his merry little band of misfits, and all they got for their efforts was sent to Salem to hide behind masks and pretend they were ‘normal’ (whatever that meant). The Avengers got praise. They got accolades, got medals, got their faces plastered on billboards and songs written to celebrate their glories -- with one notable exception, at least from the original team.

Bruce Banner.

She’d researched him, before, followed him through with both a personal and scientific curiosity. He was a man born human who tried to make himself something more. He was a man playing with genes on government contracts, and it went wrong. He was a man who, it could be argued, deserved what he got.

But he was a man who, when given the potential to destroy entire cities, went on the run for years at a time. He was a man who took the role of scientist on a team where he could be the heavy hitter. He was a man who was very hard to find, a man who filled the role of pacifist far more than his friends.

And he was a man Jean needed, despite her previous feelings on him, despite everything else.

(Jean was good at putting aside personal feelings for the mission -- at least until the mission was over. She’d learned that from her father.)

Avengers Tower was a fortress. Its defences had been bolstered after the siege, even if Stark had backed down remarkably quickly (and uncharacteristically quickly, Jean noted). Still, the Phoenix could move her through in an instant, could have her in the labs a couple of seconds before the alarms started blaring.

Heels clacking against the linoleum, Jean stepped out of the darkness, coming into the direct eyeline of the very scientist she’d been looking for. “Dr. Banner,” she said, holding out her hand for him to shake. “A pleasure to finally meet you. Do you mind telling Mr. Stark’s lovely computerised assistant that I’m here for a meeting before I get shot at? That wouldn’t end very well for anyone involved.”

BRUCE: Inadvertently, people who often strayed too far from the limelight always made themselves a target. One small slip up and the mystery was far more notable than any secrecy. Still, it never surprised Bruce if someone knew his name, and surprised him far more if someone knew his face when he was much more human and much less green, donning a lab coat and a pair of reading glasses.

F.R.I.D.A.Y sent out an alert that someone was in the facility — not the actual housing unit — but credentials weren’t given. Typically that meant that Tony had allowed them past the new functionality they’d put in place, working endlessly on code and bantering over F.R.I.D.A.Y’s own comments through the night. It was almost easy to fall back into the routine of it — being Tony’s tech-guy. His science guy. The person he always counted on to be sitting on the lab stools well into the night.

It had been easy to fall back into being an Avenger too.

Which was why the snake of nerves in his stomach uncoiled and hissed at the sight of an X-Men in the lab. His safe haven. His safety room. The room of safeness where he drank his tea and poured over a biochem journal when he was stressed—

“We don’t really do the gun thing anymore,” Bruce balanced around the pencil between his teeth, hands preoccupied with realigning a piece of equipment, “If you were going to get shot, it probably would have been before the big doors opened for you.” With a hiss and a click, the mechanics slid into place, Bruce turning his attention toward his guest. Tony’s guest? Jean. White? No. Grey. “Hi. Uh,” Bruce dropped the pencil, looking at his hand afterward when he thought about the possible saliva transfer. Gaze flickering over the smooth, cool one of Jean’s, he hesitantly gripped her much smaller ones in his own, “Bruce. Well. You know that. You just called me by name. Anyway, hi — what are you doing here exactly? Tony’s not here. Well, I mean, he’s here, he’s just not here.”

JEAN: The answer seemed simple to anyone on the outside, to those who still believed the carefully crafted story that Jean’s propensity for dragging herself (and others, now) from the grave was a secondary mutation meticulously honed. For all intents and purposes her resurrections had been flawless, and if she wasn’t as close to Scott as she was, she may not have noticed a difference -- but she did. She saw Erik shift, felt the cool off her husband’s skin, saw how Maddie’s smile twisted just a little too sharp. She knew it was the bird within them, knew the effect it could have, knew how it could blend things until the horrific was justifiable.

Jean couldn’t use the Phoenix to bring Erik back, but she needed him. She needed him as a father, of course -- needed him more than she’d needed almost anyone. She needed him as a leader, too. The future they had built, the legacy he left behind, that was threatened by the Black Knights. It was threatened from the inside as much as outside forces. Genosha balanced on a knife’s edge, and she needed to guarantee safety for her daughter.

It’ll be Rachel, one day. Jean wasn’t going to allow that to happen. She’d always been a pragmatist -- a soldier’s daughter.

“You’re telling me a Stark backs away from things that go boom?” Jean asked, an eyebrow raising. She managed to keep her more aggressive thoughts about Iron Man to herself, managed to train her voice to a careful tease rather than anything too condemning. She wasn’t particularly concerned about the concept of Bruce refusing her, but she always preferred to use her words than her powers -- and she wasn’t entirely sure how it would work with the Other Guy. She’d seen the wreckage in South Africa post Scarlet Witch intrusion. “See, the doors didn’t open. I scattered my molecules, went through the wall. I think that’s why your electronic friend is having a mild coronary.”

Tony’s not here. Jean held back a snort, and simply nodded instead. “I know he isn’t. I sent him to my lab in Genosha.” He was easier to distract than she thought he would be, although Jean did get the distinct impression Stark was aware he was being distracted and went with it regardless. He got the opportunity to dig around her archives, after all, so it was a win win. “I was looking for you. I have a case I’d like to get your input on.” Jean reached for her bag, pulling out a stack of papers which she set on the workbench between them. “I was looking into the Cradle,” she said. “My colleagues seemed to think it was a thing of legend, but I’m not so sure. Every myth has its place in reality, right? Now, imagine the Cradle, combined with that nanotech Stark boasted about at the Expo. Imagine it combined with the energy I can provide, or take from the people around me.”

Jean allowed the words to settle, eyes flashing with just a hint of orange as she finally met Bruce’s gaze. “I could bring my father back to life,” she said. “I could bring him back to life, but I need you to do it. What do you say?”

BRUCE: It would have been easy to get defensive - to say that there’s no way he would be stepping toe into anything that so much as even sort of resembled Cradle. That he wouldn’t be participating in playing God anymore and that his time years and years of time for all of the nonsense was over. He’d gone into hiding for a purpose after all — but the notes in his desk drawer currently, the ones marked in blue and black ink with little comments from FRIDAY as he worked, said otherwise. The ones with the exact nonsense he hated - like time-travel.

And then, the words really hit him. “You ... Erik’s dead?” Dark eyelashes fluttered, dipped in cherry red in the right light, and Bruce had to hold himself back. He strayed away from the news. Purposefully so, considering most of the time it was negative things (like the world exploding, or Bruce going on a rampage, or more terrorist attacks on meta-humans and mutants).

The ache clawed it’s way from his stomach and into his throat, and for a second the whole world flashed green, tilting sideways and knocking into his skull like the angry fists of a small child who was too large for his age. Uncontrolled, like a battering ram.

Caramel eyes flickered down to clenched fists on the metal table in front of him, indents of his fingertips marring the edges in warped zigzags where his hold was too strong. Where Hulk’s hold was too strong. His reflection in the same metal table showed that same jade at the corners of his temples too.

“How did it happen?” Using her words as a bartering chip, Bruce would get his answers. After all, she couldn’t access it without him, without Stark (and deep inside, he’d hoped that Tony would say no if Bruce asked him to).

The scientist ignored that the same rumble of hurt in the guts of him called out for Erik, his new friend, his new maybe-something if Bruce didn’t fuck it up. He would bring Erik back. He didn’t really have a choice. “How did it happen?” He repeated again, less strangled this time.

JEAN: There was that word again. Dead. So final, so complete, so absolute — to everyone but Jean Grey, it appeared. To everyone but the people Jean Grey loved the most (her best friend, her sister, her teammates and fellow soldiers … it was only a matter of time, she told herself, before they were all back on firm ground) it lasted beyond human compression, spanned centuries and even longer. Legacies lasted for a millennia but death? Death drew on even after that.

Death wouldn’t draw on for Erik Lehnsherr. Logically, they needed him. Emotionally, Jean had been half alive since he took his final breath. Scott could scarcely get words past the lump in his throat. Maddie was shifting, changing, questioning. The world wasn’t on its even keel anymore, and they had battles and wars facing them they had no idea how to handle alone — and he was her father. More than anyone else, he was her father. He raised her, cared for her, protected her. Challenged her.

Was killed, by her.

“He’s—” Jean wanted to correct him, wanted to say something like not alive or not breathing or temporarily indisposed, but those would be lies. She couldn’t feel him anymore. Neither could Lorna, who lost her due north. “He’s dead.”

And then she got a front seat to Banner in all his grief, in all she needed to know to realise she’d been exceptionally strategic in choosing him for this request. She knew this already, of course. Erik taught her compassion, taught her love, taught her how to decode messages and read faces and expressions — but he also taught her how to plan, how to read people.

How to use people, that small voice provided. Jean pushed it to the back of her mind. That wasn’t what this was. She could do it by herself, if she wanted, if she so desired. The only reason she was here was because she was trying to do things differently, trying to learn from past mistakes. Trying to be better.

(But there was still a part of her that hoped, when that flicker of green came across his irises, when his grip increased on the steel of the table. There was a. part of her that yearned for a fight, a flicker that turned into a spark. We haven’t had a challenge like this in a while, the Phoenix crowed. A good way to expel some energy. A good way to level New York, more like.)

Jean clasped her hands behind her back, wringing them together as she waited. Charles’ lessons were still clear and bright in her mind. She was strong enough to hold him back, perhaps, if she tried — but getting into his head wasn’t what she was here for. Making him comply wasn’t who Jean was.

It wasn’t who she wanted to be.

The moment passed, and she didn’t breathe a sigh of relief. She didn’t react at all. He asked the question she knew was coming, and she steeled herself, prepared for a rejection.

We could make him do it. We could. Stop holding yourself back. We have all the pieces, now, you and Madelyne. Why ask anyone else—

“It is a very long story,” Jean prefaced, “and from what I understand, you will want to know each detail. I’m not sure I can provide that much. There’s a lot even we don’t know, as X-Men — as mutants — but I’ll tell you all I can.”

Where to start?

“There is a cosmic force,” she began, “an entity I’ve only known referred to as the Phoenix Force. It is, for lack of a better term, the embodiment of life itself. It’s capable of great feats, and draws even more power from the universe if it has an appropriate host.” This time, Jean did chew on the corner of her lip, did lose some of the strength in her shoulders and confidence in her stance. “I’ve been its host since I was eighteen years old. It always protected me, brought me back when I was injured or … or when I was killed. It did the same for my husband, after Central Park. But there’s a cost.

“It takes everything in you, and makes it stronger. Anger becomes rage, affection becomes passion. Love becomes all consuming, but so does hate. And in my ignorance, I split a piece of this force, and it found a home in Erik. It … changed him. Altered him. Encouraged him to make decisions he would normally measure more carefully.”

She didn’t want to talk about the missiles, not in detail. She didn’t want to tell this man how she scarcely held her father back from committing a massacre against the very people Banner had fought alongside with the Avengers. She didn’t want to tarnish the memory that still existed of him in the public consciousness — a flawed man, perhaps, but ultimately heroic for what he had done for his people.

“He was a danger to himself and others,” she settled on. “I made the decision, as I did for myself many years ago, to end that particular threat before it went any further. We saved the world, but I lost my father. My sister lost her father. My people lost their leader, my husband lost his light, and Erik lost his life.” She sucked in a breath, brought her hands around to the front. “I hope if we can restore the latter,” Jean continued, “the rest might fall into place.”

Wishful thinking, perhaps. Wishful thinking — but God, wasn’t that what the X-Men were built on?

BRUCE: One talent that Banner and Hulk actually shared was the ability to stay quiet; read the room for tells, evaluate situations based on the now rather than the could be.  While the scientist in Bruce often disagreed with Hulk’s methods of ‘smash now, ask questions later’ there was definitely something to it.

The urge to put his fist through the metal table quelled just a few moments after it had appeared, but there was something about Jean’s story that just didn’t add up to him. So you and Scott took it into your own hands to decide whether or not he got to live or die? Bruce didn’t actually say it, but the desire was strong. Lucky for him, he had much better self-preservation than Tony or Clint, and he let the woman finish her explanation before he even tried to comment.

“You know death does not come with convenience, right? If it’s not the…” He swallowed, “Phoenix, it will be something else.” Like lack of forgiveness, or Erik coming back a lifeless zombie. There wasn’t an exact science, to resurrection. At least not yet. After all, it was one thing when you had an internal power that was able to bring sustenance back to regenerative cells, it was another when you were starting from scratch, like with the CRADLE. Bruce would have to write algorithms based on Erik’s DNA: mutated DNA.

He said so, a moment later, but his words were not dismissive in nature. Instead, they were just facts.

Bruce Banner was going to help bring back a man who was likely better off dead. But you don’t want him dead either, Banner a voice betrayed in his psyche. How obnoxious, to be betrayed by his own subconscious. The physicist had spent countless hours staring at DNA. Sorting how to evolve and demonstrate it differently when being accessed through a different source code. Pulling it apart like the strings of a handmade sweater, like he’d done with his and Hulk’s. While he was specifically oriented in gamma-radiology, it should have been less complicated to perform tasks with something much more humanoid than Hulk would ever be.

“Okay.” Bruce said finally, twirling his hands around one another with some thought, “I’ll help you.” He should have made conditions. Should have said, But if things go wrong, it’s your fault. But he didn’t. Wouldn’t. Wanted to see his friend again. Wanted to share a connection with someone who was inherently good, despite what the outside world may have perceived.

Standing from his stool, Bruce marched forward with an odd confidence, “It’s going to take me some time to write the code. I need his file. Uh, anything you can get me pre-Auschwitz.” Bruce looked at her from under his fringe, one sturdy finger pushing up the rim of his round glasses.

JEAN: No one thought of Jean Grey as the brains of the operation in the early days of the X-Men. They all had their respective roles. Scott was the stoic leader, Warren was all charisma and private school charm, Bobby was the comic relief, Hank was the scientist and Jean … well, Jean was the girl. She was the one who tried to hold them together, the person who knew instinctively when someone was upset long before she went venturing into their mind (perhaps a little too far in the early days, before she learned restraint -- before she learned that curiosity shouldn’t win out against sanctity), the one who defended Charles and softened Scott and hardened Warren in the places that mattered.

No one thought of her as anything other than the girl on the pedestal, or the body rotting six foot under. No one thought of her past the tragedy, a life ended far too soon and then violently brought back into the present, constantly within and without, years missing where she was absent from lives that moved on without her. (Bruce said death wasn’t convenient like she wasn’t the person who knew that the most, like she hadn’t lived and died more times than anyone could ever imagine). She opened her mouth to say that, to tell him what it really felt like to be dragged from the dirt, how it was better than the emptiness that Erik was lingering in now.

Death still terrified her. Every part of it, every aspect. They said it was the unknown that scared people, about what happened after. Jean knew, and she still hated it, still ran from it at every opportunity -- still couldn’t leave Erik in it, no matter what.

It wasn’t a lack of love that killed him. It was a lack of choice. She wanted to say that, too, wanted to ask Bruce if he’d ever stared a monster of cosmic proportions in the face and felt it calling to him. She thought he would understand, thought the Hulk would give them something of a shared foundation, a trust that would linger (because to have anyone near Erik, she needed to trust them immediately, wholly). Instead, she found nothing but suspicion on his face, found she was staring down the barrel of a gun instead of the compassion she had expected from his reputation.

But she wasn’t here, in the end, to make friends. She wasn’t here to be the Jean Grey that had portraits hanging in the Institute, or counselled her friends after a hard battle. She wasn’t here to be the golden girl, the shining beacon of morality. She was here for a single purpose, and she was here as a scientist.

“I have it all in here,” Jean replied, tapping the side of her temple. “I did my homework before I came to you.” Weeks and months of scouring through records and minds, trickling her way through states and countries to gain information that was long thought lost (but nothing disappeared forever. Jean knew that). “I’ve been coding it, on my personal system. I can send it through.”

The information read cold, clinical. She tried to think of it that way, as she manufactured this plan -- as she realised that it was going to work. But there wasn’t a part of Jean that could maintain that for long. She nodded once, allowed her gaze to drop from Bruce and move to the CRADLE, instead.

(It was Erik who first sat down with her, she remembered, long before the X-Men were even thought of. It was Erik who said, you’ve got a lot more in your head than you let people see, don’t you? It was Erik who first said sometimes telepaths have the most to hide, the heaviest burden to carry. It was Erik who helped her know physics so she could deconstruct it.)

It wasn’t a logical plan, but it was the only one she could make, the only choice that didn’t choke her.

“Let’s get started.”

[raineydaywrites]

Nesting Chapter 11

Chapter Summary: We're getting closer to canon, y'all. So have a surprise Barry appearance! Things are starting to move fast around here.

Okay. Maybe they should have waited a little longer to buy some of this stuff. Taako's room was hard to navigate now with all the baby stuff all over the place. Besides which, all of it was a constant reminder of his situation- one that was proving to be quite unwelcome.

Taako hadn't expected that. It wasn't like he could forget what was going on, whether or not there was a bunch of visual reminders all over the place. But it seemed that he'd managed to block it out at least sometimes, given how much more aware of it he was now.

The fact that he was showing probably didn't help with that either. No matter what Lup said, Taako could tell that he was showing. And it was only getting more and more obvious as time went on. Maybe not enough for any stranger on the street to tell, but it was getting there.

His clothes didn't fit like they were supposed to anymore. It was incredibly frustrating, because Taako liked to look good, and he'd collected his stash of clothing because it looked good, and now, suddenly, it didn't look good anymore.

Some of it was still fine, obviously, but his wardrobe felt like it had suddenly shrunk down to a fraction of its previous size, and there was nothing he could do about it. It was only going to get worse over the next several months.

The nausea was starting to pass- fucking finally- but it hadn't disappeared completely, and it was hardly the only annoying thing about this whole experience. He felt like he was constantly starving or exhausted, and his body hurt, and sometimes he couldn't seem to think at all.

One day after class, a professor asked to speak with him, and he knew it was about the sudden decline in the quality of his work. He had been forgetting stuff a lot recently, making dumb, careless mistakes, and it was costing him, especially considering that he was too tired to catch those mistakes a lot of the time.

She did surprise him with how she asked it though.

"Mr. Taako, is there anything going on in your personal life that may be impacting your ability to keep up with the work? I am very open to making arrangements and accommodations to help my students in these situations," she said, voice soft and careful.

Taako figured that it wouldn't hurt anything to tell her. He'd be unable to hide it soon enough anyway, and if it could buy him some pity points so he could have an easier time with his classwork, then he wasn't afraid to play on her sympathy.

"Yeah, so, I'm pregnant," he said, the words coming out with more difficulty than he'd anticipated, but whatever. It was said. "The whole thing has been rough and I'm having trouble with some things I wasn't before."

The professor began to make sympathetic noises as soon as Taako started explaining, a look on her face that suggested that she wasn't all that surprised, and Taako added another tally to his mental "told you so, Lup" checklist.

"I understand. I had two difficult pregnancies myself," she said. "We do have resources for our student parents, if you need them. Accommodations can be made to ensure you can keep up with your work and your learning. And I for one, am very willing to meet with you to help ensure that you are able to complete my course."

"Yeah, chill, that'd be great," Taako nodded.

"Why don't you come by my office hours sometime this week, and I'll help connect you with the office that handles these things, and we can work out a plan for this course. In the meantime, and for your other classes, is there anyone in your life who can help with these things? A friend or family that could look over your work for simple errors and such would be a boon in itself. Pregnancy brain is no joke," she laughed despite the words.

"Got a sister, yeah. And a friend," Taako shrugged, because he couldn't believe that he hadn't thought of that before. Of course Lup would help with this shit.

He couldn't believe that he hadn't thought about all the sympathy points he could get from this pregnancy situation before now. He was doing something fucking hard, and he deserved those sympathy points. Lup wasn't going to begrudge him lazing around on the couch like this, and it was plain common courtesy to offer pregnant people stuff like seats on public transit and whatever the fuck, he didn't usually pay that much attention.

Yeah, no, he was cashing in on that for sure.

-

When Taako and Lup entered their magic theory classroom, there was someone other than their professor standing behind the podium.

"Creesh, who's that?" Lup hissed, leaning forward to whisper the question to Lucretia.

"Dr. Bluejeans," she whispered back.

"Okay, and why is he here?" Taako asked.

"I don't know. I know nothing about him," Lucretia shrugged.

"You knew his name, though," Taako pointed out.

Lucretia turned to face them at that, specifically so that they could watch as she raised her eyebrows at them incredulously.

"It's written on the board," she said.

Oh. Yeah, sure enough, "Guest Speaker Dr. Bluejeans" was written in the prof's handwriting on the board. Taako was just glad Lup didn't notice either, so that he wasn't alone in that bit of obliviousness.

Though, really, if Lup had noticed, he could have just chalked it up to pregnancy brain. That was an excuse that he already knew he was going to miss when he couldn't use it anymore. Instant understanding was less forthcoming when your excuse was "I have ADHD" or "I'm just a dumbass," the other primary excuses he had on the table for these situations.

Dr. Bluejeans looked a tiny bit uncomfortable standing in front of the crowd of students, fidgeting with his papers and rocking back and forth on his heels as he waited for class to officially begin.

Lup craned her head, trying to get a look at- yep, he was in fact, wearing blue jeans, and she grinned to herself. God, she couldn't decide which was better: if he had been born with that name, meaning there was a whole Bluejeans clan out there in the world somehow, or if he had, like, full out changed his name because of his love for this particular sartorial choice.

The minute the clock ticked over to the start of class, their prof began to speak, moving from one of the front row seats to stand beside the guest speaker.

"Class, this is my colleague, Dr. Barry Bluejeans," he introduced.

God, the full name was even better. Lup fought to not let her face split into a ridiculous grin, but upon exchanging a look of amusement with Taako, knew that she was failing. She shouldn't have let herself look at Taako, because shit was always funnier when she was sharing it with him.

She shoved the grin down and tried to focus.

"I have asked him to speak with you today as he is this Institute's premiere expert on bond magic, a pioneering field that you should all expect to hear much more about in the upcoming years. I expect you all to treat him with the same respect you would show me."

"Not exactly difficult to clear that bar," Taako whispered to Lup, and she snorted, before elbowing him in the side.

"Shush! Poor nerd already looks terrified," she said, tilting her head toward the guest lecturer.

He must not teach many classes, or at least, not big lectures if he was this awkward and nervous about speaking with all of them. But if his field was so new and specialized, as prof had implied, that might make sense. Probably he was more used to doing his research and maybe teaching some smaller, high-level classes.

"Hello, everyone," Dr. Bluejeans greeted, offering them a sweet smile. "As Professor Dillon said-"

"Okay, I like him," Taako said to her, gesturing to where their prof was making a sour face at the title Bluejeans had used for him.

Bluejeans seemed oblivious to it, but Lup knew exactly what the face was for. Professor Dillweed had gone on a rant a time or two before about the fact that "doctor" was his preferred title over "professor" and how it was 'disrespectful' to not use it.

Nobody really listened to that, with even some of the fresh-out-of-high-school and suck-up students switching it out occasionally. Lup and Taako only ever used "professor", if they were even that nice about it.

The lecture was actually really fascinating, and Lup found herself leaning forward in excitement as Bluejeans talked about his work.

Lucretia was rapidly taking notes, and Lup for sure planned to ask her to look it over later, because she wanted a record of this stuff. It was really interesting.

Even Taako was pulled out of his 'too cool' attitude by the lecture a bit, and Lup saw some of the nerdier facets of her brother's personality peek out a bit. He never liked to admit to that, but Taako was a total nerd for cool magic shit, and Lup could see how much the new topic was drawing him in.

It helped that Bluejeans was so obviously invested in his work himself. He clearly loved the topic, and it made it a whole lot more interesting to listen to than Dillon's droning on about the different types and properties of magic.

"If you would like to learn more about bond magic, I teach a specialized course on the subject- MAS 375- which will be offered next semester. We'll be discussing the properties of bond magic and its usage in everything from everyday spellwork to advanced technology. There's actually a very fascinating project ongoing to utilize bond magic to power an engine- I can't speak too much on the matter now, but it's very exciting," Bluejeans explained. "Oh! And I also teach in the necromancy department!"

He seemed like he was about to go off on another tangent about that, when he noticed the clock tick over to end the class.

"Looks like we're out of time, everybody. Thanks for your time!" Bluejeans said, waving cheerily at everyone as he began to pack up his bag.

A number of students had started moving to the front of the class to speak to the guy, and Taako watched as Lup's eyes flickered over to him curiously as well.

"I gotta talk to Dillon about some shit," Taako said. "Go ahead and bother the nerd."

"I'd like to thank Dr. Bluejeans for the lecture. We can talk to him together," Lucretia offered, turning to Lup and smiling nervously.

Taako fought the urge to roll his eyes, gathering his stuff as Lup and Lucretia headed off to do that.

The classroom emptied out pretty quickly, which Taako appreciated. He didn't love the idea of talking about this where anyone could overhear, but he had to do it, and he didn't want to spend any more time around Dillon than he needed, which meant not making an appointment or anything.

By the time Taako made his way over to Dillon, Lup and Lucretia were speaking with Bluejeans, and most everyone else had left. There were a few students lingering to add in to whatever conversation was happening over there, but most everyone, especially the non-majors had left.

"Hey, Professor Dillon?" Taako asked, trying to keep it relatively professional without actually being respectful, since he was about to ask this guy to do something for him and all.

"Yes, Mr. Taako?" Dillon asked, and Taako did not love the way that he looked at him, all condescending-like.

"I'm pregnant. Got some accommodations for it. Here's the info," Taako said, reaching into his bag to pull out the very official looking and very crumbled form he'd been given to share with his professors.

Dillon took it, wrinkling his nose, and Taako could just tell that the guy was judging him, and he would say something if the dude wasn't, like, in charge of his grades and shit.

"I see. Well, I'm not exactly sure what you expect me to do for you, but-"

Bluejeans walked over at that moment, interrupting Dillon to say, "Oh, Wyatt, if you'd like, I can provide some of my notes on how to alter a lesson plan for accommodations like these! It can be a little complicated, I know, but I'm happy to help. The Office for Student Health has some great resources too. It's really awesome how committed the Institute is to supporting our students, isn't it?"

Taako glanced back toward Lup and Lucretia, wondering if they'd caught all that too, only to find them watching Bluejeans with surprised and pleased expressions. From how they were standing, it kind of looked like Bluejeans had walked over in the middle of the conversation to say that, and Taako tried to keep his expression neutral, instead of the smug look he wanted to give.

"Yes, you're right, of course. I would be so glad to receive those notes, Barry," Dillon said, through somewhat gritted teeth and a forced smile. Taako was pretty sure the usage of the guy's name was intended to sound disrespectful, knowing dickheads as well as he did, but it was pretty weak considering that Bluejeans had used Dillon's name first.

"Wonderful. I'll send them over right away. We'll set up a meeting to talk it over, yeah?" Bluejeans said, smiling and looking for all the world like a friendly colleague instead of the asshole he clearly was.

Not like Taako minded though. He was being an asshole on his behalf, after all, and Taako's favorite people all tended to be assholes, so he was mostly just amused.

"So, we're done here, yeah?" Taako asked Dillon, because if he didn't get out of this conversation, he was going to laugh in the guy's face, and that wasn't gonna earn him any favors, he knew.

"Yes, I do believe so," Dillon said, turning away and picking up his own bags to walk out of the lecture hall.

"I, uh, hope you don't mind me interrupting like that," Bluejeans said, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, suddenly looking a bit nervous.

"Nah, dude, that was great," Taako said, waving off the apology before the guy could even finish saying it.

"Nice! Dillon's such an ass, amiright?" Lup said, throwing one hand up for a high five, which Bluejeans quickly but nervously reciprocated.

"Listen, I don't want to pry, but if he's being a dick or anything about all this, you can contact the department and they'll sort it out. Dillon is an old-fashioned sort, but he has tenure, so he feels comfortable being shitty. But there's still lines he can't cross," Bluejeans explained, before digging in his pocket and pulling out his wallet. "In fact, here's my card. Got my number, my office, all that good shit. If he does anything, tell me and we can figure it out."

Taako took the card, because like hell was he gonna turn down free help. The guy seemed pretty genuine in his desire to help too, and Taako appreciated the offer, even if he wasn't sure if he'd ever feel a need to take it.

"Thanks, man," Taako said, before turning back to Lup. "So we good to go now, or?"

"I think so, yeah." Lup agreed, turning to Lucretia, "See ya, Luce!" She also offered a beaming smile and a wave at Bluejeans as they left. "You're great! We'll talk later, yeah?"

Bluejeans didn't seem to know quite what to say to that, just nodding and waving as Taako and Lup made their escape.

[atc74]

Fire & Air

Square(s) Filled: Breeding Kink for @spnkinkbingo, Wedding for BTZ, Honeymoon for @spnfluffbingo2019​

Warnings: Fluff, surprises, honeymoon of a lifetime, here be the sex y’all, unprotected sex, breeding kink

Summary: Jared Padalecki is the heir and next in line to run his fathers oil company. Y/N Y/L/N is the only child of their biggest competitor. What happens when their fathers decide their personal and professional futures? Can they learn to get along, or even love each other? A follow up to Oil & Water. 

Pairing: Jared x Reader

Word Count: 3434

Written for: @spnkinkbingo, btz bingo, @spnfluffbingo2019

Beta’d by: @alleiradayne thank you for everything

Like Jared’s scent? Buy it here from @scentsfromthebunker!

As a reminder, this is a work of fiction and should be regarded as such. No harm is intended toward the actor(s) or their families.

A/N: This was gonna be hella long as one piece, so I made it two parts. Read Oil & Water first

Despite their reservations, Jared and Y/N were married in his family’s backyard in the presence of family and a few close friends.

“Jared, you may kiss the bride,” the judge announced to conclude the ceremony.

Jared took his time as he lifted the veil covering her face. Her smile, while small, reached her eyes and Jared reveled in the promise they held, of the promises they’d just made to each other. He stepped forward, pulling her into his arms and their lips met in a chaste, yet soft and tender kiss. He returned to his place, her hand in his.

“Jared and Y/N Padalecki everyone!” the judge shouted, a small polite clapping erupted from their guests.

“I’m keeping my last name, by the way,” she whispered to Jared as they walked back down the white runner to the house.

“I’d never ask you to change it,” Jared assured her, keeping her hand tightly in his.

They entered the house and Jared pulled her back to his office for a few moments of privacy. The door clicked shut behind them as he turned to her.

“You look stunning, Y/N. With everything that has been thrown at us the last few weeks, I didn’t exactly expect to be happy today, but I am and wanted you to know. I’ll do everything I can to make you happy, that is my promise to you,” Jared professed to his new bride.

“Thank you, Jared. It will take some time, but I know you will,” she responded. “But now that all this courting stuff is behind us, can you kiss me already?”

“I did just kiss you,” he responded, a smirk on his face.

“No, not that for show kiss. Kiss me like you mean it,” she whispered.

Jared brought his hands up to cup her face, his nose brushing hers as his lips hovered just above her own. His breath fanned over her skin, his hands held her face gently, and then his lips touched hers. Subtle at first, a barely there brush of soft, supple skin.

A delicate whimper left her pliable mouth as Jared slipped his tongue past her lips, tasting her, really tasting her for the first time. His hands tilted her head, changing the angle. His tongue swirled deeper around hers. It wasn’t hurried or wanton. It was passion and promise. It was fleeting and all too soon, it ended.

Y/N’s eyes fluttered open as his lips parted from hers. Her mind whirling with emotions the kiss awakened in her. Her gaze met his as she reentered reality.

“So, was it worth the wait?” he smirked.

“Oh, there’s some room for improvement,” she teased, trying to mask the truth. And the truth was, she had never been kissed like that in her life. His kiss made her feel drunk, made her toes curl, his kiss made her forget. His was a kiss that she wanted to experience over and over and over.

“Duly noted. Now, just a couple more hours and then we have to jet,” Jared glanced at his watch.

“Jet? Where are we going?” she asked, skeptical.

“Our honeymoon, of course,” Jared laughed.

“Why are we taking a honeymoon, Jared?” she probed, but inside, she was giddy. The thought of spending time alone with Jared both excited and terrified her.

“Well, for one, it’s tradition, although nothing about this has been traditional, so I demanded one. Second, I wanted us to get away from the stress,” Jared shrugged. “Do you want to know where we’re going?”

“Yes. No. Maybe,” she giggled, her hand flying to her mouth.

“We’re starting in Europe, but that is all I am going to say for now. I want it to be a surprise,” he mumbled.

“I haven’t packed anything,” she added.

“Don’t worry about that. I gave your mother a simple itinerary and whatever she didn’t pack, we can get. I don’t want you to stress about this at all. I have it all planned out,” Jared assured her.

“Jared, I don’t much care for surprises,” she informed him.

“I honestly think you are going to love what I have planned,” he said hopefully.  “Please trust me.”

Y/N thought on it for a minute. She trusted him enough to open up, so she could do this, too. “Yeah, okay. I’ll trust you.” She reached her hand out for his and together they headed to their reception.

~*~

“A private jet, Jared?” Y/N’s wide were wide as Jared led her into the aircraft.

“I pulled out all the stops for this,” Jared grinned ear to ear. “I also may have given both our dads minor, okay major, guilt trips. So yeah, it’s only the best for me and my bride.”

“Oh I bet they loved that!” she laughed, getting comfortable in one of the oversized lounge seats.

“Not half as much as we’re going to love this trip,” Jared smiled, rather proud of himself, stretching out across the aisle from her. “It’s a long flight, so you might want to get some rest. I’ll set an alarm so we wake in plenty of time.”

“Yeah, okay,” she yawned, the stress finally overtaking her.

~*~

“Y/N? It’s time to wake up. We’ll be landing in about ninety minutes,” Jared gently roused her from sleep.

She stretched, looking around, then remembered they were on a private jet financed by their fathers for a luxury honeymoon arranged by her new husband. “Where are we?”

“Somewhere over the north Atlantic,” he laughed. “You slept almost eight hours. You hungry?”

“I’m starving,” she said, stretching her arms over her head, just as her stomach loudly rumbled its reply.

“Perfect timing then,” Jared said as he disappeared to the rear of the plane and returned with a small cart. He placed two covered plates on the table along with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

“Hmmm, this smells delicious,” Y/N moaned as he uncovered the plates revealing a pasta dish and a spinach salad.

“I hope you like it. I wasn’t sure what your preferences were, so I stuck with something simple,” Jared poured the wine.

“You made this?” she asked, taking a bite. “It’s delicious.”

“Thank you. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my mother growing up. I find cooking relaxing,” he shrugged.

They exchanged small talk over dinner, frivolous conversation for a couple just married, but expected for a couple still getting to know each other.

“Your mother packed your bags, labeled one through five. Feel free to freshen up, and pick an outfit from bag number one, please,” Jared instructed as he cleared the dishes.

Thirty minutes later, Y/N returned in a wool sweater, thick leggings, and knee high boots. She had a scarf and a jacket slung over one arm, while the other held a beanie and a pair of mittens. “This doesn’t look like the typical honeymoon attire Jared.”

“Do I need to remind you that we are not the typical couple?” Jared raised his eyebrows, a grin on his face, making his dimples even more prominent. “And this is definitely not the typical honeymoon.”

“You’re very mysterious, you know that?” she smiled, returning to her seat. He sat across from her, dressed in dark jeans, a dark gray button down and a black beanie.

“No, I’m really not,” Jared shrugged her off, looking out the window. “I’m a very simple man, Y/N.”

“Good morning, Mr. Padalecki and Ms. Y/L/N. We are beginning our descent into Reykjavik, please fasten your seatbelts. We’ll be landing forthwith,” the pilot announced.

“Iceland?” she tore her eyes away from Jared to watch the approaching landscape out the window. “I stand by mysterious.”

“You’ll see,” he smiled.

Y/N was excited to see what Jared had planned and she could barely sit still while the crew landed the plane and opened the hatch. The air was brisker than she had anticipated and she wrapped the scarf around her neck, slipped the beanie over her head, then grabbed the jacket and mittens. The sun had just started to rise, dusting the landscape with brilliant oranges and pinks.

Jared had slipped on his own jacket and stepped out of the door, holding his hand out to her. “Ready?”

She nodded and grabbed his hand, a smile on her face. A car waited for them on the tarmac and the driver handed Jared the keys as the steward loaded their bags into the back. “We’re going to stop by the hotel first to check in, then we’ll be back on the road in no time.”

Jared maneuvered the roads carefully and they safely arrived at their hotel. As Jared checked them in, Y/N wandered around the hotel lobby taking in the photos adorning the walls. They were filled with meteorological wonders of glaciers and even Grímsvötn, one of Iceland’s active volcanoes.

“Hey, Y/N? We’re all set here. Let’s get up to our room,” Jared held two key cards in his hand and they entered the elevator.

“Did you see any of those pictures? I’d love to see the glaciers and Grímsvötn,” she hummed happily to herself as the elevator ascended to the top floor. He handed her a key card, yelling out the room number as she took off down the hall as soon as the doors opened.

Flicking the card against the electronic lock, she opened the door, revealing a large suite with a balcony and a king sized bed. “Jared, it’s wonderful!” She exclaimed.

“Only the best, remember?” he chuckled watching her excitement, a backpack slung over his shoulder. “I hate to cut the exploration short, but are you ready for our next adventure?”

“Yes! But please tell me?” she bounced on the heels of her boots.

“No, but you’ll find out soon enough,” he laughed. “Come on, let’s go!”

Downstairs, there were three off road four by four jeeps waiting for them. Jared opened the door and helped her up into the seat before sliding in himself. The man driving greeted them warmly. “Welcome to Iceland! Are you ready?”

“Yes!” they said together.

“We have almost four hours until we reach our destination and there are others to pick up,” he informed them as he pulled out into traffic, two more vehicles following them.

“You ever been to Grímsvötn before?” the man asked them as they made another stop.

“What? We’re going to Grímsvötn? You’re taking me to a volcano for our honeymoon? You’re the best husband ever!” She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him as best she could in the tight quarters.

“Oh! Very nice! Congratulations!” The men in the front seat laughed.

~*~

“Did you know that Grímsvötn has erupted approximately sixty times over the last eight hundred years? But they’re mostly sub-glacial, that means under the ice,” she explained to Jared on their way back to the hotel. The visit to the glacier and volcano had been a full day and they were both drained, but it seemed Y/N was intent on using the last of her energy as she explained everything she knew and had learned about the volcano during the tour.

By the time the caravan of jeeps pulled back into Reykjavik, Y/N was sound asleep. Her head laid on his chest, and his arm wrapped loosely around her waist. He jostled her slightly exiting the jeep but he picked her up gently and carried her to their room. It was well after midnight and they could both use a good night’s rest.

~*~

Y/N woke the next morning in the rather comfortable king size bed, wrapped snugly in the down comforter. Day was just breaking, the dim light filtering through the skylight. She stretched and rolled over, thinking about going back to sleep, when she was met with a wall of heated muscle.

“Hmmm, good morning,” Jared mumbled, his voice deeper than usual. “Did you sleep well?” His eyes flickered open, meeting hers.

“Yeah, I guess I was pretty wiped out. That was quite an adventure yesterday. Thank you so much. That was amazing,” she smiled.

“It was my pleasure, and seeing the pure wonder and enjoyment on your face is thanks enough. I wanted this trip to be a journey, not just a destination,” he replied thoughtfully. “Breakfast?”

“Yes, please and coffee, but first, I have to use the bathroom,” she replied, throwing the covers off and making her way to the bathroom. It was huge with a gigantic walk in shower and deep claw foot tub. It wasn’t until she washed her hands that she realized she was still dressed in her clothes from yesterday, sans the sweater and boots. She made her way back to the bed as Jared hung up the phone.

“Room service will be up shortly,” he yawned.

“Did I fall asleep in my clothes?” she asked, sitting at the edge of the bed.

“Yeah, you were out before we made it back, so I carried you up and took off your outer layers. I didn’t want to cross a line,” he replied sheepishly, rising from the bed and rolling the muscles in his back.  

It was then that she took the opportunity to get her first good look at Jared, without so many layers. His shoulders were broad and muscular, covered in miles of golden skin. His hips were narrow and his ass… A clearing of his throat made her realize she had been staring and she quickly averted her eyes. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. We’re married now. You’re allowed to look, in fact, I encourage it,” he smirked, giving her a small wink as he took his turn in the bathroom. His legs were impossibly long with thick, hard thighs.

After he finished, he threw on a t-shirt just as their breakfast was delivered. Y/N poured them both coffee as he took a seat. They dug into their meals, more ravenous than they realized.

“Exactly how much thought did you put into this honeymoon?” she asked, stealing a piece of bacon off his plate.

“Well, I did a bit of research, learned a few things, called a travel agent, gave a few details, made a few requests and here we are,” he replied, taking some of her fruit.

“What kind of research, Jared” she raised her eyebrows.

“The I talked to your mother kind of research. She shared with me some stories from your childhood and mentioned that you had been studying geology, specifically volcanoes, before your dad struck oil, only to change your major to business, with a minor in geology,” he stated. “Why?”

“It was a lifetime ago. A different lifetime. Things change, priorities change,” she dismissed his question. “Daddy needed my help.”

“You deserve to be happy, too, you know. To have something that is just yours,” he empathized, taking her hand in his. “We both do. To have something that is just ours.”

“I am happy,” she said. “Jared, why are you doing all of this for me? You barely know me.”

“I know enough to know that I like you and I want you to be happy. And we’re married now, so it kinda comes with the position of husband.”

“But…”

“No buts. Get showered, we’re exploring the city today,” he informed her.

~*~ 

The next three weeks were a whirlwind of travel, sights, sounds and emotions. The plan Jared laid out took them to all the places she had always wanted to visit, to study, to immerse herself in.

The week in Italy was enough to lose herself in, visiting Vesuvius, Etna and Stromboli. She had always dreamed of seeing active volcanoes, but it was more than she ever could have imagined. On top of that Jared had included Mayon Volcano in the Philippines as well as Mount Fuji in Japan.

It wasn’t until they reached their final stop, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, that they were able to see an actual lava flow from Kilauea. Their hotel, or cottage really, was situated at the edge of the forest. The natural woodwork, open space and large windows gave the feel of living in the rainforest, not to mention it had one hell of a view.

“Jared?” Y/N whispered in the twilight as they shared a bottle of wine, his arm around her waist as they relaxed on the front steps of their small cottage overlooking the nature reserve. They had been in Hawaii for a week, but only had a couple days left and were enjoying as much as they could before heading home.

“Yes?” He looked down at her with such admiration, and something she couldn’t place. Her mind was all over the place, as her heart beat steady in her chest, pounding out a rhythm that matched his. Over the course of the last four weeks, she had gotten more than a glimpse of the man she had been forced to marry. He was kind, generous, humble as well as handsome and playful. He had melted her heart and breathed life back into her, like oxygen fueled a fire. The kisses and touches they’d shared on their journey only fanned the flames.

“I’m happy. I wanted you to know that,” she smiled up at him.

“That’s all I want for you,” he leaned in and pressed a sweet kiss to her lips, something that had become more and more common, and natural, for the two of them.

“You’ve shown me that I can have more than a career. You’ve given me adventure, spontaneity and fun. You’ve shown me kindness and love,” she murmured against the heat of his strong shoulder.

“I’ll always give you what you need and try to give you what you want,” he promised.

“You made me realize I want more than what I had. You made me realize what was missing the whole time. I want more with you. I want us to be a family. I love you and I want to start a family with you, Jare,” she confessed.

“You lov-, are you-, you want-. You want to have a baby?” he stuttered.

“Yeah, doofus,” she laughed, rising to her feet and holding her hand out to him.

“Oh.. Oh!” he said, as her intentions dawned on him. He rose and took her hand in his, pulling her flush to his chest. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

“I’ve never been surer,” she giggled as Jared wrapped his strong arms around her and picked her up.

“More sure,” he corrected her.

“Shut up and kiss me,” she said, her eyes dark with lust.

He carried her through the cottage to the bedroom and gently laid her on the bed, following her down and hovered his long, lean body over hers. Their lips met with a passion and fire that rivaled all the volcanoes they had visited. It wasn’t rushed. It was slow, but needy, as all the emotions and want filled them.

They undressed each other slowly, taking in each soft curve and hard plane. Eyes and hands explored with tentative precision, ghosting over sun kissed skin. Whispers and whimpers filled the room, echoing into the jungle through the open windows. Declarations of love, cries of pleasure, and urges for more.

“Jared!” Y/N moaned, the fire in her belly becoming too much to bear as he thrust home time and time again. “I’m, I’m gon- come with me, Jared. Come in me, knock me up.”

Her words awakened something inside him, like a sleeping beast. His thrusts picked up speed as he spread her legs wider, watching where he disappeared inside her. “Yeah, you want me to fuck a baby in you? Fill you up with my seed?” His breaths were heavy as he fucked into her faster and faster, chasing both their ends.

“Oh god yes! Fill me up!” she screamed, reaching her end. Her body spasmed as her legs trembled against his hold.

“Oh god baby! I’m gonna- gonna fucking fill you up!” Jared groaned as his hips stuttered, his body rigid as he unloaded deep inside her.

Their heavy breaths and the wildlife outside were the only sounds that could be heard as their bodies and hearts calmed.

“That was incredible,” she sighed contently, her hand coming to rest on his chest.

“I don’t think they’ve invented words for what that was,” he chuckled softly, pulling her closer to him. “I love you.”

“I love you, Jared. Thank you for being my air,” she murmured, her eyes fluttering shut and slipping into a restful slumber, dreaming of their life together.

Did you like it? The nicest thing you can do for a writer is reblog their work and tell them, and others, how much you like it!

The Whole Enchilada: @iwantthedean @dolphincliffs @mrswhozeewhatsis @meganwinchester1999 @cherrycokegirls1 @closetspngirl  @roxyspearing @flamencodiva @blacktithe7 @sis-tafics @just-another-busyfangirl @evansrogerskitten @amanda-teaches @hannahindie @wotinspntarnation @winchesterprincessbride @winecatsandpizza @kickingitwithkirk  @wi-deangirl77 @hobby27 @mogaruke @gh0stgurl @paintrider13-blog  @alleiradayne @idreamofplaid

Jared’s Menagerie: @mtngirlforever​ @dean-winchesters-bacon

Others that might be interested, or have asked to be tagged: @saxxxology @thecleverdame @crispychrissy @cosicas-cuquis @wilde-abandon @fatalcrossbow @iamme0456 @kornerstone234

[xfanfics]

Destiel Fic Rec List Part 5

Last Updated in October 2014. Posted in May 2020 for posterity.  Listed in no particular order - the total rec list will have ~250 fics. Header graphic used with permission.

This part of the list contains: 32 fics.

Other Destiel Rec Lists: [1]. [2]. [3]. [4]. [5]. [6]. [7].

 _____

Casturbatus Interruptus by gaugbrojotr E | 6k | Canon!verse, Hot, , PWP

post-9.01, in a slight AU wherein Cas comes to live with the Winchesters at the Bunker. Written before 9.03. Crossposting from Tumblr. Written for a prompt from hightopsandsharpies: "Okay, so Cas is a virgin, and has no idea what pleasure is and Dean decides to show him and Cas gets all cuddly and needy afterwards. Dean walks in on Cas masturbating. He’s doing it all wrong, but when you’re a bazillion-year-old virgin, that’s to be expected. Dean decides to lend him a hand in a totally platonic, non-romantic way. Things get a little out of control.

 that awkward moment when... by highermagic E | 7k | Hot, wing!Kink

All in all, with a full tank of gas and his radio turned up loud, Dean was in a pretty damn good mood. All that vanished into shock and concern when the sky lit up like daylight, as though someone had decided that black was so passé for nighttime.

 This Temporary Flesh and Bone by misachan E | 5k | Canon!verse, h/c, wing!kink

Castiel doesn't serve Dean, fine, Dean has no problem with that - he just wants to know why Castiel's showing up in his dreams again.

What a fabulous little Fic. Very emotional. S4 cas is my FAVORITE.

 Only Fools Rush In by baka_sensei E | 18k | Canon!verse, soulbond

Dean does something and in angelic tradition that means he's become Castiel's fiancé. Dean doesn't know if he wants to get married, but he doesn't want to let Castiel down either. Cas lets his feelings run away with him, Gabe is a total dick, Sam is concerned, and Dean has to make a choice.

 Learning Curve by blualbino T | 1k | Fluff, Canon!verse

Cas has nice lips. They’re soft looking. Plush even. Dean can do this.

 Dinner At Katz's by nanoochka E | 2k | Hot, canon!verse

Dean might have to teach Cas how to have a When Harry Met Sally-esque orgasm, but he certainly doesn’t have to fake it.

 Free With His Hands by watermaline E | 2k | canon!verse, handprint!kink

The first time it happens, Dean chalks it up to…well, he doesn’t chalk it up to anything, he’s too busy coming his brains out in his jeans with Castiel’s hand on his shoulder.

 Desecrate that Sanctuary by brokentoy E | 3k | Hot, Alt!Canon Verse

Dean develops a fascination with Cas' bones.

 What Once Was Sacred by saltandbyrne E | 55k |  Hot,  AU, Cop Dean, DJ Cas

Los Angeles detective Dean Winchester works tirelessly to atone for the sins of his father one case at a time. When his best friend Charlie drags him to visit Sam at his new job, Dean stumbles onto a bizarre string of deaths that brings him uncomfortably close to his past.Dean can't stop thinking about Castiel, an enigmatic DJ who plays the sexiest music Dean's ever heard. A chance encounter at Castiel's house reveals that Castiel is an incubus, and Dean must face the lies and the reality of his childhood as a hunter. Dean comes to see that he and Castiel have more in common than he thought, and that guilt can be the hardest thing to cast aside.

Freefall by LastKnownWriter E | 128k | Hot, Fluff,  AU, Teacher Dean, Firefighter Cas

AU. The most exciting kindergarten teacher Dean Winchester's life ever gets is when he plays mechanic in his uncle Bobby's shop on the weekends. That is until a birthday party goes tequila-nova and he trips into a one-night stand with an incredibly hot firefighter named Castiel. Dean's life gets a lot more exciting after that.

 The Best Years of Our Lives, My Ass ❤ by ireallyhatecornnuts E | 110k | Hot,  Fluff,  HS AU but not really,

AU after Season 8, episode 6, "Southern Comfort." Dean goes to sleep in a motel room in Texarkana, and he wakes up 17 years old, in his childhood bedroom in Lawrence, Kansas, 1996. He has no idea how he got there, why his parents are still alive, why his brother is an adorable freshman with no memory of his adult life, and why the only ally he has in this place is the angel he left behind in Purgatory – somehow also 17 years old. They have to get out, that's the important thing. Only, falling in love with his angel wasn't a part of the plan....

It's like a HS AU... but better! I love how Dean is given a second chance at growing up, and Cas gets to engage with his humanity is painfully familiar ways. Some homophobia from non-central characters.    

 deus ex nihilo by Valyria E | 7k | AU, dubcon, god cas

Lost on an uncharted island, Dean Winchester is captured by the local villagers and offered up as a sacrifice to their winged god. Castiel takes one look at Dean and decides he wants him for a mate.

 Twist and Shout ❤ by gabriel E | 97k | Angst,  AU, Main Character Death

What begins as a transforming love between Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak in the summer of 1965 quickly derails into something far more tumultuous when Dean is drafted in the Vietnam War. Though the two both voice their relationship is one where saying goodbye is never a real truth, their story becomes fraught with the tragedy of circumstance. In an era where homosexuality was especially vulnerable, Twist and Shout is the story of the love transcending time, returning over and over in its many forms, as faithful as the sea.

Do I really need to say anything? Twist and Shout is one of my favorites simply because it made me bawl. Didn't love the characterization, but I still liked it overall.

Carry On ❤ by TamrynEradani E | 148k | Hot,  AU, Sub!dean, Dom!Cas

 When Sam gets into Stanford, Dean needs a bigger paycheck than Bobby's garage can give him. Luckily, he knows a guy.

Forget 50 Shades of Grey, they should make this fic into a movie! Even if you are not a fan of Sub!Dean, give this fic a shot, because it is nearly perfect.    

Glasses by Samanthapin E | 9k | Fluff, High School AU, punk!cas, nerd!dean

Teasing turns flirting turns dating turns grossly soppy boyfriends

 beer and bacon happy hour by outpastthemoat G | 2k | canon!verse, s8

The problem is that Dean’s been having good ideas all night. “No one insults the trenchcoat,” Dean says, and drives his fist into the other dude’s face. Dean figures he was bound to run out of good ideas eventually.

 Hard Road ❤ by aleishapotter E | 54k | Canon!verse

Dean discovers a few truths about himself when he and Cas are forced to go undercover on a hunt to the very last place Dean ever thought he'd find himself: a gay resort called "Last Hope" that is geared towards helping troubled homosexual couples repair their relationships. This fic is hilarious and hot--my favorite things.  

 Dean Smith Verse by TamrynEradani E | 17k | Hot,  BDSM, AU, Sub!Dean

Dean Smith is a man of routine. Castiel takes him apart.

Bratishka: Little Brother by Valyria E | 33k | Cop AU, Cop Dean, Lawyer Cas

Dean thinks he knows pretty much everything there is to know about his best friend Castiel Novak - he's a smart, gorgeous DA who probably lets Dean get away with more than he should to see the bad guy locked up - but it turns out Cas is hiding some dark family secrets.

 the way to a man's heart by mkhunterz M | 15k | Fluff,  Canon!verse

Dean teaches Cas to cook, and other things as well.

 Branded by garrisonbabe E | 12k | | canon!verse, soul bond, marking/claiming

Michael mocked Castiel, telling him he'd never get Dean the way he truly wanted. No matter the mark on Dean's soul, he'd never get him the way the archangel could take him. Dean finds a ritual that fixes that and a few other issues.

 Our Bodies, Posessed by Light by obstinatrix E | 39k | canon!verse, sastiel bromance, Fluff

Purged of all his souls, Castiel is a changed being, stronger than an angel and too powerful for Jimmy's body to contain. Happily, there's an archangel's vessel on hand, and he could use fixing, too. Dean isn't too happy about the idea of his brother acting as a vessel for Castiel, and Sam can guess why, but it isn't until Castiel gets inside his head and they learn to share the vessel -- and their thoughts -- that Sam realises Cas is as in love with Dean as Dean is with him. It's unfortunate that there's nothing much to be done about it now, but Castiel will get another vessel soon. The Winchesters will make damn sure of that. In the meantime, it's up to the three of them to establish their own strange accord, and Dean realises more fully than ever that it's Castiel, and not his vessel, that he loves.

 So Glad We Made It  ❤by scaramouche M | 16k | Fluff,  AU

At twelve years old, Dean makes a friend, who becomes his best friend, who will eventually become the love of his life.    

Oh, the best friends who grow up together AU. I have a soft spot for fics like these-- comes with pining, awkward misunderstandings, and a good basis for a realistic relationship.

 Shut Up (Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is) ❤ by kototyph E | 23k | Fluff,  college au

Dean's done some pretty stupid things, but getting drunk-hitched in Vegas to a colleague he barely knows might just take the cake. His surprise husband, Castiel, is a little weird but likable despite that, and Dean figures they’ll go back to Boston, get a quiet annulment, and go their separate ways. Six weeks later, he’s still married to one of the strangest, most genuine and definitely most dangerously lov-- likable guys he's ever known. Dean doesn't know why or really even how it’s happening, but it’s getting harder and harder to remember that he has divorce papers to file.

FLUFF EVERYWHERE! This is definitely a feel-good fic and I love reading it when I'm sad. Or just you know, whenever.

 But the Fire is So Delightful by kototyph E | 5k | Hot, hate then love, College AU

Apparently, it’s been snowing all day. [Dean is a Douchebag Fratboy with a Cherry Ass, Castiel is Angry and Aroused]

 Stitches by askance T | 23k |  Fluff, h/c, blindness, Canon!verse

Castiel survived Leviathan--but only barely. Vessel mauled and eyes destroyed, Cas is barely clinging to what's left of his grace when Dean finds him naked and alone on the reservoir's edge; in a panic, Dean brings him home to the cabin where he and Sam have been holed up off the grid. What follows is the slow process of the angel's recovery and the unexpected changes that come with his being blind, and in the three months this takes, their little family slowly begins to patch itself back together in forgiveness, love, and darkness.

 When Charlie Met Cas by riseofthefallenone E | 25k | Fluff,  canon!verse

Charlie is back in all her glory. The Winchesters have showed up on her doorstep and she’s making the best of it the only way she knows how. By being the little sister Dean never wanted and shipping the shit out of Destiel.

The Life After the Morning After by saltyfeathers T | 17k

Dean and Cas get uber drunk on their last day of University. They end up married. Neither of them seem to mind.

The Girlfriend Experience ❤ by Rageprufrock E | 15k | Hot,  Canon!Verse, First time

While it's not like Dean hasn't had a couple of truly regrettable hit-and-runs in his sexual history, this is probably the saddest fucking thing that has ever happened to him.

Classic Casturbation fic. Complete with steamy sexytimes, hilarious dialogue, and fed up and clueless Dean. Perfect.    

Hands, From Which All Things Are Built by MajorEnglishEsquire T | 14k | Canon!Verse, s8

Castiel travels with the angel tablet and without the Winchesters. One day, Dean gets a text from some anonymous number. (They speak in the language of need.)

Cowboys and Real Estate Angels by almaasi E | 36k | AU

Castiel crosses paths with the ever-charming Dean Winchester at a rodeo show in Texas, of all places. Dean's singing days are long bygone, but his crowd-pleasing skills haven't waned one iota. Unexpectedly, Castiel finds himself in Dean's bedroom; they take and they give, and discover that sometimes strangers can find love like this, too. (And if a man's faith can't be put in God, it needs to go somewhere...)

[heartfeltheart]

Alchemy: Magic Vs. Science

Chapters: 18/25 Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist/Harry Potter Rating: T Relationships: Edward/Winry, Lan Fan/Ling, and May/Alphonse. Primary Characters: Edward Elric, Severus Snape Additional Tags: Crossover, Teacher!Edward, BrOtp Edward/Severus. Sassy beyond measure. Series: Part 1 of 9. Summary: Magic and Science, are they the same or are they completely different? It just takes one person to point out all up and downs. Along with breaking the stereotypes that come up with being a wizard, alchemist and most of all being human. Thank you, @amynchan! D/C: I do not own Harry Potter or Fullmetal Alchemist. Discord: La Red(Mesh Mash of… stuff.): https://discord.gg/KYjmVAb Alchemy Series: https://discord.gg/DejEYNJ

“English and Edward’s accented voice.” “Amestrian or another foreign language.” “Written notes.” ‘Thoughts.’ First Name: Informal Last Name: Formal (Or used to annoy others)

Christmas day.

A day to be around friends and family, being around people you love and care for. To wake up fully energized at the prospect of running over to the fully decorated Christmas tree to open presents. Once that was said and done, go outside and play in the snow. To have snowball fights, build snow forts and perhaps a game of Quidditch. Then go back inside to sit around a fireplace to drink hot chocolate, play Exploding Snap or Chess.

Right now, eight Alchemy students prefer to sleep in as much time as they could before their day could start. All of them are sleeping in a room in the Military Barracks in bunk beds. The room was usually used for Military personnel that do not have a home in Central City and stays in the Barracks when on duty. Their instructors are given their own rooms but would rotate when making rounds to check on the students. The only one that remained awake throughout the entire night is the head of this Field Trip.

He was too busy decorating a decent size pine tree with decorations he had packed up in his suitcase with the help of the Mustang Unit. Edward picked up a giant mug of coffee and took a deep gulp of the bitter drink. Standing there with the said mug in one hand and another on his hip as he took in the sight in front of him. A decorated pine tree standing in the corner of the room, multiple presents underneath it and the smell of apple pie filled the air. About a couple of hours ago, multiple owls flew in and dropped out present after present for his students, Rolanda, Quirinus, and too much to his surprise, Edward also got a few gifts. Every present is placed under the tree to surprise everyone else once they step into the room for breakfast.

"What exactly is this thing again?" Jean Havoc asked once he finished decorated the tree.

"It's a type of holiday tree." Edward responded with a shrug.

"Well...I hope they like it." Jean shrugged his shoulders, he wasn't going to argue with the other's plans. This just showed a whole other side of Edward, something many would have thought he does not have. "It strange, but...let's just hope they like it."

"In the Grand Hall of the school, they have one that nearly touches the ceiling filled with... magical... decorations and it looks whimsical. This might not match up to it, but I hope it is enough for them." Edward explained, he finished his drink and slammed the mug on a table when he felt his tongue burn due to the hot liquid. "Ugh...my tongue...I need to go wake them up before they start wandering around and get lost. Go see if Mrs. Hughes needs anything."

"Got it, boss."

Edward rubbed his face with both hands to ward off any sign of sleep. He hoped despite the fact his students are going to spend their Christmas in a Military Barracks, away from everything they know, they have a good time. Telling them his past with a Military was rather...not awkward, not tense but draining to tell. The result is his students believing he was some sort of Magical Police Officer. Auror? Eh, something like that.

A Magical Police Officer... Nah, sounds too much work.

-.-

Edward walked down the hall that headed towards the rooms his students and fellow instructors. He stood in front of Rolanda's room and was about to knock on it when it opened see said person fully dressed. The Alchemy Teacher took note at how Rolanda is wearing a fancier set than her typical robes, but not over the top and did not have on a robe or hat. She still looked a bit out of place, but at least without the robe, she won't appear completely out of place. In the Quidditch Instructor's arms is a basket filled with small presents wrapped in shimmering paper and ribbons. "Morning."

"Good morning, Mr. Elric." Rolanda responded with a nod, she stepped out of her room and closed the door behind herself. "Have you awoken the students?"

"I was going to wake you and Quirinus before we woke them up and get them ready for today. I have a surprise ready for everyone?" Edward explained with a grin, he and Rolanda walked down the hall to the Muggle Studies Professor room.

"Don't tell me... you have a surprise Christmas Party planned?" Rolanda asked, she raised an eyebrow at Edward when he remained quiet. She only shook her head with a slight shake of her head. "Of course, you did, how did you manage to pull that off with your superiors?"

"I er... My boss is a softy and I am the one that is paying for everything." Edward deadpanned the last part. He stopped in front of Quirinus door and knocked on it. There was a slight shuffle from inside the room before the door opened. What Edward saw made his jaw dropped in horror and shock. Edward could not even describe what he is looking at and even Rolanda is shaking her head Quirinus appearance.

"R-ready?" Quirinus asked, he was about to close the door behind himself when Edward pushed him back into the room. "W-what, are yo-you doing?"

"There is no way you are walking around here wearing that! Wear your regular outfit without your robe." Edward snapped at the older man, he shut the door to Quirinus room and hit the door to get his point across. "Whoever taught you about MuggleFashion has no taste whatsoever."

Edward turned his head over at Rolanda with a questioning look. "And this guy is supposed to be the Muggle Studies Professor?"

"The Magical Community is completely cut off from the Muggle World, this tends to happen due to that reason." Rolanda stated with a pinched expression.

"Even though I had a questionable taste in fashion, I would never stoop that low to wear that!"

-.-

Edward hid his grin at the looks of joy his student gave when Rolanda handed each of them their presents. Each of them received a small box of sugar candies in a decorated tin that had an image of a Golden Snitch flying around the tin. The students are wearing their uniforms, minus their robes and hats. At least their uniforms looked normal here in Amestris compared to what Quirinus was originally going to wear. Edward still cannot get that image out of his head. "We have a busy schedule ahead of us today, very busy day."

"What are we going to be doing today, Mr. Elric?" One of the student's asked.

"I will explain everything once we finish with our breakfast." Edward explained to the student, he along with everyone else was walking down several hallways to their intended location. Several soldiers that they passed by looking at the group with curious eyes but that was replaced with looks of respect and awe at the sight of Edward. The students, Rolanda and Quirinus wondered about the looks and the salutes that were shot at the Alchemy Teacher's way.

"Little brother!" A high pitch squeal filled the hall and the sound of rapid footsteps caught everyone's attention. The only one that did not seem surprised was Edward, he simply turned to face the direction where the squeal came from. Down the hall is a pig-tailed sandy blonde girl running up to them with her hands extended out.

Edward extended his arms out and braced for impact when the girl launched herself into her arms. He swung her around and their laughter filled the hall. Once he stopping spinning them around, the girl went a thousand miles an hour and every occasion, Edward would nod or just smile at her. Once the girl slowed down, Edward placed her down back on the ground and patted her on the head.

Louder footsteps came down from the same direction the girl came from. Looking over, everyone saw two men running down the hall with looks of complete distress. They stopped in front of Edward and the little girl, completely out of breath. They explained something to the Golden Blonde before he waved them off and they ran off in the same direction they came from. Edward scratched his head while he looked down at the girl, who was still smiling at him. With a sigh, he waved a hand towards his class direction. "This is my class, I am a teacher at a school in a different country, Elicia."

"You? A teacher? Hahaha!" Elicia giggled humorously at the notion of Little Brother being a teacher.

Edward pouted, why does everyone laugh at the thought of him being a teacher? Dammit! He hasn't killed anyone yet or maimed anyone for that matter. His students are learning something without the fear of being getting their asses handed to them. Nooooo... it's a flipping joke to everyone that knows him. "Why does everyone keep laughing at me whenever I tell them that?"

"It's funny~" Elicia continued to giggle at the thought.

Edward only shook his head, he motioned for the little give him his hand. "Come on, I'll take you to your mom."

"Okay, little brother!"

"Little brother my..." Edward grumbled under his breath, he looked back at his class and fellow instructors. The students were whispering among themselves about the scene before them. This is a completely new side of their teacher. Is she related to him? It was obvious by their interaction, they know each other to the point of the Alchemy Teacher acting like a doting older brother or even a father. "This is Elicia, the daughter of an a...good friend of mine."

Without saying another word, Edward continued his way to the surprise location. Well, he would nod or mutter something that went along with whatever Elicia was saying to him. The chatter stopped when they stopped in front of metal double doors. On top of the doors is a sign that said, 'Dining Hall' in Amestrian and a poster taped on the door too. Edward turned back to give his class a devious grin. "Here we are..."

Edward opened the door and motioned for everyone to enter. The students saw it was a dining hall, only having the minimal required items and furniture for such room. When their sights landed on the far corner of the room, their jaws dropped. Right there in the corner of the dining hall is a Christmas tree with piles of presents surrounding it. The two tables were pushed together to make one long table and had plates of food on it. There was a woman wearing an apron and oven mitts, holding what appears to be a pie. She smiled at the newcomers as they entered the room. Elicia let go of Edward's grasp and ran over to her.

"Even though we do not celebrate this holiday, all of you do. So... uh..." Edward struggled with his words and made it a point to not look his students. He understood what the holiday means, especially what it meant for his students. Even if the trip is for them to get away from the Magical World and dammit! He wants to make sure they have a decent holiday. Especially seeing and reading in between the lines about his student's lives. "Go do... whatever you normally do."

Without another word, Edward's students ran over to the tree to see what they got. One or two of them hung back and hesitantly approached the others. They ran once their fellow classmates yelled at them when they state there are gifts for them under the tree.

"It is not exactly a party but...it will suffice." Rolanda stated to Edward.

"H-how long h-have you pla-anned this?" Quirinus asked.

"When the trip was approved. I had Zefferus pack the decorations and sent a letter to my superior if he could help me make this happen. He agreed after I told him I would pay for it..."

"You sound like you don't like the man?" Rolanda asked, her eyebrow twitched slightly.

"...It's a long, long... long story." Edward sighed, he scratched the back of his head. He headed over towards the table filled with food. "Come on, I am hungry!"

-.-

"Hmmmm... Pie..." Edward hummed in content. He had just said his temporarily good-byes to Elicia and Mrs. Hughes before they left with a promise of seeing them again before he returned to Great Britain. Glancing over at his students, Edward saw that all of them are eating and looking over their gifts. The only gifts that were left under the tree belonged to him, Rolanda and Quirinus. All in all, it appeared to be a good Christmas in his opinion.

Well, it was until the doors slammed open and Edward did not bother to hide his frown. Everyone sitting around the table looked over to see General Roy Mustang. The General is grinning manically as he headed towards their table. "Good morning everyone, I hope you had a good night rest."

"Ugh...." Edward bemoaned, he ate another spoonful of apple-pie. It no longer tasted the same as it did like the previous bite. "Go away...I am trying to enjoy my breakfast."

"What was that, Fullmetal?" Roy asked, his expression stern as he stared Edward down. This made Edward's students and fellow instructors nudge away from the possible upcoming fight. There was clear tension in the room that started to build up and... are those flames and lightning in the background?

Edward took in a deep breath, berating himself. He wondered is it worth acting like the perfect soldier to keep up appearances. The last thing he needed is his students believing the Amestris Military are a bunch of idiots or worse... have them look like their Ministry. Then again, the last thing he needed is for them to fear the Military to the point of making them fear Alchemy. There are so many pros and cons to the whole situation. Seeing as Roy and the Mustang Unit are going to be the ones representing Amestris during the whole negotiations between Amestris and Magical Great Britain, might as well show them nothing is to fear. "Could you stop calling me that?"

"You will always be dubbed as such, I have the paperwork to back me up." Roy tutted Edward, he reached over and grabbed an entire pie. "Once you are down here take your class to the Library. Captain Hawkeye will be waiting there for your arrival."

"By any chance, has Grumman pass any laws since I've been gone?"

"No... You know what... the entire unit has asked me that minus Hawkeye. What do you know?" Roy asked with a critical eye.

Edward popped another spoonful of pie into his grinning mouth. "I don't know...Why don't you go eat your pie...alone."

"You're just jeal... This would have sounded better if you weren't engaged to your mechanic." Roy muttered under his breath before he left the dining hall.

-.-

Edward hesitantly scanned a brightly wrapped box in his hands. He slowly opened the package to reveal a bronze tea set decorated with sapphires. There was a card inside the teapot and Edward took it out with an eyebrow raised. Once reading over the card, the Golden Blonde let out a soft chuckle. Filius had sent him and his fiancé a tea set. 'Tea...hm... I have to get him something.'

Once packing the tea set back in its box and putting it in his suitcase, Edward picked up another package. He reached for another present that was wrapped in emerald green and silver stripped wrapping paper tied around in a green ribbon. One guess on who sent him that? Edward kept the present at an arms distance in case it might go against him. Once the wrapping paper was removed and opening the box that contained the gift, Edward peeked inside to see a bottle of firewhiskey and two decorated drinking glasses. "I like...I like this very much."

Edward stuffed the present into his suitcase with a chuckle. He picked up his coat, suitcase and headed out towards the door. Once he gets some alone time, Edward would have to do something shopping. The moment he was about to turn the doorknob, the Golden Blonde reached into the collar of his coat and pulled out a folded piece of paper. 'I have to do this too.'

-.-

"This is it... The National Central Library." Edward announced to his class as they walked up the steps to said building. He ignored the curious looks and whispers, especially if they were giggling females that kept blowing him kisses. Clearing his throat once he stood on the top step, he looked down at his class with a knowing look. "This is the nation's largest literary repository and contains texts and reference materials collected from all over the nation and throughout Amestris history. It is separated in several branches, some are open to the public while others are only open to the Military with proper ranking and State Alchemists..."

Edward glanced over at main entrance of the library, frowning. The library had gone over a complete makeover once Grumman was put into leadership and him putting Edward to rearrange the place while his brother recuperated. Several restrictions and bans were lifted on certain topics, take Alkahestry for example. The topic of human transmutation is something that and several others are still iffy about it, one hand it is to warn other or to get that idea into someone's mind for them to try. The one place that truly changed is the branch that the State Alchemist mainly used. There is a hidden section that showed the complete history of Amestris from a different point of view. The only few know of that location and will only be told if it is necessary to ensure history does not repeat itself. Still, even with the changes, it still felt the same.

"Mom! Is that him? The Fullmetal Alchemist?"

"Not so loud, Selim. Yes, it is him."

A shiver ran down Edward's spine, that voice. That voice sounded so familiar and it irked him to no end. He slowly turned around to see a very familiar boy being held back by Mrs. Bradley. She looked up at the same time Edward looked over and caught his eyes. The older woman shot him an apologetic smile when Selim managed to escape her grasp. She mouthed an apology when her son ran over to him.

Edward froze when Selim latched himself onto him, he clenched his hands onto his side to prevent himself from doing anything to the... child. A three-year-old child that is looking at him like some sort of hero, far more different than the first time he met him some years ago. Taking in a deep breath, Edward grinned at the kid and loosened up a bit. Just a bit. "Hi."

Selim gasped out, his eyes widen in shock before a look of complete admiration overtook his expression again. The fact the kid's eyes are sparkling was sort of helping his case with Edward. His smiled so widely that it made Edward's cheeks hurt just to look at him. His hero just said hi to him. To him! "Coool!"

"Mr. Elric sure is popular."

"What makes you say that?"

"This is like the hundredth persons that hugged Mr. Elric with an excessive amount of sparkles."

"You're overexaggerating."

"People yes. Sparkles...not so much. That is in the thousands."

"...So much sparkle..."

"What is it about this place that has people...sparkling!"

"For your own sanity...do not ask that question."

All of Edward's students, plus their professors, turned around to see a woman dressed in an Amestris Military Uniform standing next to them. She stared up ahead of them to see an exasperated Golden Blonde and his adoring fan. The woman cleared her throat loud enough to catch Edward's attention. "Colonel Elric, are you ready?"

"No...help? Please? Please? Please? Please..."

-.-

"Like I said before... The National Central Library has multiple branches, this is just one of them." Elric said in a low enough voice to not bother anyone else who is using the library for whatever reason but high enough to be heard by his class. He leads them toward the back of the building. "The one we are currently in is primarily open for the entire public."

"Mr. Elric?"

"Yes?"

"If we are studying alchemy, shouldn't we use the one that is open for State Alchemists?"

"What we are going to do today does not involve us going into that Branch."

"What exactly are we going to do?"

"All of you will see soon enough." The Alchemy Teacher grinned at his student with a devious grin.

"My, my... I would have never thought of you becoming a teacher. Considering who your teacher is..."

Elric grumbled under his breath, his cheeks turned pink in embarrassment. "I was bribed..."

"They have a library, don't they?"

"..."

-.-

"What is wrong with his face...?"

"He looks like he just came out of a potion's accident."

"A very terrible accident."

"It is rather rude to talk about someone that is standing right in front of them..." Elric whispered to his whispering students with a stern look. Said students froze in their spots at being caught, well they weren't exactly being quiet either. All of them are in a secluded room that looked like a classroom with a couple of chalkboards. Writing on a chalkboard is an older man in his late fifty's, wearing a lab coat from what Professor Quirrel once stated, and his most notable characteristic is that his face is disfigured beyond recognition. Mr. Elric and Captain Hawkeye did not even flinch at the sight of the old man. If anything, Mr. Elric and said man appeared to be good friends. "For your information... he knows English."

"You just took the fun right out of everything, Edward." Dr. Tim Marcoh grunted under his breath, continuing writing seemingly random things on one of the chalkboards.

"I would say I am sorry, but I am not." Elric snickered at the older man, he passed out several packets of papers to his students. One by one, each student glanced through the packet wondering what exactly was given to them. It appeared to be recipes, information on flowers, plants, recipes, and other random things. Nothing was making sense to any of them. Once the Alchemy Teacher stood in front in front of the room and stared at his students expectantly. "This is Doctor Tim Marcoh... A former State Alchemist, the Crystal Alchemist."

The students sat up in their seats, their attention completely on the Crystal Alchemist. This is will be the fourth person they had met that has or had the title of State Alchemist. The first one will be their teacher, Fullmetal Alchemist, then that half-naked man back at the desert, Strong Arm Alchemist, their teacher's superior, Flame Alchemist and finally the man in front of them, Crystal Alchemist. The only issue they all have is the fact none of them had seen any of them perform alchemy. None what so ever. Perhaps that will change soon.

"Dr. Marcoh will help you figure out those packets I just passed out. Doc...they are all yours..."

"...You are going to leave me here with them, aren't you?"

"I need to run a couple of errands around the city...I'll pay you back somehow."

"...Fine. Go."

"With that said...do not do anything I would not do."

"That is a very short list, Mr. Elric..."

-.-

"We will be leaving Central in two days and take a train to Resembool... Don't worry, Mustang has people patrolling the train stations and the tracks... Yes, I have that... What do you mean Xerxes did that?... Ugh... Stupid owl... Sorry, I'll get you a new one... Winry?... have an apple ready for me?... I'll see you in three days." Edward hung up the phone with a soft sigh. He ran a hand through his hair, a small smile played on his lips. Edward was about to walk off when something caught his attention at the corner of his eye.

Slowly turning around to see what exactly caught his attention. What Edward saw caused him to groan in frustration. Leaning far too close for comfort and grinning frantically, is none other than Roy Mustang. The man is wearing his civilian clothing to oppose his military uniform. At least it was not one of his flashiest set of clothing.

"Hello there, calling your girlfriend?" Roy asked in a sing-song voice.

"Fiancé, thank you very much!" Edward growled out, his good mood just flew out a window and replaced with annoyance at the appearance of the man in front of him.

"Oooooh. Fiancé... Tell me how you managed that?" Roy asked, not at all bothered by Edward's change of behavior.

"What? You need tips on how to get into an official relationship?" Edward asked with a snicker.

Roy sputtered out, his composure gone momentarily. Before he could retort back, the Golden Blonde grabbed him by his collar and dragged him out of the building. "Hey! Watch the suit, it's new!"

"Then you should have worn one of your other ones then." Edward stated he loosened his grasp on Roy just enough for the older man to pull himself away. Once that Roy pulled away from his grasp, the Golden Blond stuffed his hands into his coat's pockets. "Hurry, I left my class with Dr. Marcoh and I don't want him to turn my class against me."

"Hawkeye still with them?"

"Yeah, she'll take the class to a café for late lunch where I am going to meet with them."

"What about me? Where am I in this equation?" Roy asked with an eyebrow raised.

"I...I...ugh... I need you to do me another favor..." Edward managed to say, he shifted his shoulders uncomfortably. It was one thing to ask the Flame Alchemist to accompany him while he ran a couple of errands around Central. The Alchemy Teacher needed a ride and the Flame Alchemist is the only one in the area that owns a vehicle.

"Yes?"

"I...I need your help with... I need your help with my and Winry's wedding." Edward finally said the tension in his shoulders left him at that moment. He avoided making eye contact with Roy and speed forward when he saw said man's car up ahead.

Roy's eyes widen in surprise, he swore his mind momentarily stopped. To think that Edward Elric would ask him for his help for his own wedding. It was one thing to invite him to the wedding, but to be a part of it means a lot to him. There are many more things that could be said about his relationship with the younger man. They have an amicable animosity between them, a mutual dislike and yet have a great deal of respect between them. Many will swear they are father and son with how they interact with each other. No, that title belongs to someone else that is long gone. What he is to the young man is someone he trusts even if it appears quite the opposite. "Do you have a suit? Rings? Please tell me you at least got her an engagement ring?"

"No. No. I talked to Pinako and uhm... Winry has her mother's engagement ring but..."

"But...?" Roy drawled out, he took out a set of keys to open his car.

"Winry misplaced the ring several times and it gets in the way whenever she works on automail." Edward explained, once he and Roy got into the latter's car. "I want to get her earrings."

"Hm... nice. Different but nice. Anything else?"

"...I need to go get something for Ling, the idiot needs something and wants to make sure Lan Fan doesn't find out."

"...Where do we go?" Roy asked while he turned on the car.

"It's this place..." Edward pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Roy.

Roy took the paper and raised an eyebrow at what he was reading. He snorted as he handed the note back. "First stop... The Jewelers of Amestris."

-.-

2 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups white sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

4 cups apples-peeled, cored and diced

...

Alpine Rose...

Chamomile...

Cornflower...

Edelweiss...

Fire Lily...

Greenspire...

Silver birch...

Spindle...

White mustard...

Norway spruce...

...

Holsteins

Jerseys

Guernseys

Ayrshires

Brown Swiss

Milking Shorthorns

Dutch Belted

...

Apple Cake Recipe (equals) Mathematical notions

Types of flowers (equals) Formulae of shapes

Types of dairy cows (equals) Chemical formulas

That was just the beginning of the packet Mr. Elric had given to his student to go over with Dr. Marcoh. What appeared to be completely random jargon, there is far more than what it looked like at first glance. Page after page contained hidden information they would have never expected to find in 'original' text. Now it is understood why Mr. Elric had them solve riddles, looking at everything at a different perspective and drive it into their heads that nothing is at it first appears. That was only the easy stuff, the harder part is figuring out how to decode a three-page paper that already appears to be decoded already!

"Time. Pack up, it's time for all of you to leave." The scared doctor/alchemist announced to his temporary class. "Keep working on this, it is due the first day of classes. Follow Captain Hawkeye, she is going to take you to Truth knows what..."

"Where exactly are, we going?" One of the students asked.

"We are too meet with your teacher for lunch. If we hurry, we will get to the designated location before the lunch rush starts." Captain Hawkeye announced to the class, she signaled for everyone to follow her.

"Do you believe Mr. Elric finished with his errands, Captain Hawkeye?" Madam Hooch asked the younger woman.

"I am actually more worried if we have to meet the Colonel in a jail cell along with my superior."

Silence...

"Wha...?"

"Elric and Mustang do not get along, they enjoy to antagonize each other." Marcoh explained while he cleaned the chalkboards with a rag.

-.-

"BASTARD!"

"PIPSQUEAK!"

"How many times do I have to tell you...WE ARE NOW THE SAME HEIGHT!"

"For all I know, you could have put extra padding in your shoes!"

"Gasp-Take that back!"

"Make me!"

Ah... There it is... the yelling and screaming matches between Roy Mustang and Edward Elric. A very common occurrence in Central; Amestris in general. There go that last couple of months of silence...

Tag List Below:

Permanent Tag List: @runestarchild​​ @princesskitomi​​ @fanfictionpromptsblog​​ @souleateralicestein​​ @vixen-uchiha​​ @okami-knight​​ @legendaryneckjudgestudent​​ @weird-homosapien​​ @justafanwarrior​​ @vivilakitty​​ @ravennightingaleandavatempus​​ @if-you-give-a-chat-a-cookie​ @moonwatcher04​​ @darkshadowguardian​​ @two-faced-biatch​​ @kris-pines04​​ @mewwitch​​ @edwardhatori​​​ @kuroko26​​​ @tall-and-angry​​​   @bloody-no-kissu​​​ @crazylittlemunchkin​​​ @tbehartoo​​​ @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry​​​ @melicmusicmagic​​​

[eringeosphere]

Had to have high, high hopes for a living. Chapter 2

Part 1

AO3

ix.

When Percy made his decision to stay with Lupa’s pack, his mind had managed to focus on two things. First, that Jason had been way too sad when he’d first met him. Even in the company of the wolves - who were awesome and scary and way bigger than normal wolves. Also really harsh teachers but -

Jason. Sad. Jason alone. Jason who was family. Cousin, technically - and after meeting wolves that weren’t really wolves that could talk, being told that he was the son of a God didn’t really surprise Percy.

Not that Lupa was telling him which godly parent had apparently fallen in love with his mum and then left. ‘Work it out yourself’ had been her general attitude when Percy and Jason had asked.

Okay, Percy may be getting sidetracked slightly. Staying with Lupa. Reason number two: his mum had said that the monsters were after him. Not his mum. Him.

The monsters will keep coming after him. Until Percy can beat the monsters, he’s not safe to be around, and the thought of his mum getting hurt because of him makes something inside of him hurt.

So. Join a wolf pack, protect his mum by not being there. ‘Protect Jason’ gets added to his list of important things within about three hours of his mum leaving, after the younger boy had tripped and nearly face planted into a tree root. Learn to fight off the monsters.

In all honesty, Percy had imagined a lot less running.

x.

It doesn’t take long for Percy to lose track of how long it’s been since he left his mum. He keeps the slip of stiff paper that his mum had written the address of their apartment on buried deep in the pocket of his jeans. Percy can't actually read the words yet, but it's nice to know that he has a way to track his mum down when he eventually gets big and strong.

The days whirl into a blended mess of training and lessons that leave little time for thinking about anything else. He only registers that time has passed in the way that the nights begin to grow longer and colder.

His shoes go missing sometime in between wading across a stream and scrambling up the rocky bank on the other side, and after a little while the soles of his feet toughen enough that he doesn’t miss them.

Percy adapts to sleeping curled up on a pile of blankets in the cave that the pack often returns to, or the ground, or in trees, or in bushes, if they've travelled further afield. Jason had a little bit of a leg up on him in that sense, but soon Percy doesn’t even remember what it felt like to fall asleep alone, without the reassuring pressure of Jason or one of the wolves (or both) against his side.

xi.

Lupa does not simply teach the boys the means to hold their own in a physical manner; her teaching also include the history of their heritage - both Roman and Greek. This is met with varying levels of success, admittedly.

… and thus begat Dionysus by his Greek calling, or Bacchus in his Roman guise, youngest of the Olympians. And so concludes the tale of the origins of the Olympians.

Percy forcibly drags his attention back from where he’d been half distracted by a bird half way up a tree at the sound of Lupa’s pointed cough.

Perseus. Were you listening to the last bit?

Percy nods vigorously, despite his dislike of his full name. “Yes. I was. For sure!”

Lupa hums thoughtfully. Would you care to tell me who the Olympians are, then? They are likely to be very important as you grow older.

Percy frowns. He knows that much, alright. Lupa’s already covered the ‘strong demigods attract strong monsters’, so odds are good that him and Jason have a godly parent with some wallop.

“Wait, what was the question?” Percy asks.

Lupa doesn’t sigh, but Percy gets the impression it’s a near thing. Who are the Olympians, Perceus?”

Percy nods. “Okay, I know this for sure.” He brings his hands up in front of him and starts counting them off. “So there’s lightning guy, ocean dude, lightning guy's jealous wife -“

Behind him, there’s a faint wheezing noise. Percy plows on regardless.

“-plant lady, smart lady, sun dude, that guy’s twin sister …miss hunter! Er. War man, lover lady, volcano dude, messenger person, and … hearth lady or wine guy? And dead dude and his wife are also kinda important?”

Percy looks up from his fingers. Lupa is staring at him, mouth dropped slightly open.

“What?” Percy glances sideways at Jason, sitting cross legged next to him. “I’m pretty sure I got them all!”

Then Percy and Jason are treated to the sight of Lupa, several thousand year old goddess, trainer of Romulus, Remus and countless demigods thereafter, defender of the Roman Empire and Camp Jupiter, flop onto her belly and cover her eyes with her paws.

Jason breaks out into giggles and Percy can’t possibly be mad, if he managed to get his quiet cousin to laugh.

xii.

Percy creeps through the long grass, placing each foot with a care and attention he didn’t possess a couple of months ago. His quarry sits ten paces ahead of him. It hasn’t spotted him yet.

Percy can’t see very far, as the grass is at least as tall as he is, but the faint tugging in his chest that Percy has started to associate with Jason make him pretty certain that his cousin is circling around off to his left.

All to plan so far. Percy inches forward a few more paces.

Then the wind shifts. The rabbit lifts its head and Percy freezes. Please don’t look this way. Percy begs. I do not want to have to track down anotherone.

No such luck. Percy sees the rabbit nostrils flair, and he throws caution to the wind. Percy springs forward into a run, swipes for the rabbit, misses, but somehow manages to scare it into jumping right at Jason. It’s more luck than anything that leads Jason to successfully lock his arms around it before it escapes them both.

There’s a moment of slightly stunned silence.

“Nice, Jason,” Percy gasps, hands on his knees.

Jason flashes him a hesitant smile at the praise. “What now?”

Now, kill it.

At the unexpected voice, Jason and Percy both startle badly, and Percy’s head whips around in the direction of the speaker.

“What!” he exclaims, in sync with Jason.

Lupa’s expression is implacable. Percy is momentarily very jealous over the wolf’s apparent ability to sneak up on both of them through the dried up grass.

There comes a time when every living creature must die, Lupa states.

“Even the gods?” The words are out of his mouth before Percy can stop them, and he immediately wishes that he could take them back.

Jason sucks in a breath next to him. “Percy didn’t mean that!” he exclaims, and Percy feels a surge of fondness for Jason, so willing to try to dig his silly cousin out of trouble of his own making.

Fortunately, Lupa merely looks thoughtful. Yes, Perseus, even the gods may fade one day, she says, ignoring the face Percy pulls at the sound of his full name.

Lupa continues. You delay, little demigods. If you want dinner this evening, kill your catch.

As one, Jason and Percy look down at the rabbit clutched in Jason’s arms.

“Fine,” Percy mutters, and takes half a step towards his cousin, not that he has any idea whatsoever of exactly how he’s supposed to kill the unfortunate rabbit. As it turns out, Percy doesn’t need to, as his movement startles the animal badly enough that it kicks out with its back legs.

Jason yelps, loosens his grip, and the silly animal pushes out of his hands. Percy blinks, and it disappears into the undergrowth.

“I’m sorry,” Jason blurts out, wide-eyed.

Lupa pads forward. Apologies cannot change events. They are simply air and sound.

Jason swallows and Percy blurts out the first thing that comes to his mind. “It’s not dark yet!”

Lupa turns her head to him.

Oh, Percy really wishes he’d manage to think things all the way through once in a while, as he fumbles for the words to continue. “Well - you said we had until sundown to catch a rabbit, right? Right. And it’s still light, so. We’re not out of time yet! Let us try again.”

Percy folds his arms over his chest and glares at Lupa, nodding once - show no weakness - echoing in his head.

Lupa glances up at the sun. You only have a few hours until the sun sets. You’d best move fast if you want dinner this evening. She turns and pads out of the grass field in the direction of the forest. Percy stares after her, surprised that that had actually worked.

Percy looks at Jason. “What a pain -” he begins, then immediately cuts himself off at the sight of Jason’s face.

“Hey no!” Percy exclaims, shifting closer to Jason and wrapping him in a half hug. “What’s wrong - don’t look so upset!”

Jason’s voice wobbles. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s my fault.”

“Oi!” Percy shakes Jason gently. “Hey, I’m not mad, don’t worry about it! I’d have probably done the same thing - you know what I’m like.”

Jason hiccups. “Sorry.”

“Nope - you’ve got nothing to be sorry for. We just have to catch another one!”

Jason hesitates, then nods. Percy grins crookedly. “Great, so - here’s what I think we should do…”

xiii.

Percy can barely see straight. His entire body feels like one big bruise and he can’t breathe properly. He digs his arms underneath him into the dirt and manages to push himself up onto his elbows, but a yelping noise is all the warning he has before a body crashes into him.

“Sorry,” Jason gasps, his legs sprawled across Percy’s back.

Percy reaches an arm around and squeezes Jason’s leg. He doesn’t have enough air to answer him.

Percy lifts his head, and meets Lupa’s calm gaze. The wolf crouches low in the clearing. A handful of other members of the pack: Latia, Cassia, Seneca and Avitus, ring around the edge, watching. They do not interfere.

Are you done? Lupa asks.

Percy knows how this goes. Percy and Jason both know how this goes - Lupa will not stop until she has taught her lesson, or until the two demigods give up. Percy and Jason have yet to give up when she’s been teaching them.

But Lupa has never pushed them this hard before.

Percy stares at Lupa, silent.

Are you done? She repeats.

And Percy, for the first time in a long time, really wishes his mum was here. Wishes that he wasn’t. Then Jason shifts slightly, and Percy remembers why he’d decided to stay. Percy bows his head. Takes a deep breath in, he forces leaden arms to move again. Pushes himself onto his hands and knees, then with a yell of effort, staggers to his feet.

The world spins and Percy very nearly topples straight over again. His head hurts, a dull, throbbing ache.

“Perce?” Jason croaks.

Percy doesn’t - can’t turn his head to look at him. He daren’t take his eyes off Lupa. “Once more, Jace. Come on. One more.”

Jason lets out a wheezy laugh and Percy hears him clamber awkwardly to his feet behind him. “On three?”

Percy’s answer is more of a snarl. “Why wait?”

Very good, little demigods. Lupa purrs as they approach.

Percy and Jason circle Lupa carefully, waiting for a chance. Lupa doesn't give them one. Her hind legs coil beneath her and then Percy has a seven foot tall, several hundred pound wolf lunging towards him.

Several months of newly found reflexes kick in past the fog in his head. Percy ducks beneath her front leg, pushes off the balls of his feet and jumps, somehow landing on Lupa’s back. Percy wraps his arms around Lupa’s throat and squeezes. His world narrows down to flashes of fur and lurching movement, faint yelps and then - a very human cry of pain.

Jason?

Percy’s grip loosens. There’s a violent jerking motion and Percy’s flying - or maybe falling - he’s not, he’s not sure.

Percy hits the ground hard, and then there’s nothing at all.

Percy drifts, for a while. He thinks he might be being carried, but the people surrounding him are warm and familiar but it’s easier to just let himself spiral back down into the dark.

Percy wakes slowly. He can smell woodsmoke and cracking his eyelids open gradually brings into focus the rough stone stone ceiling of their cave, lit in flickering shades of orange and black.

There’s a warm weight on his chest. Percy looks down. Jason is sprawled on top of him, head resting on his chest, asleep. Faint puffs of air tickle Percy’s collarbone as his cousin inhales and exhales. They're both covered in an old wool blanket, but Percy spies the neat bandage wrapped around one of Jason's arms.

Welcome back, Perseus.

“It’s Percy,” comes his ingrained response, even as he twists his head to take in a little more of his surroundings. He glances toward the entrance of the cave.

"It's nighttime?" He guesses, based on the lack of sunlight filtering in.

Indeed. You've been unconscious for several hours. Jason was worried.

Percy blinks. Focuses back on his cousin. He’s not really sure what he can say to that, because Percy doesn’t think he’d change his actions at all. He clumsily wraps one of his arms around Jason’s waist.

“What else was I supposed to do?” He mumbles into Jason’s hair. “You hadn’t told us to stop, and we couldn’t run. We won’t always be able to run, so better to go out fighting than give up when there’s still a chance.”

Lupa doesn’t reply for a long while, enough that Percy begins to drift off to sleep again. A hard lesson to learn little one, but one to remember.

[youare-mysonshine]

they say that love is forever || sweet pea

So, it has been quite a while since I’ve written anything, and even then I’ve never written for shows before. I used to only write for WWE (strictly smut cause I’m a horny bitch lmao). So, I wanted to give this a shot. I’m not saying I’m gonna become a full time imagine writer again because if I’m being honest, I’m lazy and this took me forever lmao. There may be mistakes, the layout on desktop might look gross because I did this on mobile. But, I hope that you guys enjoy it. It’s a song fic, inspired by If I’m James Dean, You’re Audrey Hepburn by Sleeping With Sirens. I heard it and it just screamed Sweet Pea. So, enjoy! Oh and gif is not mine!

Pairing: Sweet Pea x Reader

Warnings: None (I think)

Word count: 4k.

Stay for tonight if you want to

I can show you what my dreams are made of

As I'm dreaming of your face.

I've been away for a long time, such a long time

And I miss you there

I can't imagine being anywhere else

I can't imagine being anywhere else but here

It was the late hours into the night when Sweet Pea finally got home from taking care of Serpent business. He was tired, absolutely exhausted. He’d been helping FP with delivering drugs for Penny Peabody and although he’d never say if out loud, the task was definitely taking it’s toll on him. But, he’d never let the Serpent King hang dry. He’d do whatever he could to help. Walking into the darkened and quiet trailer, the tall serpent tried not to make so much noise as to not awaken the person sleeping soundly on his bed. He shed off his jacket, placing it on the coat rack by the door, his black boots followed suit. The tired ebony haired teen walked over to the door separating him from his bedroom and he carefully opened it. It creaked ever so slightly, the hinges a bit rusty. There she was. She wore one of his t-shirts to bed, the same one she wore every night because she said it was her favorite. Her y/h/c hair splayed out all over the pillow, her lips parted ever so slightly. A small smile tugged at his lips that usually fashioned a scowl or a smirk. Her eyes fluttered as if she were dreaming.

  Sweets removed the flannel he wore, alone with the shirt underneath, leaving him shirtless. He then removed his black jeans. Just as he did, a soft and tired sounding voice filled the otherwise quiet room. “Sweet Pea?” He looked over to the culprit and saw his girlfriend sleepily rubbing at her eyes, sitting up. “It’s late. Did you just get back? I was waiting for you but I..” She yawned, her small hand over her mouth. “I fell asleep.” Once the tall teen had gotten his jeans off, he set them off to the side and walked over to his side of the bed. “Yeah, I just got back. It was a long night. I should’ve called you, I’m sorry babe. I was just busy.” He crawled into bed with his girlfriend, pulling the covers over himself. His arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her close to his bare chest. The sleepy female cuddled close to him, sighing on content and relishing in the warmth he provided. “S’okay,” she mumbled sleepily. “I missed you.” She murmured, eyes closing as she descended into slumber once again. His dark eyes took in her features, a deep, sleepy chuckle rumbling in his chest. “I missed you too, princess.” Pressing one kiss to her head, Sweet Pea fell into a deep slumber as well where his dreams were very much full of the beauty sleeping beside him. Despite the long nights spent running drugs for Penny, the comfort he had was knowing he’d get to come home to Y/N.

How the hell did you ever pick me?

Honestly, I could sing you a song

But I don't think words can express your beauty

It's singing to me

How the hell did we end up like this?

You bring out the beast in me

I fell in love from the moment we kissed

Since then we've been history

Many, including Sweet Pea himself, had wondered how someone like Y/N could ever choose someone like him. He was someone who usually used violence as an answer for most situations. He was a hot head who flew off the handle if anybody disrespected him or his family/loved ones. He wasn’t exactly what you considered boyfriend material. He usually only hooked up with girls, never dated. It wasn’t so much as if he was scared to date, but more so apprehensive about opening up to someone. But then she came along. He had been at the Wyrm playing pool with some of the other Serpents when she sauntered in with Toni, a radiant smile on her lips. Right from the get go she had captured his attention. Hell, he spent the rest of the evening trying to impress her with his pool skills, he spent the rest of the evening sitting beside her at the bar, chatting her up, shamelessly flirting with her.  

“It’s a shame we haven’t met before, though I’m not surprised Toni was keeping a pretty girl like you all to herself.”

But y/n was different. She wasn’t just some girl he wanted to spend one hot night with, someone he’d fuck and then likely never talk to again. No. Dare he say it, he wanted to get to know. And get to know her he did. Sweet Pea learned more about her with each day they spent together, and it only served to remind him that she could most certainly do better than him. At least that’s what he thought. One evening he had taken her out for a ride on his motorcycle. It was one of his favorite things to do, something that cleared his head. But with the beautiful female with him, her slender arms wrapped around his midsection, the way her laugh echoed in his ears as the trees and scenery zoomed by them, it certainly beat playing pool at the Wyrm.

Their first kiss happened that night - he had dropped her off at her home and it seemed neither one of them had wanted to leave each other because once he’d turned the motorcycle off, they both got off and just stood there, looking at each other. “This was the most fun I’ve had in a while. I didn’t know riding bitch could be so fun.” She wise cracked. The dark eyed serpent chuckled, leaning against the black machinery. “Yeah well, I guess I had fun too.” Y/N scoffed, a little smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. “You guess? Oh please, Sweets - you had fun. You can’t fool me. I’m amazing company.” The smirk she wore turned into a grin that proved to be so infectious Sweet Pea cracked a smile of his own. “Alright, I did have fun.” And then quiet overcame them both. They stood there, staring at each other, the sound of crickets and glass breaking in the distance echoing around them. “We should.. do this again.. sometime..” The y/e/c eyed female murmured, not breaking eye contact. Neither did Sweet Pea. In fact, he pushed himself off of his motorcycle and took one big step to where she stood, practically towering over her. His index finger hooked into the belt loops of the shorts that she wore and he tugged her body close to his. Her scent invaded his nose - it was intoxicating. “Yeah, we should.” He murmured huskily, voice deep. They stared at each other for a few more seconds before they began leaning in. One hand slithered up to the back of her neck, bringing her face closer to his own. Their lips were practically touching when he stopped.

“Tell me if you want me to stop and I will.” Of course, he’d never do anything to make Y/N uncomfortable, and as badly as he wanted to kiss her, he wouldn’t force her. But instead, her eyes fluttered up, her lips lightly parted. Her chest rose and fell quickly. “Kiss me.” And that was all that he needed to hear. Sweet Pea smashed his lips against hers, her pink and plump lips moving in sync with his. It was everything and nothing he expected. Her arms snaked around his neck, pulling him closer. The hand that rested on her hip slithered under her shirt and his tattooed thumb gently stroked the soft skin. The hand that was resting on the back of her neck served to pull her face close to his, deepening the kiss. The kiss was slow, passionate, totally unlike what he was used too. At the end of the night he usually ended up clashing teeth and biting lips with some girl he took home.

But he knew.

He always knew that y/n was different. Her lips and her kisses were enough to have him wanting more. Enough to have him falling in love with her.

They say that love is forever

Your forever is all that I need

Please stay as long as you need

Can't promise that things won't be broken

But I swear that I will never leave

Please stay forever with me

“Hey Toni.” Y/N walked over to the pink haired beauty who worked behind the bar, a weak smile on her face. Toni looked over at the source of the voice, smiling in return. “Hey y/n. What’s up?” Oh, how to answer that question. The y/h/c haired teen sighed, running her fingers through her hair as she figured out how to formulate the words she was trying to get out. “Have you.. Is.. Have you noticed something off about Sweet Pea?” Toni lifted a brow, looking at her friend for further elaboration. “I mean, has he been acting weird with you? I just.. I don’t know. It’s like every time that I try talking to him, he shuts me out. Every time I wanna make plans to do something with him, he’s busy or he’s tired. The first few times I didn’t mind but this has been going on for a few weeks and I’m just.. I’m worried that he doesn’t want to be with me anymore.” That was a horrible thought for y/n to have on her head but with the way that things had been going in her relationship, was it so out of the ordinary? She and Sweet Pea had been dating for a few months and she wasn’t a Serpent. She was terrified that he had decided he wanted someone who understood him better, someone who he had some more stuff in common with.

Toni frowned at her friend’s words, setting down the rag she had been using to clean the bar. “Y/n, you know that Sweets likes you a lot. He’s probably just got stuff on his mind. Talk to him, try to talk to him one more time before you jump to all these conclusions, okay?” The pink haired female gave her friend a comforting smile, to which y/n returned a small smile of her own. She stood up off of the bar stool she had sat upon. “Thanks, T. Wish me luck and hope that my relationship isn’t over.” With a weak chuckle, she walked out of the bar and headed the short distance to Sunnyside Trailer park. She walked on the dirt, a million thoughts going through her mind about how it would turn out. The y/h/c haired female finally reached the familiar trailer and she could see the lights from the tv through the window. She walked up the steps and knocked on the door. She could hear the sound of footsteps coming to the door and a few seconds later, it opened and her tall boyfriend stood in front of her, staring at her in slight surprise.

“Y/n, what are you doing here?” Sweet Pea asked, leaning against the door frame, arms crossed across his chest. “I came to see you.. Well, that’s partially true, I care to talk to you. Can I come in? Please?” The ebony haired male gave a nod before moving to the side and allowing her to step into the small trailer. She walked over to the couch and sat down, Sweets sitting a few inches away from her. He turned the tv off and silence filled the room, neither one of them saying anything. She fiddled with her thumbs, he sat there staring at the wall across from them. Finally, the silence had been too much to bear and she broke it first. “What’s up with you?”

“What do you mean?” He asked, finally looking over at his girlfriend. Y/n sighed. “I mean, what’s up with you? You’ve been spacing me out for the past couple of weeks and I have no idea what I did. Every time I try to make plans with you, you’re tired or you don’t have time. Is this what you do when you tell me that you can’t hang out? Sit here and watch lame tv shows?” Her words came out harsher than she intended but she was hurt, and she just wanted the truth. Her boyfriend sighed, running his long fingers through his black haired. “Y/n, I can’t talk about this right now-“ She cut him out, scoffing. “And when I want to talk to you, you shut me out. Seriously, Pea. Did I do something? Because if I did, tell me and I’ll try to fix it! Don’t just shut me out. Did you..” she paused, not wanting to say the words. But she did anyway. “Did you meet somebody else?”

His eyes shot to her and he stared at her incredulously. “No! No, what the fuck, y/n? I didn’t meet anybody else. I’m not seeing anybody else but you. You really think that I’d cheat on you?” She rubbed her hands over her face before looking over at him. “Can you blame me for thinking that? You’ve been treating me like I’m not even your girlfriend for the past few days! You either want to be with me or you don’t, Sweet Pea. It’s that simple. Just be honest with me. From the moment we started dating, all I’ve asked for is honesty. That’s it. Talk to me, Pea. Please.” It was eating away at her, not knowing why her boyfriend had been so distant with her, if she had done something wrong, if she was at fault. She wanted so badly to make it work but if he didn’t open up to her and tell her the reason, she wasn’t so sure she had anything to work with.

“It’s not the simple. You wouldn’t understand.” He stated, eyes once again staring at the wall in front of them. She let out a frustrated sigh, fingers running though her hair. “Really? That’s the fucking problem, Sweet Pea. You’re not giving me anything to try and understand. It’s like you don’t trust me and that fucking sucks-“ She had been cut off by her ebony haired boyfriend shooting up from his seat and slamming a hand against the wall, a frustrated ‘fuck’ escaping his lips. Startled by the sudden movements, she jumped slightly, eyes wide and staring at the pacing form of Sweet Pea. “I’m not good at this shit, okay? I’m not good at expressing my feelings. I’m not good at telling people how I feel. I’m not good at this relationship thing. I..” He stopped pacing and turned around to face y/n, except his eyes never quite met hers. “I love you. And I’m scared that I’m gonna fuck it up and you’re gonna realize you can do so much better than me. But it seems like I already did a pretty good job of that.” The world around her seemed completely frozen. The one thing that she has zeroed in on were those three little words she had longed to hear.

I love you.

Part of her had expected that she’d be the one to say it first because she knew that Sweets wasn’t so open with his feelings. But she had never expected that to be the reason why he’d been shutting her out. She was stunned silent, eyes wide and mouth parted. He stared at her, bottom lip worried between his teeth, as he waited for her to say something, anything. But instead of saying something when she finally snapped out of her shocked stupor, she sprang off the couch and raced towards him. She grasped his face between her small hands and brought him down into a searing kiss that showed him one of the reasons why he’d fallen in love with her in the first place. Their lips molded perfectly together, both of them holding tightly onto each other. His hands glided down her waist to her backside where he squeezed before hoisting her up, her legs wrapping around his waist, her arms going around his neck. She pulled away and she said that words he had been waiting for.

“I love you, you dumbass. So fucking much.”

It goes to show, I hope that you know that you are

What my dreams are made of

Can't fall asleep, can't fall asleep

I lie in my bed awake, in my bed awake at night as I dream of you

I'll fall in love, you'll fall in love

It could mean everything, everything to me

I can't imagine being anywhere else

They say that love is forever

Your forever is all that I need

Please stay as long as you need

Can't promise that things won't be broken

But I swear that I will never leave

Please stay forever with me

With a dejected sigh, Sweet Pea rolled over, picked his phone up off of the bedside table and checked the time. The light momentarily hurt his eyes, but once he had adjusted, he saw that it was a little past 2 in the morning. He had been tossing and turning for a while now. Trying to sleep but getting nowhere. Looking to the spot beside him, it was empty, cold. He knew why he couldn’t sleep. He never could sleep when she wasn’t there with him. It was weird, it didn’t feel right. The trailer felt so lonely and empty without y/n. As annoying as it seemed, he was used to her ending up sleeping on top of him at some point of the night.

He was used to her hogging the blanket because she was cold. He was used to her stealing his shirts because she loved wearing them to bed. Unfortunately, he parents had found out she had been sneaking out of her room to go to his place and they had kept a close watch on her since, and that meant she couldn’t stay at his place for a while. It sucked to say the least. Knowing he wasn’t gonna get any sleep anytime soon, the ebony haired teen unlocked his phone and went to his messages, texting the person that was on his mind. 

SP: you awake?

Not even a few seconds later, his phone began vibrating and y/n’s smiling face appeared on his screen. He slid his thumb over the green button and answered, bringing the phone up to his ear. “Hey baby. Can’t sleep either?” He asked, voice husky and low from not having talked for a while. “Nope. I’m so used to sleeping with you in the trailer. My room just feels lonely. I miss you.” Maybe it wasn’t so healthy to be as attached as they were, but Sweet Pea gave not a single fuck. “I miss you too. I’d say to forget your folks’ rules and just come over but I don’t wanna get you into trouble.” He chuckled.

“We’ll see each other in a few hours. Stay on the phone with me until I fall asleep?” She asked, voice soft and melodic. “Yeah, I’m here.” 

And so they had remained talked for about another hour until y/n had fallen asleep, Sweet Pea falling asleep shortly after. Even in the morning, the call was still going. 

The way that we are

Is the reason I stay

As long as you're here with me

I know we'll be OK

The way that we are

Is the reason I stay

As long as you're here with me

I know I'll be OK

It had happened quicker than he could process. One moment he, Jughead, Toni and FP were ushering Fangs from the police department through crowds of angry people, and the next he was pressing his hands to the gunshot wound in his best friends abdomen. Blood stained his hands, colored his skin red and for once, he was actually completely terrified. Utterly terrified that his best friend was gonna die. Y/n had rushed to the hospital where she met up with Sweet Pea who was still covered in his best friends blood, pacing back and forth in the busy lobby. As soon as she was in sight, his arms were around her, holding her close. The tears he'd been trying to hold in had finally escaped, though nobody else saw because his face had been buried in her neck. "What happened, Sweets?" She asked a bit breathlessly, no doubt from rushing to get to the hospital as quickly as she could. He didn't answer for a few seconds, regaining his composure. "Mantle shot Fangs." He murmured, but it was still loud enough for her to hear him.

"What? Is he okay? What happened? Oh my god, Sweets. Are you okay?" She hadn't meant to throw all those questions at him but one of her friends had been shot, her boyfriends best friend had been shot, she just couldn't believe it. "They don't.. They don't know if he's gonna make it." Sweet Pea's voice cracked, and he finally pulled away to look at her, eyes a little glossy. She reached up and wiped at his eyes. "He's gonna be fine. He's gonna make it." She said with such conviction. Even if she didn't believe it, she had to give him some kind of hope. "Look.. Mantle hurt one of us, he didn't just hurt Fangs, he might've killed him. This.. This isn't something we're gonna let slide. I'm telling you because.. I promised you honesty." Y/N didn't like it. In fact, she hated it. The last thing she wanted was for him to get hurt. But she understood. The Serpents were a family, and one of their family members was intentionally hurt. Hell, if somebody ever hurt Sweet Pea, she'd be out for blood.

"Be careful. Come back to me, Sweet Pea. I love you."

To everyone's relief, Fangs had survived the gunshot. He had made it and Y/N couldn't be any happier. Although, the Southside had been at it's worse, what with the brawl between the Ghoulies and the Serpents, a brawl that had ultimately been lost by the Serpents, they were all together, united and stronger than ever. That included Y/N and Sweet Pea. They stood together, his arms wrapped her, her back and head resting against his chest. Everyone was conversing, drinking, smiling and laughing. Most of them had lost their homes when Sunnyside trailer had been burned down, including Sweet Pea, but they had each other. A black leather jacket was resting comfortably on y/n shoulders, and it didn't belong to Sweet Pea. She and Cheryl had been new additions to the Southside Serpents. It was something that had only served to bring her and Sweet Pea closer together.

Pretty soon everyone had gone off to do their own thing, leaving Sweet Pea and Y/N alone. She had spun around in his arms, her own wrapping around his middle while his traveled down to her jeans where he stuck his hands into her back pockets, playfully squeezing her ass. "Look at you, my serpent queen.." He said, a playful smile on his lips. "I'm being honest, I never wanted you to join the Serpents only because I didn't want you getting sucked into all this.. shit. Look at what happened with the Ghoulies.. But, I'm proud of you. I'm proud of us. You've shown me, and the rest of the Serpents loyalty, love and respect. You've proved your place." The words brought tears to y/n's eyes. Yeah, she saw a side of Sweet Pea that not everybody else saw but he had never been so raw, so honest. One hand cupped his cheek, the pad of her thumb smoothing over his bottom lip.

"We're in this together. Forever, you and me. I love you, Sweet Pea."

"I love you too, princess."

[leatherjacketvan]

Coffee Shop Encounter

Summary/Author’s Note: 

I’ve been out of the game for a HOT minute. This isn’t very good but I’m hoping I’ll have better things to come! Thank you for everyone who’s stuck with me and my half-dead account! I appreciate every single one of you! :) 

- H 

________________________________________________________________

You sit down in the same booth. The one in the corner where it’s private, with your usual. Coffee. Black. Two sugars. The cafe you were in was your go-to place whenever you no longer felt like festering in your apartment.

In the beginning, journalism seemed like it was a ‘meant to be’ thing for you. You always loved writing and being able to take a story and make it yours. However, in recent months you found yourself going through a rough patch of writer’s block. Despite all the methods of trying to get out of it, nothing seemed to work. So here you sat. In this cafe you considered trying to write a column about some topic that wasn’t even all that fascinating to you. Your deadline was running thin and instead of coffee you should have highly considered an oolong tea.

Typing away absolute nonsense was one way of getting your brain a little less clustered. But it wasn’t working all that well. You took a heavy sip of your coffee and pushed your glasses back up to the brim of your nose and continued onward to an endless journey of figuring out on the hell you were going to go about writing some meaningless article.

“Hello, love. Someone seems a bit flustered.” you hear a guy with a heavy accent say from across the table.

You let out a little scoff, “Is it that obvious?” you reply.

“I suppose, but I think I can spot it from a mile away these days with all the craziness going on.” he replied “May I sit?” he questioned. You looked up from your computer screen. There he stood. A handsome lanky guy in a button up and skinny jeans. You assumed it was just another one of those classic indie guy in the city who found himself a hole of a coffee shop to reside in. You sighed, not at him, but at the pointlessness of you being there. Completely unfocused. ‘Fuck it, why not?’ you thought to yourself.  

“Knock yourself out.” you replied. He instantly took a seat from the booth opposing you.

“So what’s got you all bugged out, love?” he questioned, calling you love once more. It left you with an unidentifiable feeling in your gut. You didn’t know if you enjoyed it or hated it.

You closed the lid of your laptop. Deciding that you’d engage in the conversation with the stranger from the coffee house. “The usual. Work.” you responded bleakly.

“Ah, I feel you on that one. . . what is it you do?”

“I’m a journalist, currently freelancing from place to place. But I’m a little stuck right now.” you sighed.

You weren’t one for being so open in a conversation. People had given you the reputation of being mysterious and blunt. But you always just went along with it. You didn’t try to play things cool, it’s just how things were for you.

“Writer’s block?” he replied.

“Big time,”

“What’s it on?” he questioned once more.

“I’m writing for some psychology column. Ya know, the ones you find in some random magazine that’s supposed to meet the eye. Thing is, I don’t know anything about psychology.”

“What is it you do like to write about?” the stranger pressed.

It took awhile to conjure up the answer to his simple question.

“Hmmm, history stuff? Not the average boring history you learn in schools. More like things people never got the chance to know. About celebrities, famous artists, all that good stuff. . .” you rambled on, boringly. The dude across from you should’ve been half asleep by now.

“Hmm interesting, I didn’t take you as the type of girl to be some sort’ve insider history buff.” he replied.

“Yeah. . ? So what do you take me as?”

“I don’t think I know the answer to that one, love.”

“I see you here often ya know? Always looking so dead set and determined.” he said.

You’d be lying if you said that didn’t take you by at least a little but of a surprise. You assumed you were just another civilian, no one special. Merely background noise.

“That’s odd. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around here before.” you replied.

“Well maybe it’s because you’re too busy not looking. . .” he smirked.

“Is this supposed to be some sorta wisely worded eye-opener for me?” you replied with a chuckle and another sip of your coffee that was getting colder.

“Maybe,” he replied.

“Take my word as lightly as a grain of salt, love.” he said sliding out from under the booth.

“Leaving so soon?” you questioned with a bit of dry wit.

“I’ve sadly got to head off to the studio and do some brainstorming of my own. I’ll be back another day, I promise. . . name’s Van by the way.” he said. He gave you a flirty smile once more “See you around. . .” he trailed on, waiting for you to interject with your name.

“Y/N” you replied. He gave you a look and you could tell both of your heart rates went up a little bit.

“Well Y/N see you ‘round.” giving you one last glance before he headed out the door.

Once Van had left you opened your computer screen back up. There lie a blank page waiting to be written with a thousand words or less.

“When strangers and attraction meet.”

____________________

Two weeks had passed with your encounter with the unsuspecting Van. You never got a last name. And when he happened to cross your mind (which was an odd amount of times) you still thought of him as the ‘strange guy from the coffee shop’

Since then you’d finished your article for the magazine. You’d made it about the encounter you had and the weird tingle of emotions you felt sitting across from Van. And the odd attraction you felt talking to someone you didn’t know. It happens to a lot of people, which made the subject relatable and news worthy to desperate people who needed the validation that they weren’t alone in feeling like a creep from finding attraction in people they’ll probably never see again. You’d actually met the deadline and it felt good to get that burden of stress off your chest. This time you sat in the coffee shop once again. A change in beverage choice, it was now the oolong tea your body had been yearning for. You were looking back down on your computer screen. Scrolling through email after email from countless job offers. People had really enjoyed your piece. Life was starting to look up a little bit. No more festering in your crappy apartment, you started to get out more, enjoy the city. You found more underground coffee places as well as cool little shops. You even managed to pick up an original Police album that had the catchy song ‘Roxanne’ your father always played in the car during your childhood.

“Y/N!” you heard a familiar voice speak. You looked up to see Van. This time he was wearing a frayed jumper and the same ol’ skinny jeans and ankle boots as last time. His hair was untamed and something about that made him even more attractive.

“Van!” you replied as he took a seat across from you in your favorite booth that lay hidden in the corner.

He sat there for a moment. Just gazing at you. It wasn’t even an uncomfortable feeling. You gazed back.

“How’s the writing going?” he questioned. You thought it was a bit odd however flattering that he even remembered you after the span of two weeks.

“I finished it! Can you believe?” you chuckled, thinking about how stressed out about it you were just weeks prior.

“Of course! It was a great article by the way. . .” he replied. Your face within the second turned ghostly pale.

“You. . . you read it? How did you even-”

“If it’s any consolation. I too ‘find attraction in the alluringly unexpected.’ Which I’m assuming you meant me.” he chuckled.

You regained a sense of self, and tried not the let the embarrassment get to you, you decided within a split second of a moment that you’d use it to you advantage.

“Oh yeah? What makes you so sure you were the one I was talking about?”

The look on his face became a sort of concerning confused.

“Wait, it wasn’t me you were talking about. . .? Well this is embarrassing.”

“I’m only joking. Yeah, it was. Does it look like I socialize with strangers much?” you replied with a shy grin as you looked down at the tea cup in front of you.

“I don’t know. . . But. . . If you want, maybe you could meet me for drinks sometime? Ya know, real brew.” He replied looking down at the table and then back up at you with almost a puppy dog kind of look.

You gave it a moment, looking at him as he was looking at you, there was definitely a connection. Something you hadn’t had in a good while now. It did take too long to agree to his proposition.

“Yeah, I’d like that very much.” you blushed.

“Alright then, well. . . I guess it’s a date.”

“I guess it is. . .”

[let-it-raines]

Love your prompts! If it's still open - CS and baby's first xmas?

I’ve gotten quite a few of these, so if you’ve sent me one, I hope this is okay as the answer, even if it’s not your original ask. Canon is not my cup of tea, but I try and take a few liberties. Also, holy holiday fics, you guys :D

There’s a large tree in their living room, green branches smelling of pine and lit up by multi-colored lights with colorful baubles hanging on the branches. At the top rests a star and at the bottom rests boxes wrapped in colorful paper like the baubles all tied up with ribbons. Above the fireplace there are four red and white stockings, each one respectively inscribed with the names Killian, Emma, Henry, and Hope, and on the front door there’s a wreath, fake red cranberries sticking out of the vibrant greenery. At night, and only at night, there are white lights lit up that are strung across the rooftop, something that caused him a hell of a lot of annoyances and pains until he said screw it and asked Emma to flick her fingers and string the lights so that he wasn’t climbing atop their pointed roof while white snow covered the black shingles.

His entire home looks like festivity vomited on it – a phrase Emma has assured him does not match up with the Christmas holiday – and while a part of him can’t help but think that they’re going to have to take this all down, he mostly thinks that it’s as magical as his family is.

And he means that literally.

His family is actual magic, the kind written about in storybooks and spell books and projected across the television screen in fantasy, but to him, it’s all real.

He didn’t celebrate Christmas in the Enchanted Forest – he definitely didn’t celebrate in Neverland – but there were similar holidays. The firelight festival was held in the winters in certain kingdoms. Candles would be lit to imitate Christmas lights, though no one knew that at the time, and they’d line the streets while people stood outside and sang songs and traded goods and food while drinking ale. It was bloody wonderful the few times he got to celebrate, but he spent most of his winters out at sea, whether he wanted to or not.

But then he came to Storybrooke and met a woman – though he didn’t exactly meet Emma here – and everything changed.

There was no time for holidays his first few years here, not that he would have been invited anyways, but in the last few years, things have calmed and everyone has been allowed to celebrate whichever holiday they please.

What Emma pleases is Christmas.

And he’d do anything to make Emma happy, including stringing lights on the roof of their house and ordering a Santa Suit online so he could play Santa for all of the children in town when no one else would do it. He looks absolutely nothing like whoever Santa Claus is – though he thinks that may be one character who isn’t real – and he’s not sure any of the kids believed it, especially when Alexandra asked why he sounded like Killian.

Last year, Emma had been six months pregnant during December, and she was ready to get a move on things. He can’t begin to count the amount of times he caught her muttering about speeding along the pregnancy, wanting to fit into her jeans again, not having to pee in the middle of the night, and finally, getting to meet their daughter. It was an adventure like all of their other ones, and his quests to the market in the middle of the night to buy her chocolate ice cream only to have to return with pickles instead were a quest if he ever went on one.

But it was always worth it. He’d come home with the goods she wanted, and sometimes she’d eat them, other times she wouldn’t, but it always ending up with them in bed watching late-night television. He thought he knew Emma before, thought there was very little left of her book to be read – though he’d never tire or rereading it and discovering new passages he might have missed the first time – but then during those nights, he’d learn more about his wife than he ever thought possible.

She took to resting against his side, her body pressed against his from shoulder to toes, while his arm wrapped around her waist and either played with the loose strings of her hair or found itself resting on her ever-growing belly. Hope was quite the kicker, always moving around, and they both found comfort in feeling her move. During those late nights, especially around Christmas time, Emma would share a little more insight into how she felt growing up alone, all of the hopes and dreams she had about what Christmas could one day be like. He understood it all, childhood memories of wanting and wishing for more and for different in the back of his mind.

They weren’t in the past anymore. They were in the here in now with a bright future ahead of them, a happy beginning really.

So the things they talked about weren’t always melancholy. Emma would teach him more about the music she likes, varying between Motown and Rock of the past and the Pop music of today. He quite liked the classical, the ones without words, but Emma only liked those for background noise. So they’d take to talking about music or movies or television shows, which always lead to real life stories that gave him peeks into his wife’s mind.

Then, without fail, he’d be weaving her an intricate tale only for him to look down and hear soft snores against his chest.

He’d smile before leaning down and kissing her forehead and her stomach, wishing his loves a good night’s rest while he watched over them both.

But this year Emma is not pregnant, and they have a lively little bundle of energy bouncing around the house. Well, actually, she’s crawling and can prop herself up to stand with a few steps that get a little longer every day. From all the books he’s read, and it was a lot, she’s progressing just fine, if not the slightest bit advanced…or maybe that’s just his thinking. He’s biased, but his daughter is bloody brilliant and has been since the day she was born.

Gods, that was a beautiful moment.

Bloody and loud and uncomfortable, but beautiful.

He hears Emma’s footsteps pad down the staircase. From the way she’s walking, she’s avoiding the creaks, but he knows that she’s still going to hit the one on the left five steps from the bottom. Right on cue, the stair moans and Emma groans before continuing on and coming to stand in front of him. She’s got on naught a thing but one of his old pirate shirts, something she’s taken to sleeping in because the necks allow easy access for breast feeding, and her long thin legs are on full display to his gaze, expanses of creamy skin right before him.

“Killian,” she whispers despite no one else being around, “what are you still doing downstairs?”

He hums before splaying his knees apart and tugging on her (his) shirt before she stumbles forward into the open space, her hands falling against his shoulders and the shirt dipping open in front of him. “Well, I’m playing Santa, and I hear there’s a song out there about mommy kissing Santa Claus.”

Her face scrunches up, and even though he knew it was a joke in bad form, he still had to say it.

“That’s not your best flirting, Mr. Jones.”

“Aye, I know. But I was still kind of hoping you’d kiss me.”

Her legs bend before she settles down onto his lap and her arms wrap around his neck. She’s warm, always so warm except for her damn feet, and he closes his eyes the moment her lips slant over his and his arms begin rubbing up and down her back, tugging her as close as he can get her.

“Merry Christmas, darling,” he whispers when they pull back from each other.

She reaches to the side and pulls his left arm up, placing a kiss against his stump and holding it against her chest while her other hand caresses his stubble. “Merry Christmas, babe. Do you want to come to bed now? The Grinch isn’t going to come and steal our Christmas tree. I think you might be safe.”

He chuckles before leaning into her palm. “I don’t know. Weird things happen here, and I think Hope may lose it if there’s no tree or presents in the morning.”

“She’s not even ten months old. She doesn’t understand the concept of Christmas.”

“But she understands the concept of shiny things and new toys. And we understand the concept of Christmas. Wasn’t it you who said this is more for us than for her?”

“Hmm, I don’t recall.”

“Liar.”

Emma gasps, even if it’s exaggerated, and he rolls his eyes. “How dare you call the mother of your children a thief. And at Christmas time no less. You scoundrel.”

“Dashing rapscallion.”

“Yeah, whatever.” She tugs at his t-shirt collar before leaning down and kissing him again, her lips barely brushing over his. “Let’s go to bed, dashing rapscallion. The real Santa won’t come if we’re down here, and I may have a nice little red surprise waiting for you upstairs.”

He quirks his eyebrow while his body begins to tingle and Emma rises from her perch on his lap.

“Really now?”

“You’ll have to come if you want to find out.”

She begins to walk away and he leans forward to playfully smack her ass, which only makes her sway her hips in a more obvious fashion. Yeah, he loves her a hell of a lot.

“That’s the plan.”

He wakes the next morning to Emma splayed across the entire bed, her head resting over his stomach, and to the sounds od Hope’s babbling through the static of the baby monitor. In the video screen, she’s just sitting up in her crib, but she likely needs to be fed and changed, so he slides out of bed, pulls his pajama pants back up, and wanders down the hall to her nursery. He’s got no clue what time it is, but Henry hasn’t woken to go downstairs to open presents yet, and if it’s anything like last year, he won’t be up anytime soon.

“Hi, little love,” he greets the moment he walks into the room, and Hope’s blue eyes find him almost immediately before she screeches. She’s adorable but holy hell can she make some noises. “Okay, okay,” he soothes, stepping forward and scooping her up so that she’s squirming in his arms, “daddy is just going to change your diaper and get you dressed in the pajamas we bought for mommy, okay? Because it’s Christmas, bug. Yeah, Merry Christmas, Hope.”

Hope doesn’t talk back because, well, of course she doesn’t, but he likes talking to his daughter anyways. One day she’ll be able to speak and she’ll very well talk to him like Henry sometimes talks to him, angry and dismissive and pissed that he said no to staying out until three in the morning. But right now, wishing he’d thought to put his brace on to help hold her down, she babbles as he changes her, and he’s content to listen to her little noises. He quite loves her little sounds, and as much as he loves watching her grow and watching the milestones, he kind of wants it to all just…stop.

He doesn’t want her to grow up. He wants to be able to hold her in his arms forever and listen to her squeals and dress her in pajamas with a tail on her bottom likes she’s a human reindeer.

Ten years ago, if he’d had a thought like that, he would have assumed he was delusional and dying, but it’s not ten years ago. It’s here and now, and while he’ll gladly challenge anyone who dare hurts his family, he’ll also gladly be gushy and sentimental for his family. He wasn’t sentimental, or at least he claimed not to be, for so long, and now his treasure chest isn’t simply a box of things. It’s a home of memories.

Once Hope is changed and dressed, her blonde curls pinned back with a bow, he walks her down to he and Emma’s bedroom, quietly sneaking in and getting back under the covers while Emma slumbers away…until Hope squeals again and gets her chubby hands on Emma’s face.

“Hi, baby,” Emma sighs, her eyes almost instantly transforming from terrified to affectionate. She moves the comforter, the blankets rustling, making sure that it’s still covering her bare chest until her hands are free and she’s sitting up against the headboard. “Did daddy come take care of you while I was sleeping? Yeah? That’s because I put him in a good mood last night.”

“Swan,” he chastises, though no part of him means it.

“She’s a baby, Killian. She doesn’t know what sex is. It’s not like having Henry in the room. We can’t traumatize her like that yet.”

“I know.” He leans over and kisses his wife’s head before pressing a kiss against Hope. “When should we wake Henry up? I know he’s sixteen, but the lad sleeps like a rock.”

Emma hums beside him, still rocking Hope on her lap while their daughter continues to touch all of Emma’s face. “Let me enjoy some cuddles with this little reindeer, nice choice by the way, before we go wake him up. We’ve got to get our stuff done before we head over to mom and dad’s.”

They end up waking Henry around seven, and for someone who has not been a fan of waking up before noon on his break from school, he shoots out of his bed pretty quickly, ambling down the hallway with a determination in his eyes that must be some kind of Christmas thing. He practically bounds down the stairs until Emma stops him, handing over Hope and claiming that she needs pictures of the two of them coming downstairs to see what Santa brought. Henry grumbles a bit before Hope slobbers over his face, and then he smiles down at his sister and talks to her, telling her all about Santa and Christmas while trying to get her to pose for the camera. It’s a disaster, but he’s sure that he and Emma will treasure the pictures and memories regardless.

Henry rips through his presents almost instantly, his face lighting up with excitement over the new laptop they bought him for his writing. Of course, he knows that the lad will likely use it to watch Netflix, but maybe some actual writing and work will be done.

“Thank you, guys,” Henry gushes, getting up and hugging Emma’s neck before he moves to come hug his.

“You’re welcome, my boy,” Killian whispers into Henry’s ear while patting his back. “I think there are some other things under the tree for you, too.”

“I know, but I already know what all of those are.”

“Kid,” Emma chuckles, wrangling Hope in her lap, “what the hell? Did you sneak peeks?”

“No, but you ordered them on Amazon, and it’s hooked up to my email.”

Emma’s mouth gapes open while Henry smirks, and Killian throws his hands up in the air. “See, darling, modern technology is bloody wonderful, but if we’d gone to the store, none of this would have ever happened.”

She huffs in response before looking down at Hope. “Your daddy and your brother are ruining Christmas, and you’re just happy to be playing with the wrapping paper. They should be more like you.”

“She’s a baby, mom.”

“Yeah, well, you’re my baby, too.”

“Mom,” Henry whines, but he smiles anyhow.

The rest of their morning is a blur of red and green wrapping paper being tossed around and thrown away, toys and books and clothes scattered all across the living room. It looks like a tornado has blown through, but for one day, he won’t bother to clean up right away. He’s just going to enjoy this time with his family.

They get Hope several sets of new clothes, none of which she cares about, and several new toys, all of which she cares about for ten minutes before moving on. Meanwhile Henry is sitting in the recliner messing with his computer, mumbling under his breath as it chimes in his lap. Emma opens her gifts, a myriad of clothes and books as well as some Granny’s gift cards. They’re not a thing, but he convinced the Widow Lucas to make them a thing for Emma. But then she opens a small box filled with a diamond necklace, and her eyes light up.

“Killian, we weren’t supposed to do any nice gifts like this.”

“Aye,” he scratches the back of his head and smiles down at her, “I know. I just saw it and thought you’d like it. And that maybe one day you’d go back to wearing necklaces again.’

“Will you,” she begins, scooting over on the couch so that her thighs press against his, “will you put it on? Hope will probably yank it off, but at least for this moment.”

She hands him the silver chain before sweeping her hair over her neck, the thick blonde strands all falling to one side. It takes some maneuvering, but it’s nothing he’s not capable of, and he gets the chain to clasp behind her neck, pressing a soft kiss just below where it rests.

“Beautiful,” he sighs, and Emma smiles. They both know he’s not talking about the necklace.

Though it is a damn beautiful necklace. He has become quite adept at gift giving if he says so himself.

He eventually gets around to opening his own gifts, some sea charts from Henry. He says they’re vintage, which is Henry’s way of saying they’re old, and Killian sometimes wonders if that’s how Henry describes him to his friends…as vintage. Emma’s bought him some new clothes, some of them too bloody bright for his liking, as well as a telescope and new vacuum. Henry practically falls out of his chair laughing at him being excited over a new vacuum, and that’s when he promptly tells Henry that the lad can use it to clean all of this up tonight.

And then maybe he’ll use Henry’s new laptop to “Netflix and chill” with Emma.

Both Emma and Henry gasp, but he chuckles along with Hope. She has no idea what’s going on, but her little baby laugh makes the entire room melt and forget that he just scandalized both mother and son.

Possibly.

Henry may remember that forever.

After all is said and done, it’s a wonderful Christmas morning with just the four of them in their home before they’re all on their way to different houses and celebrations with the complex, wonderful family to which they belong.

“So,” Emma asks, coming to stand next to him and wrapping an arm around his waist while Hope is snuggly perched on her opposite hip, “was operation baby’s first Christmas a success?”

He leans down to kiss her hairline, lingering a tad bit too long and letting the scent of her shampoo and flowery perfume invade his senses. “It was perfect.”

[tomioneer]

the yyh marathon continues 10 with episodes 31-33

CHU CHU CHU CHU

no, I’m not making train noises

he’s amazing.

i love chu’s stupid hair, I really do. it’s so fun to like, watch move around 

10/10 would date someone with that style ponytail. not the mohawk though, that’s too tall.

better and bigger and BUFFER than I remember damn son

speaking of sons.

soft yusuke

pure, blessed, angel baby yusuke

you’ve realized by now, of course, that I prefer his hair down, but did you ALSO KNOW that i prefer this child is garishly bright coats

no wonder I love napping!yusuke so much and remember these early matches so fondly despite what horrible shit the other kids go through

reminder that they are ALL children

except for rinku. honestly, in retrospect, presumably full-demon rinku is probably older than any of them? 

except for kurama. because. youko.

hiei is somewhere between actually fourteen in human years and like. 300 in demon years, probably.

I feel like kurama, an apparently four tailed fox (I maintain this is a lie, as kitsune can willfully appear to have less tails than they actually possess) is like. four or five hundred human years old at least

koto is a standard kitsune, by the way--transforms into a pretty girl, has one tail in her human form, and is a red fox.

I digress.

chu. chu is an adult. chu is not fourteen, so I can enjoy his shirtlessness without any qualms

koto,  oh my god: “well, they’ve burned their skin, shortened their breath, and somehow lost their shirts. altogether I’d call it a successful fight!”

relatable

they’re laughing, and it’s honestly adorable. 

they’re not hysterical, koto, they’re bonding. 

yusuke used to fight because he had nothing better to do and nothing worth staying out of trouble for, to his perception. maybe he thought it better to get killed in a fight than end up like his mom??? I can’t say

and he certainly never understood keiko’s vested interest in him

he fell in love with that kind of fighting, the carefree brawls where he always came out on top, and used them as a way to prove himself

but now he understands fighting at another level entirely, where his life really is in danger, and the stakes are higher than he’d previously imagined they could be. this isn’t about territory or revenge, he’s been saving lives

and he loves it, and so does this random stranger he’s ended up fighting

of course chu comes back as an ally later

he’s one of the first people yusuke’s ever understood on such a resonant level

thanks for the dramatic preview, kurama, but I really wouldn’t call them perfectly matched

in a fight bewtween two people of equal skill, the bigger one usually wins

or so says anita blake in laughing corpse, a book I havne’t read in ten years lol

so I have a thing for supernatural detectives, sue me

I ran out of ice cream ten episdes and 2 days ago. in retrospect, It hought I was going through these episodes faster than that

knife-edge death match

why is he australian

have I asked that yet, because I’m asking

koenma doens’t like the sound of that but I rmember how this goes and I LOVE IT

shizuru makes a dick measuring joke

watching chu remove his shoes is my new sexuality

btw if you don’t know what ‘toe off your shoes is’ in fanfiction, please watch this sequence because chu does it and yusuke does not

yusuke, I will say again, is a CHILD

yusuke loves the rules of this fight and if it weren’t amanga where he’s not aloud to use the same sort of fight more than once for fear of boring readers, I guarnatee ytou yusuke would do this more often

I can’t believe yusuke and chu are both just standing there in that position waiting with their feet on the sharpened edges of knife blades while the cimmitte decides whether or not a death match is allowed in a death match

yusuke is so small

ominous dark clouds that I missed bc I was typing lol

boys just punch okay

oooh and they even light the fight fo us, interesting

koenma somehow doesn’t recognize someone he knows and has known for years, according to the genkai tournament arc.

yusuke has to reach a lot farther to hit chu

karasu showed up like the little bitch he is

are those tiny eyeglasses on his mask, because if so that is BEYOND STUPID

karasu has a crush on yusuke, I know because his eyes shone and he’s gay

no, I don’t ship it

I could almost ship yusuke and chu though lol

I DO half-ship chu and koto

what the hell, I count them both

ship count: 6/400

kuwabara: I could watch them fight for hours... 

keiko, immediately: I can’t watch them fight anymore!

knowing how this match ends really makes it funny that  the dub, when those plant zombies showed up, had yusuke ask Kurama if he should headbutt them  

shizuru makes an totally unacceptable, but still funny, joke about yusuke having died once already (because they don’t know he pretty much died a second time against rando, and a third time against suzaku)

keiko runs off and shizuru chases her

is this why shizuru meets sakyo? he left his viewing room earlier so I bet it is

I remember shipping them as a kid, let’s see how that goes this time

this is pretty cool actually

she dresses like a first calss gay, honestly

I wishi I could pull that sort of look off

SAKYO hey who guessed he’d show up here , not me

he is beautiful

I actually forgot that this whole time, my favorite fight was going on

I can’t beleive keiko actually got into the fighter’s area and made it onto the field that girl is fucking unstoppable

Keiko, crying: Kuwabara, you have to make them stop fighting!

Kuwabara, clueless: no way, why would I wanna do that?

classic

I read a theory online that kuwabara used to be friends with keiko and yusuke when they were all little, and it has totally changed the way I see it whenever these two interact.

kuwabra genuinely tries to explain this fighter’s mindset to a noncombatant. he is a good, patient boy

yusuke is loving this fight

so is chu

rinku’s internal observations are completely different in the subtitles, saying that chu still has something hidden up his sleeve and it waitinf or the right time to use it, where in english he says that hie wishes the reast of team urameshi had given such a good fight, so rinku could have ‘given his yo-yo a workout’ which is a terrible euphemism for... using his yo yo weapons.

I’m surprised we haven’t gotten more shots of their feet against knives, bleeding

as I went  to type that, we get the first shot of exactly that, as yusuke goes in for his own headbutt to counter chu’s

which was aparently the ‘secret weapon’ rinku meant in the subs

yusuke has beautiful eyes

chu’s head BROKE THE FLOOR

yusuke called chu mate, I dig it

yusuke and kuwabara are cute and gay

oh, they are extra gay when they do sidehugs

I can’t believe that of this whole team only two people are left

yusuke is my hero

he just yelled loudly enough to shup up the entire arena of spectators

“if you idiots got something to say, say it! but say it to my face, or else say it to my fist.” 

that’s a badly written but highly epic and kickass line

I have NO IDEA what chu just said because the audio broke and he has am AUSTRALIAN ACCENT

son of a--

the narrator just fucking punned

yusuke flipped off the toguro kyoudai, and the screen does the dramatic stylized freeze, and the narrator goes, “yusuke may be flippant now”

YOU SUCK

but also it’s a good joke I hate it

where did keiko go during the dramatic pan over the team anyway, she was down there with them.

I rewound and she is Not There.

WHYYYY did they even make Chu say anything??? he doesn’t in the japanese version, there are no subs for him

I really miss the old ED. I love the images for this one, the keiko focus. but. it doesn’t have the same energy. it’s not a jam

now that I thinka bout it, the photograph at the end of that ED could only have been taken in universe on the return trip from the tournament, so I should never have worried that hiei or kurama or kuwabara actually died.

I’m so glad for this arc if only because it’s means all these casual clothes for our cast, and I love that

look how high wasted yusuke’s jeans are, I love it, Ireally do. BOYS , wear high waisted jeans.

during purely internal monolgue, dub yusuke gives a fraction of the information sub yusuke gives by just saying “damn it” instead of “I can’t focus my reiki, why??”

kuwabara’s outside, coincidentally passing by where yusuke is, because hs’ not psychic and ISN’T LOOKING FOR HIM cuz he’s not gay

look, I realize I’m calling yusuke and kuwabara gay a lot. I don’t mean literally gay. 

they are obviously bisexual, or pan, or demi.

I just mean they fall under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella, which is in my region frequently shortened to “gay”

Kuwabara immediaetly ruins my theory by straight up admitting to looking for yusuke and wondering why he wasn’t left a note

kuwabara (paraphrased): I wanna have a team meeting

yusuke, a smarty who already knows he ain’t straight: have a meeting with yourself, then. you’ll learn a lot.

kuwabara, who clearly needs more time: what does that mean?

justas I was about to say tha tI couldn’t beleive they just--left genkai in the room alone, we see that genkai is actually stalking her student now that she’s bored of intimadting kuwabara

we just--that’s the ichigaki team

those poor men

those three poor, wonderul men

I remember nothing about those two demon members of the team but now I’m getting flashes of--delaying hiei and kurama?

thank you kurama, you nerd, for bothering to do research on the next team

yusuke, who now trains on his own time even after running out of reiki: why am I so damn tired?

is this. a filler villain? or did togashi really come up with a character who manifests rubgy balls and calls himself rugby

WHY is the dub so far off the sub right now? there’s no lip flap to match!!

this is awful

buys a fucking gymnast

well he lasted for three minutes before getting killed by his own teammate

GENKAI SPEAKS BLESS HER

oh man yusuke thought is was genkai and is now confused as fuck by this young voice amazing

but why the fuck does she sound young, when she hasn’t exerted herself at all that day

she just, fucking tells them about hiei fucking up his arm

baby YOU KNEW you were making that trade, you KNEW

botan looks a lot like sailor moon right now

keiko confimrs that she is aware yusuke has the hots for her, but also that she can see how happy he is here in the tournament

shizuru’s ass is AMAZING

it’s shocking to think neither hiei nor kurama could tell toguro was alive when they were just a room away from him

why are yususke’s eyes glowing

that whole team is huge, how did rugby even make it on that team lol

‘don’t you have a team?’ “of course I do, but they’re extremely lazy” amazing.

I mean, we know they brothers are famous, but it makes so much more sense WHY they are famous--having previously WON the dark tournament

I wouldn’t be opposed to a movie or something about that tournament, honestly. I want to se more of toguro when he was human. 

I wonder how genkai feels weatching him do this

toguro is sort of like an early saitama, if you strip away personality. their drive at this point is similar from what I know of OPM. 

okay so the dub has creepy-possessive implcations thanks to toguro saying (about yusuke) “that boy is reserved for me”. the SUB on the other hand--toguro just says, ‘it’s a bad day to be a large guy, huh?’ which is fucking. amazing. bold. iconic.

yusuke is sitting next to the previous LOVE of toguro’s LIFE, and he doesn’t even notice her. just yusuke. I guess amask really can hide everything?

I’m stunned they aren’t having more trouble  about sittin ght eaudience that was calling for their blood yesterday.

of course yusuke and his friends have to deal with an extra match lol. 

okay but what’s up with this reigun thing. I don’t remember it at all. 

I guess we just really need to see genkai fight.

i do love and admire her a lot.

on the other hand, I do NOT want to see the vs. dr. ichigaki fight. I remember it pretty well I think? and it was just so--upsetting. 

did we uh. ever get a NAME for the younger toguro brother???

[squishteen-blog]

Sorry Mom (Jeonghan Fluff + Suggestive)

A/N: Just a couple things. One, sorry mom tattoo parlor is real and i’m not saying thats the tattoo parlor I just thought it was a cute name. two, I have rewritten this three times and it’s not my best, but I just couldn’t get myself happy with the smut to its just suggestive.. sorry.,, its mainly cute shit,,, sorry.

There was something that caught your eye when you saw Jeonghan. And no, it wasn’t his tattoos that leaked out of the corners of fabric in magnificent colors and designs. Although, you would be lying if you said they didn’t pique your interest; you definitely noticed the calligraphy on a patch of skin near his wrist that said, “Live the Life” and the micro sized bird cage that was placed delicately along his pointer finger. You wondered what he saw in you.

The two of you could not look more different from one another, he was rough around the edges with stories written on his skin, heart on his sleeve (literally). You could only hope to one day be as bold, to live as freely and not keep secrets locked up in your ribcage so compact you could swear you could hear them rattle where you moved too quickly. And you supposed that may be the reason why you had a tendency to stay put, to keep your feet planted for so long that roots learned to grow through them. It was not completely inviting to condemn your life to the soot it had grown accustomed too, so you also assumed maybe that was why you gave Jeonghan your number.

However, it is much more difficult than you initially anticipated to break free of the plants that have grown from the ground beneath you and through you. Because when he sent you a text asking you at three am on a Thursday night to hang out it was second nature to say no. But then he sent you, “Who cares if it’s three am, live a little!” And then you came to the realization that you have been in the same spot for so long that you weren’t living, that life was simply growing through you. That the flowers that grew in between your toes were only supposed to help you blossom and not continue to prosper just to leave you and the dirt and mud.

And so you asked him where, and he said he would pick you up right now, and so you asked him where again, and he didn’t respond via text instead he parked his white Mustang outside your apartment complex and waited, and when you got in the car you asked him where for the last time (with your cheeks growing an unhappy color of red), and he turned up the radio. It was playing Different State of Mind by Kid Bloom, you thought coincidences like this only happened in storybooks. And what you were in the mood to do tonight should never be mentioned to children much less written in storybooks.

When you first met Jeonghan, briefly he told you he was a tattoo artist and that was all you really knew. That wasn’t entirely true, he had also told you that he “would love to take you out for dinner, but only if there would be absolutely no games played in the process.” He was a realist, compulsively so. And he liked to rip the poetic and complex right out of you. It was nice not always thinking in riddles.

“Are you hungry,” Jeonghan asked you, keeping his eyes steady on the road, “Be honest.” One of his hands lightly grasped the stick shift. It had been awhile since you had been in a car that had a stick shift.

“Honestly, no.” Normally you would have said yes, it wasn’t fair to ruin Jeonghan’s spur of the moment date like this. You weren’t a monster, you had noticed that Jeonghan liked to keep mysterious and you didn’t want to kill that. Maybe you couldn’t help yourself.

But to your surprise he answered only one word, keeping his mysterious aura ever so in tact (and thank god for that because a man’s ego was ever so fragile). “Good.”

You weren’t sure how long you drove, partially because it was so easy to get lost in the night sky, but realistically you were just tired. But then you arrived, it was a small building and the lights that spelled out the place you were about to enter were pretty self explanatory. The lights were dimmed out meaning the store was closed. But the childlike excitement that glinted in Jeonghan’s eyes were telling you that that would not deter anything in any way. Excitement that was ever so contagious had a way of settling the nerves in your throat. Sorry Mom Tattoo Salon. Oh, what a name.

“Have you ever gotten one?” Jeonghan turned to you, all mysteriousness deterred, now he looked like a kid in a candy shop.

“No. Have you?”

He laughed it was sweet and innocent, which made you giggle in return. Maybe he was softer than you originally thought. “So I don’t have to worry about a secret ass tattoo?”

“Maybe you will after tonight.” You got out of the car, despite a large part of your brain yelling at you to stay in. This would be of hell of a night.

The shop itself was rather modest, different tattoos were hung along the walls like paintings in an art gallery, but that was about as extravagant as it got. Two rooms branched out from the main one you entered, and Jeonghan led your hand delicately into one. They say that eyes are the windows to the soul, but once you entered the room you realized you didn’t have to stare deep past Jeonghan’s pupils to understand him.

The room was minimalistic with nothing really in it except a deep red chair and a tattoo machine. The room had cream colored walls which made the entire atmosphere seem a lot older than what it actually was. Jeonghan was a simple man, he said what he thought and didn’t let things brew deep inside of him. And oh, how admirable that was. “How adventurous are you feeling tonight?” He asked, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

“Well, I let a stranger take me to a building that dishes out regret and now I’m contemplating allowing them to stick a needle in me.”

“Have you ever thought about getting a tattoo? Where would you put it?”

“I need to be able to hide it, I don’t know if my mom would love it if I visited with a new face tattoo of a wolf or something.”

“What about a small, small, tattoo. Right here.” He touched the inside of your thigh, your brain once again warned you to bat the hand away, but you didn’t for whatever reason.

You sat down in the tattoo chair, the leather was cold against you back causing goosebumps to appear on exposed skin. “Would it hurt?” You asked him quietly, he loomed closely, carefully grasping onto each word as they left your lips.

“I’ll be real sweet right beforehand, and then you’ll be too warm and fuzzy to notice.”

“What are you going to do?”

It wasn’t intense magnetic attraction, instead you saw a glimpse of nerve bubbling inside of Jeonghan. He was nervous to touch you, like he was thinking of what exactly to do to not lose control. And then he kissed you. Soft lips fluttered over yours, hesitant to move at first, but when you placed a hand on his cheek he smiled into the kiss and continued with newfound attraction.

Jeonghan wasn’t the artsy type, but the way he kissed you was its own form of poetry. You were not made out of glass and you were not fragile, but he treated you so gently. With soft palms and softer fingertips that traced down your skin, trying to memorize as much as he could in the allotted time. It was like you two had transferred into glass, so smooth and consistent until you turned into one.

And then his fingers wandered lower, tracing the hem of your jeans, slowly rising up your shirt. When he got the fabric off of you after what felt like much too long he pulled away from the kiss to take off his own clothes. He spread your legs apart and pushed you back to recline in the chair. He placed kisses along the soft skin of your legs, taking his time to leave a mark wherever he pleased. And then he finally reached where all your tension had been building up.

Only he stopped. And looked at with with his deep colored eyes, “May I?”

You nodded your head, and Jeonghan went to work.

[xfanfics]

Destiel Fic Rec List Part 4

Last Updated in October 2014. Posted in May 2020 for posterity. Header graphic used with permission.

This list contains: 33 fics.

Other Destiel Rec Lists: Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4.

-----

Casturbatus Interruptus by gaugbrojotr

E | 6k | Canon!verse, Hot, , PWP

post-9.01, in a slight AU wherein Cas comes to live with the Winchesters at the Bunker. Written before 9.03. Crossposting from Tumblr. Written for a prompt from hightopsandsharpies: "Okay, so Cas is a virgin, and has no idea what pleasure is and Dean decides to show him and Cas gets all cuddly and needy afterwards. Dean walks in on Cas masturbating. He’s doing it all wrong, but when you’re a bazillion-year-old virgin, that’s to be expected. Dean decides to lend him a hand in a totally platonic, non-romantic way. Things get a little out of control.

 that awkward moment when... by highermagicv

E | 7k | Hot, wing!Kink

All in all, with a full tank of gas and his radio turned up loud, Dean was in a pretty damn good mood. All that vanished into shock and concern when the sky lit up like daylight, as though someone had decided that black was so passé for nighttime.

 This Temporary Flesh and Bone by misachan

E | 5k | Canon!verse, h/c, wing!kink

Castiel doesn't serve Dean, fine, Dean has no problem with that - he just wants to know why Castiel's showing up in his dreams again.

What a fabulous little Fic. Very emotional. S4 cas is my FAVORITE.

 Only Fools Rush In by baka_sensei

E | 18k | Canon!verse, soulbond

Dean does something and in angelic tradition that means he's become Castiel's fiancé. Dean doesn't know if he wants to get married, but he doesn't want to let Castiel down either. Cas lets his feelings run away with him, Gabe is a total dick, Sam is concerned, and Dean has to make a choice.

 Learning Curve by blualbino

T | 1k | Fluff, Canon!verse

Cas has nice lips. They’re soft looking. Plush even. Dean can do this.

 Dinner At Katz's by nanoochka

E | 2k | Hot, canon!verse

Dean might have to teach Cas how to have a When Harry Met Sally-esque orgasm, but he certainly doesn’t have to fake it.

 Free With His Hands by watermaline

E | 2k | canon!verse, handprint!kink

The first time it happens, Dean chalks it up to…well, he doesn’t chalk it up to anything, he’s too busy coming his brains out in his jeans with Castiel’s hand on his shoulder.

 Desecrate that Sanctuary by brokentoy

E | 3k | Hot, Alt!Canon Verse

Dean develops a fascination with Cas' bones.

 What Once Was Sacred by saltandbyrne

E | 55k |  Hot,  AU, Cop Dean, DJ Cas

Los Angeles detective Dean Winchester works tirelessly to atone for the sins of his father one case at a time. When his best friend Charlie drags him to visit Sam at his new job, Dean stumbles onto a bizarre string of deaths that brings him uncomfortably close to his past.Dean can't stop thinking about Castiel, an enigmatic DJ who plays the sexiest music Dean's ever heard. A chance encounter at Castiel's house reveals that Castiel is an incubus, and Dean must face the lies and the reality of his childhood as a hunter. Dean comes to see that he and Castiel have more in common than he thought, and that guilt can be the hardest thing to cast aside.

 Freefall by LastKnownWriter

E | 128k | Hot, Fluff,  AU, Teacher Dean, Firefighter Cas

AU. The most exciting kindergarten teacher Dean Winchester's life ever gets is when he plays mechanic in his uncle Bobby's shop on the weekends. That is until a birthday party goes tequila-nova and he trips into a one-night stand with an incredibly hot firefighter named Castiel. Dean's life gets a lot more exciting after that.

 The Best Years of Our Lives, My Ass ❤ by ireallyhatecornnuts

E | 110k | Hot,  Fluff,  HS AU but not really,

AU after Season 8, episode 6, "Southern Comfort." Dean goes to sleep in a motel room in Texarkana, and he wakes up 17 years old, in his childhood bedroom in Lawrence, Kansas, 1996. He has no idea how he got there, why his parents are still alive, why his brother is an adorable freshman with no memory of his adult life, and why the only ally he has in this place is the angel he left behind in Purgatory – somehow also 17 years old. They have to get out, that's the important thing. Only, falling in love with his angel wasn't a part of the plan....

It's like a HS AU... but better! I love how Dean is given a second chance at growing up, and Cas gets to engage with his humanity is painfully familiar ways. Some homophobia from non-central characters.    

  deus ex nihilo by Valyria

E | 7k | AU, dubcon, god cas

Lost on an uncharted island, Dean Winchester is captured by the local villagers and offered up as a sacrifice to their winged god. Castiel takes one look at Dean and decides he wants him for a mate.

 Twist and Shout ❤ by gabriel

E | 97k | Angst,  AU, Main Character Death

What begins as a transforming love between Dean Winchester and Castiel Novak in the summer of 1965 quickly derails into something far more tumultuous when Dean is drafted in the Vietnam War. Though the two both voice their relationship is one where saying goodbye is never a real truth, their story becomes fraught with the tragedy of circumstance. In an era where homosexuality was especially vulnerable, Twist and Shout is the story of the love transcending time, returning over and over in its many forms, as faithful as the sea.

Do I really need to say anything? Twist and Shout is one of my favorites simply because it made me bawl. Didn't love the characterization, but I still liked it overall.

��Angel Slayer by emwebb17

E | 138k | Jensen/Misha, Mystery, AU

FBI Special Agent Jensen Ackles tracked a serial killer dubbed the Angel Slayer for six months in Washington, DC—the murderer was vicious, depraved, carved the names of angels into the victims’ chests…and eluded capture. Over eight years later, a murder in small Elton, NH has too many similarities for Jensen to ignore. Paired with a green agent, Jared Padalecki, Jensen travels to Elton to solve the case that has been haunting him for nearly a decade. In the course of the investigation the agents come across a local police officer named Misha Collins—who may have a deadly connection to the Angel Slayer.

 Carry On ❤ by TamrynEradani

E | 148k | Hot,  AU, Sub!dean, Dom!Cas

 When Sam gets into Stanford, Dean needs a bigger paycheck than Bobby's garage can give him. Luckily, he knows a guy.

Forget 50 Shades of Grey, they should make this fic into a movie! Even if you are not a fan of Sub!Dean, give this fic a shot, because it is nearly perfect.    

 Glasses by Samanthapin

E | 9k | Fluff, High School AU, punk!cas, nerd!dean

Teasing turns flirting turns dating turns grossly soppy boyfriends

 beer and bacon happy hour by outpastthemoat

G | 2k | canon!verse, s8

The problem is that Dean’s been having good ideas all night. “No one insults the trenchcoat,” Dean says, and drives his fist into the other dude’s face. Dean figures he was bound to run out of good ideas eventually.

 Hard Road ❤ by aleishapotter

E | 54k | Canon!verse

Dean discovers a few truths about himself when he and Cas are forced to go undercover on a hunt to the very last place Dean ever thought he'd find himself: a gay resort called "Last Hope" that is geared towards helping troubled homosexual couples repair their relationships. This fic is hilarious and hot--my favorite things.  

 Dean Smith Verse by TamrynEradani

E | 17k | Hot,  BDSM, AU, Sub!Dean

 Dean Smith is a man of routine. Castiel takes him apart.

Bratishka: Little Brother by Valyria

E | 33k | Cop AU, Cop Dean, Lawyer Cas

Dean thinks he knows pretty much everything there is to know about his best friend Castiel Novak - he's a smart, gorgeous DA who probably lets Dean get away with more than he should to see the bad guy locked up - but it turns out Cas is hiding some dark family secrets.

 the way to a man's heart by mkhunterz

M | 15k | Fluff,  Canon!verse

Dean teaches Cas to cook, and other things as well.

 Branded by garrisonbabe

E | 12k | | canon!verse, soul bond, marking/claiming

Michael mocked Castiel, telling him he'd never get Dean the way he truly wanted. No matter the mark on Dean's soul, he'd never get him the way the archangel could take him. Dean finds a ritual that fixes that and a few other issues.

 Our Bodies, Posessed by Light by obstinatrix

E | 39k | canon!verse, sastiel bromance, Fluff

Purged of all his souls, Castiel is a changed being, stronger than an angel and too powerful for Jimmy's body to contain. Happily, there's an archangel's vessel on hand, and he could use fixing, too. Dean isn't too happy about the idea of his brother acting as a vessel for Castiel, and Sam can guess why, but it isn't until Castiel gets inside his head and they learn to share the vessel -- and their thoughts -- that Sam realises Cas is as in love with Dean as Dean is with him. It's unfortunate that there's nothing much to be done about it now, but Castiel will get another vessel soon. The Winchesters will make damn sure of that. In the meantime, it's up to the three of them to establish their own strange accord, and Dean realises more fully than ever that it's Castiel, and not his vessel, that he loves.

So Glad We Made It  ❤by scaramouche

M | 16k | Fluff,  AU

At twelve years old, Dean makes a friend, who becomes his best friend, who will eventually become the love of his life.    

Oh, the best friends who grow up together AU. I have a soft spot for fics like these-- comes with pining, awkward misunderstandings, and a good basis for a realistic relationship.    

 Shut Up (Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is) ❤ by kototyph

E | 23k | Fluff,  college au

Dean's done some pretty stupid things, but getting drunk-hitched in Vegas to a colleague he barely knows might just take the cake. His surprise husband, Castiel, is a little weird but likable despite that, and Dean figures they’ll go back to Boston, get a quiet annulment, and go their separate ways. Six weeks later, he’s still married to one of the strangest, most genuine and definitely most dangerously lov-- likable guys he's ever known. Dean doesn't know why or really even how it’s happening, but it’s getting harder and harder to remember that he has divorce papers to file.

FLUFF EVERYWHERE! This is definitely a feel-good fic and I love reading it when I'm sad. Or just you know, whenever.

 But the Fire is So Delightful by kototyph

E | 5k | Hot, hate then love, College AU

Apparently, it’s been snowing all day. [Dean is a Douchebag Fratboy with a Cherry Ass, Castiel is Angry and Aroused]

 Stitches by askance

T | 23k |  Fluff, h/c, blindness, Canon!verse

Castiel survived Leviathan--but only barely. Vessel mauled and eyes destroyed, Cas is barely clinging to what's left of his grace when Dean finds him naked and alone on the reservoir's edge; in a panic, Dean brings him home to the cabin where he and Sam have been holed up off the grid. What follows is the slow process of the angel's recovery and the unexpected changes that come with his being blind, and in the three months this takes, their little family slowly begins to patch itself back together in forgiveness, love, and darkness.

 When Charlie Met Cas by riseofthefallenone

E | 25k | Fluff,  canon!versE |

Charlie is back in all her glory. The Winchesters have showed up on her doorstep and she’s making the best of it the only way she knows how. By being the little sister Dean never wanted and shipping the shit out of Destiel.

  The Curious Case of Wee Baby Cas Things by tracy_loo_who

G | 4k | Gen, crack

In which Dean and Sam get saddled with a herd of Cas-like baby animals. Meanwhile, Castiel just wants a hug.

 The Life After the Morning After by saltyfeathers

T | 17k

Dean and Cas get uber drunk on their last day of University. They end up married. Neither of them seem to mind.

 The Girlfriend Experience ❤ by Rageprufrock

E | 15k | Hot,  Canon!Verse, First time

While it's not like Dean hasn't had a couple of truly regrettable hit-and-runs in his sexual history, this is probably the saddest fucking thing that has ever happened to him.

Classic Casturbation fic. Complete with steamy sexytimes, hilarious dialogue, and fed up and clueless Dean. Perfect.    

 Asunder by Rageprufrock

E | 23k | Sam/Ruby, Hospital AU Fluff,

Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. (Matthew 19:6)

 Hands, From Which All Things Are Built by MajorEnglishEsquire

T | 14k | Canon!Verse, s8

Castiel travels with the angel tablet and without the Winchesters. One day, Dean gets a text from some anonymous number. (They speak in the language of need.)

[cosmicmadwoman]

Adam and Eve Chapter Eight: Ghost of High School’s Past

Summary: The Jones men find out the truth about Scott, Betty looks in Cheryl’s closet.

Rated: M

Word Count: 4565

Note: This chapter doesn’t move the plot forward much, just a little treat for FP/Alice shippers. Next chapter will start to reveal some stuff!

Alice clenched her hands together and waited patiently for her daughters’ responses. Their wheels were turning, she may be a tough mother but she knows her kids; Betty balled her hands into fists and Polly lifted her head to the ceiling with her mouth agape when they thought intensely.

Before this very moment, she never admitted out loud that the son she gave birth to at age sixteen was not her high school sweethearts, but the tired, sad and lost boy from the Southside. He was that one piece of her that she couldn’t shake when she tried to desperately to leave behind where to grew up and migrate to the middle class of Riverdale. Hal was her ticket out, but FP, the dark haired boy that smelled like cigarettes and campfires, always reminded her of home.

When Betty brought home Jughead Jones, Alice couldn’t help but smile sadistically at the irony. Jones boys always had a way with the Cooper women, Alice thought.

The girls must have noticed her smirk, because Betty pressed, “Why are you smiling? Is this funny to you?”

Alice shook her head and looked at Betty’s green eyes, mirrors of her own, and now; her daughter knew just how alike they really were. She tried to keep eye contact with her, but the watering eyes of her daughter broke her heart. “No, it’s not funny. It’s a mistake I made as a teenager, cheating on you father. It’s something I’ve had to live with.”

“Does dad know?” Polly asked softly.

“No,” Alice answered quickly, “and I would like us to keep it that way. We are just putting the broken pieces of are family back together. It won’t make a difference now anyway. No need to drudge up the past.”

“Drudge up the past? Scott isn’t ‘a past.’ He’s a person. Speaking of which, FP is a person too. He deserves to know he has another son out there,” Betty said.

“You propose I visit him in jail?” Alice’s tone was mocking, but Betty nodded.

“And I have to tell Jughead,” Betty said determined, standing up and grabbing her coat from the hanger in the hallway connected to the sitting room. Alice stood up with her and followed her closely, her chunky heels clacking behind Betty like an axe murderer on a summer camp counselor.

“This is not your secret to tell, Elizabeth. Do not get Jughead involved,” Alice spoke firmly.

“Jughead has a brother. We share a brother. I’m telling him and there’s nothing you can say to stop me,” Betty challenged her mother, the two blond woman stepping closer to one another, the strong rigid jaws of their anger waiting to see who would crack first.

“If you leave this house, you’re not welcome back,” Alice whispered gruffly.

Betty’s eyes flickered with fear and disappointment, how could her mother abandon another one of her children? Like it was so easy? But Betty prided herself on doing the right thing and despite the old wise tale that your parents always knew what was right, Alice was full of hate and rage Betty would never understand.

“I’ll send you a forwarding address,” Betty pursed her lips in a tight line to suppress her quivering lip. “I’ll pack a bag and be out of your hair.”

Betty bounded upstairs and Polly, hearing everything, ran after her, calling her name with a throaty whine.

She gathered only the essentials, clothes for a few days, toothbrush, deodorant and makeup, all flinging them into her paisley patterned overnight bag. Polly crashed into the room and wrapped around her from behind, almost like she was tying Betty in a straightjacket in attempts to stop her.

“Don’t leave me,” Polly begged and Betty felt a warm tear soak through the shoulder of her pale colored sweater.

Betty turned to her sister and her shoulders, “I don’t want to, Polly. But Jughead deserves to know. FP deserves to know. Jellybean too. Mom will come to her senses, just like when you were living at the Blossom house. Don’t worry, Pol. I’ll be back for Christmas,” Betty gave her a shaky smile, only half believing her words.

Polly nodded, “You are right. I remember how I felt when Mom told me… tell him. I support you.”

The two hugged, it was a deep, soul penetrating hug of understanding and being a little too grown up for their age. Polly left and Betty went with her bag slung around her arm to sneak into Cheryl’s room. She didn’t know for how long she would be gone and she had one more thing to do. On her knees, Betty waded through hundreds of shoeboxes in what used to be Polly’s closet, until she reached a shiny red box labeled prétentieux. She didn’t know what she was expecting when she flipped open the lid, blood overflowing from the top maybe, but instead, there was nothing. Mysteries were always full of dead ends.

Betty flicked off the light and passed her mother in the hall, going through the door with her phone in her hand, already texting Jughead: are you at the trailer?

Yeah, how did things go with your brother? His response came quickly like he was waiting for updates.

I need to come see you. I’ll be over in 10. Betty put her phone back on her pocket, not wanting to have him ask and having to explain just what the hell was going on over text. He deserved better than that. He deserved better than all of  this.

Polly walked to her mother who still stood at the door, frozen watching Betty walk down the sidewalk and out of view.

“I hoped you would have learned better than to kick your children to the curb when you can’t handle them anymore,” Polly said in her ear, the words ringing painful and Alice’s brain.

Alice didn’t turn, so Polly went up the stairs and slammed the door loudly enough, making sure it’s wooden bang rang throughout the house and into her mother’s pounding head. She didn’t flinch. Alice Cooper had spent her entire life running from the Southside and what it contained, the crushed dreams, the dreariness and depression; but all of those things consumed her no matter wherever she filed her taxes, Southside blood ran in her veins.

The Cooper matriarch didn’t tell anyone she was leaving the house, not that anyone would care. She alienated everything she worked for, two beautiful daughters and a husband with enough money to give her security. And yet, just like that night her and Hal asked her to go steady, she found herself running back to FP.

Sheriff Keller was surprised to see Alice inquiring about FP Jones and wanting to see him. Everything to write for the paper had already be written surrounding FP and his involvement in Jason Blossom’s murder. But Alice Cooper being Alice Cooper, she just have a charming, stepford smile and Keller is compelled to trust her.

FP was lying on his flat mattress and it looked like he was reading something. The paperback was curled in his hands and Alice tickled her knuckles against the bars to get his attention. His dark eyebrows quirked and he sat up in a manner that made Alice feel like he was trying to impress her with straight posture.

“Welcome to my home, Mrs. Cooper,” FP sweeped his hands in a grand gesture around the concrete cell and stood up to lean on the bars in front of her. She stepped back slightly a smooth her floral blazer. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Alice pulled the folding chair from the corner to sit in front of the bars and sat before him. “I want to play a memory game,” Alice began, “I’m going to say a date and you tell me what happened that day.”

“Is this an interrogation?” FP smirked from above her and grasped the bars. Alice noticed the muscles in his forearms straining and his calloused hands.

“I love games, FP. You of all people should remember that,” Alice said. FP stayed silent and shifted his weight to his left foot.“May 31st, 1994.”

The dark haired man snorted and shrugged, “I don’t know. 1994 is the year we graduated.”

“Correct. It’s the day we graduated,” Alice confirmed. “May 14th, 1992.”

“This is crazy, woman.”

“Hal’s senior prom, where you caught us two fighting and decided that was alright to mention to my child,” Alice answered for him.

“You’re here about that?”

There was a long pause and Alice swallowed a lump in her throat before she said, “February 29th, 1992.”

FP suddenly crouched down and looked her in the eye, level with her darkened gaze, “Why are you bringing that night up now?”

He remembered. She could tell my the boyish look in his eye bringing her back to that night.

–

Alice was just asked to be Hal Cooper’s girlfriend she should’ve been over the moon and around the stars, but instead she felt a hollowness. And maybe it was the fear of unfamiliarity, and maybe it was a grasp for a past she wanted to rid herself from, but she found herself at the Jones trailer at the other side of the park. And there she found FP Jones, opening the door to greet her in ripped jeans and no shirt.

“Wanna hit the playground?” Alice asked, leaning on the door frame. She could hear the faint arguing of his parents in their corner room in the background. He closed the door gently behind him.

“Aren’t you supposed to be with that dink Cooper tonight? The whole park is talking about how one of us is going with a rich boy,” FP’s face showed disgust and Alice smirked at his display of possible jealousy.

“He dropped me off already,” Alice replied, her eyes trailing down his naked chest. Northside boys were hot too, but they’ll never have the rugged darkness and sexiness Southside boys had. “I’m his girlfriend now.”

FP shrugged, “Okay.”

“I think we should go drink at the playground like we used to,” Alice offered.

The kids in the trailer park hung out together a lot of the time, especially growing up as they were all so close in proximity and age. FP and Alice were never best friends or anything, but they spent enough time together where the request was only odd because it would just be the two of them.

“One last time before you move to the darkside?” FP chuckled at his joke, all of Riverdale believed the Southside was the dark side, not the North.

“Something like that.”

“Give me a sec.” FP slipped back into the trailer and she heard soft clanking; probably stealing from his parent’s liquor stash. They always had enough. He reemerged with a bottle of tequila, a shirt and a grin. He was still wearing his slippers when they started walking to the playground at the edge of the park.

It was nothing grand, there was a swing set, metal monkey bars and wooden tunnels that sat on top of a crumbling structure. The town never vowed to clean it up like the Northside playground when it was unsafe.

The teens climbed wordlessly up to the top of the monkey bars and sat with their feet dangling below them. It was cloudy that night with no stars hanging in the sky. FP untwisted the tequila cap and took a swig, noticeably trying to hide a wince. He passed it to Alice who did the same.

“Let’s play a game,” Alice offered, taking one more slug before passing it back between FP. She couldn’t help but think her lips touched where his just were.

FP scoffed, “What are we? Five?”

“Truth or dare.”

A deviant smirk crept up onto FP’s young, fresh face. “Oh. That kind of game. You have a boyfriend now, Ms. Alice, you shouldn’t be playing naughty games with boys from the trailer park.” FP liked the age-old sin of coveting your neighbor’s wife, especially when your neighbor was a middle class white yuppie and his girlfriend was hot and her hair was golden like a wheat field. He may have the money, but he was sure Alice and Hal never talked like this to one another.

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” Alice shrugged. “So, truth or dare FP Jones.”

FP looked thoughtful for a moment and replied, “Truth.”

Alice rolled her eyes. “Boring. Okay, tell me, how many girls have you had sex with?”

“Two,” FP answered slowly, gaging Alice’s reaction, and it was unimpressed and disbelieving. “Okay, fine, one. This girl Gladys. Her parents just moved to the park and she’s pretty and we got to kissing and talking and it happened. I’ve seen her around, but she doesn’t look at me.”

“So you’ve only had sex once,” Alice giggled. “Hal and I must have done it a million times by now.”

“Shut up. It’s your turn. Truth or dare?”

Alice leaned in closer to FP, smelling his summer scented soap mixed with cigarettes.

“Dare,” her voice was low and heavy with expectation.

What was this girl going for? She finally had her ticket out of this hellhole and she was slinking back into it with. Was she going to kiss him? What did she want him to say?

“Kiss me,” FP grumbled hotly.

Alice felt his breath on her he was so close. She held onto the bars behind her when she pushed her body forward to kiss him. It wasn’t a peck, but a lip crushing, eyes-squeezing-shut kind of kiss. FP still had the bottle in his hands but moved it to his lap so he could grab her face and keep her there just a little longer. Hal must have taken her to Pop’s for their date because she tasted like ketchup. They eventually broke apart and Alice wiped her mouth. Her eyes were dark and wild.

“Let’s get off of here. You’re going to have sex with me,” Alice said and climbed down.

“I’m going to what?” FP clutched the alcohol tighter; he needed more liquid courage to be as brave as her. But she gave him a look, hands on her hips, and he decided this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be with someone as beautiful as her, and he wasn’t going to sit idle as life passed him by like his parents. He dropped the bottle down for her to catch and hopped off, “Yeah, I’m going to have sex with you.”

It was late February, technically March if it wasn’t a leap year, so the ground was cold but there was no snow. Fp peeled off his jacket, he was fucking cold already, but he laid it down on the patch of gravel under the monkey bars and Alice laid down on it immediately. FP pressed his body on top of her and she groaned, loving the feel the unfamiliar weight of a different man on her.  He kissed her tenderly at first, slowly, wanting to feel every crevice of her mouth and lips and drink her in like fine wine, not cheap tequila; but Alice wanted none of that. She bucked her hips upward, earning a moan from FP, and wrapped her legs around him tightly.

She kissed him back aggressively, taking control of the rhythm. She brought her hands under his shirt and on his bare back, feeling the rigid muscles tense and relax as his body went through sensory overload. She pulled his shirt over his head and his body tightened with the cold air.

“Don’t worry, I’ll warm you up,” Alice snickered and flipped them over.

She undid the button of his jeans and slid them down, his boxers following. He hissed when his cock hit the cool air, but Alice bent and took him in her mouth swiftly. He automatically let out a throaty growl and she bobbed up and down, her warm mouth cradling him. He pushed back the hair falling in front of her face and made a ponytail with his fist so he could watch her. She took him expertly and he wondered why she was wasting her time on him. She gagged and pulled back.

“You’re so much bigger than Hal, but don’t tell anyone I said that, obviously,” Alice grinned and kissed his chest right near his heart. She got off up him and sheds her tights and rolls up her body conforming skirt.

“I’m going to touch you,” FP warned gently, asking permission but also wanting to be affirmative, and dipped a finger into her panties and was surprised by how wet she was. Her heat was pulling him and he inserted his middle finger inside of her, causing her hips to rise and meet his finger’s thrusts. He took his other handed and tweaked her nipples under her coat but through her thin shirt underneath. With him still inside, he circled his thumb around the nub he only read about in his dad’s Playboy magazines. He must have learned something important, because Alice was jelly underneath his touch and she growled out his name and flooded his finger with her cum.

“Shit, FP, you’re good with your fingers,” Alice sighed, “I’ve… that’s never happened to me before.”

The black haired teen smiled widely and rolled back on top of her, pinning her to the cool ground. They wiggled awkwardly back onto the jacket and Alice shimmied out of her panties. He took the head of his cock and ran it along her inner lips, teasing her until she grabbed ahold of his length and pushed it inside of her. They both groaned at the contact. FP started to move before giving her any time to adjust. His hips were wild and against hers; he was rough and unrefined and it made Alice’s toes tingle.

“Fuck, I’m not wearing a condom,” FP panicked and tried to stop his thrusts, but he was so close he could already feel the tightening in his balls.

“Just pull out,” Alice recommend breathlessly.

She had never not worn a condom with Hal before, but Mary Andrews said her and Fred did it all the time without condoms; she just had him pull out when he was going to cum. She hadn’t gotten pregnant yet. FP pulled out a second later and shot his liquid onto the ground beside them. He quickly put his shirt back on and pulled up his pants, feeling the cold once again. Alice put herself back together, too.

“Goodbye, Forsythe,” she smiled and left, not wanting him to walk her home. That goodbye was to her childhood and to the Southside that built her. She didn’t look back or wait to hear him say anything back.

–

The silence in the room was obvious because they were both reminiscing. FP was the first to speak, “Has Hal learned how to make you cum yet?”

“FP, this is serious. You didn’t wear a condom. And, well, fuck how do I even say this?” Alice stood up and bit the edge of her nail, staring at the ground.

“Just say it,” the man’s voice sounded small and scared.

“Hal and I argued because I was pregnant. I’m sure you overheard that. I gave him, the baby,  up for adoption. Hal didn’t know the whole story, though, and neither did you. I was nervous about that night we had sex, because the time frame lined up, so I took a paternity test at the hospital just to make sure,” Alice explained, her chest tightening. She never thought this would be something she had to do.

FP shook his head and his face scrunched up just like Jughead’s when he was trying to hold tears in. “Say it out loud, Alice.”

“You have a son, with me, FP.  We have a son,” Alice promised herself she wasn’t going to cry, she didn’t come all this way to cry, so her face went blank.

FP wasn’t afraid to cry though. His face was serious and tough, which juxtaposed the shiny tears staining his sun spotted cheeks.

“Jesus Christ, Alice. And you fucking kept this from me? I want to meet him. Bring him here,” FP demanded, his sadness quickly morphing into rage.

“I don’t know where he is. I told Betty and Polly and thanks to your other son, they found him. I caught them making plans to meet him,” Alice said.

“Jughead knows?” Sadness returned.

“No. But… Betty insisted on telling him,” Alice shrugged, “He’ll know any minute now.”

“Maybe it’s best he hears it from her,” there was a pause between the two old lovers. They never spoke of that night after it happened, and FP swore he dreamed it anyway. Alice spent less and less time at the trailer park and when they graduated she moved in with Hal right away. Gladys finally started talking to him again, admitting that she felt awkward after they had sex, but wanted to get to know him. They went in their separate directions, but now, he knew they’re paths were forever congealed. “I hate you for this.”

Alice blinked rapidly, “You should.”

Alice delicately refolded the chair and left, the only noise was FP gently sobbing into his mattress.

–

Jughead could tell Betty had been crying during the walk over because her cheeks were especially cold and icy when he kissed her cheek. He imagined it was about Scott, that he wanted nothing to do with his birth sisters, and left the blonde Cooper girls utterly heartbroken. But instead, she almost looked sad for him, giving him sympathetic glances as she sat down on the couch. She patted the seat next to her. Jughead took it suspiciously.

“I looked through Cheryl’s closet, the shoes are missing. We will have to take another angle,” Betty said flatly. He instantly knew this isn’t what she came for, but he played along briefly.

“Not necessarily. Those shoes missing may mean she threw them out because they had blood on them,” Jughead mused. “You should text her, maybe under the guise of wanting to borrow them, ask her where they are.”

Betty shrugged and just the act or raising her shoulder seemed difficult for her. “Worth a shot, I guess.”

She pulled out her phone and text her quickly and put it back in her jacket pocket. Silence set over the trailer. Betty wondered if this trailer where her mom and Jughead’s dad conceived Scott. She shuddered at the thought, and her boyfriend took notice. Her grabbed her hand and rubbed circles around the pulse point near her thumb.

“What did you really come here to talk about?” Jughead asked gently.

“Can I see the picture of Scott you found?” Betty inquired suddenly.

Jughead nodded and pulled the laptop from the coffee table to his lep and opened it. He tapped the keyboard swiftly, made a couple of mouse clicks, and her brother was right in front of her. Jughead angled the monitor so she could see better, and there he was. Scott had thick, black locks just like Jughead, a sharp jawline like him too. How could Jughead not see that they looked a little alike? This was so freaky. Even though Betty and Jughead weren’t related, they shared a half brother that was a mixture of both of them, much like how a child between them would look like.

“Does he look like… someone?” God, how was she supposed to say this?

“Um.. you?” He looked at her incredulous, his heart thumping. What was she getting at?

“No… you, Juggie,” Betty’s eyes watered with tears.

In the back of his mind, he knew what she could possibly be referring too, but he was still at a loss. His lip was quivering, he was about to cry, “What?”

“My mom kept this from all of us,” Betty spoke softly, “Her and FP had a one night stand in high school. Scott is your brother too.”

Jugehad’s face was twisted in horror, and he pushed the laptop on the floor and curled into Betty, his head in her lap. He started crying, sobbing even, and he clutched onto her hips so harshly purple bruises began to form there. Jughead was strong for her when she found out, and she had to be strong for him too.

“Why can’t we catch a fucking break?” Jughead cried.

“I don’t know. But we are going to be okay. And you can come with us to meet him,” Betty offered.

He nodded, his head rising and looking at her in the eyes as he continued to sniffle, “I do.” Jughead paused. “Betty, make love to me. Make this go away. I want to just me you for a few minutes. No parents, no siblings; just us.”

Jughead’s eyes were puffy but their blueness shined so brightly with tears rimming his eyes. She nodded, and undid his pants. She kissed him sweetly as she stroked him softly before he sat back, just enjoying for a moment. He wanted to get lost in the rhythm of her hand. She takes it upon herself to reach into her pants and pleasure herself and prepare for Jughead. She shimmies her pants off and slides down her panties. She was about to get on him when he shook his head.

“Let’s take all of our clothes off. I need to feel your skin,” he groaned, almost in pain.

He pulled of his shirt and Betty tugged off the rest of her garments. She sank down on him and and he gritted his teeth, so overwhelmed by the feeling of his bare cock burying inside of her. He wanted to forget everything and so he closed his eyes and held onto Betty’s hips, silently guiding her, not like she needed it. Betty rode him like never before, using each other’s bodies to get lost. Betty threw her head back and Jughead took the opportunity to plop a nipple in his mouth and bite roughly. Betty rode him until she came, and used every ounce of her energy to ride him until he did too. She collapsed into his embrace. Jughead smoothed her hair back on her sweaty forehead. He was still inside her several minutes later when she eventually got off of him and layed on the couch. He cuddled into her, her back against his bare chest. The couch had little room, but the two didn’t mind because it was just another excuse to be pressed together.

“Can I stay here, Juggie? My mom said I’m not welcome home because I wanted to tell you the truth. I just need a place to stay until this blows over,” Betty asked quietly.

Betty felt Jughead nod against her shoulder. “Anytime, Betty. You don’t even have to ask.”

When sleep stated to overcome them, Betty’s phone buzzed. It was from Cheryl. Funny you should ask, those shoes are missing. I was going to ask if you are Pol took them. The redhead ended the text with the purple devil emoji. The little symbol made her gut twist. She nudged Jughead to show him, and his head fell back.

“You’re right, it was a dead end,” Jughead sighed.

“Maybe not,” Betty mused, “who else has access to Cheryl’s closet? Before she moved in with us?”

“Penelope Blossom.”

[renaroo]

Wednesday Roundup 15/6/2017

So this is a day late but in my defense I had a ridiculous amount of comics to get through with no one to blame but myself here. And you know what? I genuinely enjoyed almost everything. But does that mean every comic was good this week? And even so what did I think was the best? 

Honestly I don’t know how to write these intros for people who wouldn’t be here to read my opinion anyway so let’s just jump into it. 

Marvel’s All-New Wolverine, Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, DC’s Detective Comics, DC’s Gotham Academy: Second Semester, DC’s Justice League of America, Image’s Motor Crush, DC’s Superwoman, IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, DC’s Titans, IDW’s Transformers: Salvation, DC’s Wonder Woman

Marvel’s All-New Wolverine (2015-present) #21 Tom Taylor, Leonard Kirk, Cory Hamscher, Terry Pallot, Michael Garland

Okay I need this issue to reread a million times over because there are just so many things I love all at once. Like, oh my gosh. I was almost in tears multiple times because relationships! Healing! Supporting each other!

Wade and Gabby alone could just about make this issue perfect, but then you have Laura and Daken hugging and worried about each other, and Old Man Logan being likable for the first time in any of my readings of him. There’s so much I enjoy, though I find the cover rather deceiving. This is much more of a Howlett family reunion than anything else, though I did enjoy Riri’s parts in it.

I just eriously adore these characters and it meant a lot to see them all come together like they have here and that cliffhanger HURT so much more for it. 

I will nitpick the art a bit because we’ve been doing so good about keeping Laura in the Wolverine costume which is much preferred to her X-23 wardrobes, for sure, but this issue it pretty much looked exactly like one of her old costumes without the midriffs and it was kinda weird. I know she took off a lot of her armor for skin contact but it’s... idk. It was weird. 

The main thing I’m happy about though is that as we go on, I realize that literally all of the Marvel books I’ve kept are going out of their way to not involve themselves in Secret Wars and it’s kind of beautiful. Laura and Gabby are stuck on an island that’s quarantined (and I can pretend Wade’s there with them instead of whatever’s going on since I dropped Deadpool for the summer crossovers, thanks Tom Taylor!), Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur are literally off world, and the rest are non-616. So yay me!

Marvel’s Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows (2016-present) #8 Gerry Conway, Ryan Stegman, Jesus Aburtov

For those who don’t know, Mary Jane Watson is genuinely one of my favorite Marvel characters and is easily one of the reasons I ever stuck with the Spider-Man comics for as long as I did was because of my interest in her and wanting to see her and Peter.

I can also thank her for my genuine attraction to redheads probably.

But one of the main reasons that I’ve loved this book so much is because, as written by Gerry Conway, this is the Peter and MJ of my dreams. I love them so much, and the complications that comes from their relationship and from growing older, raising a daughter, and MJ’s desire to continuously be the glue to keep both Peter and Annie together logically causes her to seek out a way to continue being Spinerette without syphoning off Peter’s powers. 

It’s almost like growing old, having a stable relationship, trying to keep things fresh while raising a kid, are all dramatic and worthy of good storytelling in their own right or something HMM.

Anyway, yes it’s completely on the nose where this is going and it’s a little curious how MJ’s not immediately aware of the connection between what’s going on with her right now and the horrible, arguably traumatizing experience she and Peter had, but who knows what’s canon anymore lol

Basically, I sideye a bit from a story point of view, but this series continues to make up for it with the real thing that matters to me: these characters and their development.

DC’s Detective Comics (2016-present) #958 James Tynion IV, Aluaro Martinez, Raul Fernandez, Brad Anderson 

Honestly I really love the slower issues where Tynion takes more time to make moments for the relationships between the characters and give us interractions we didn’t know we wanted -- Kate going with Luke and Jean Paul to a basketball game, Cass and Clayface being adorable by reciting a play, Bruce at a poker game with a bunch of assholes in homage to Almost Got ‘im!? It was a lot of fun honestly. 

...

Okay I take issue with Cass’ dialogue. I know she was repeating lines from a tape and such but it’s weird to see her make so much progress when just two issues ago she was almost monosyllabic. Like... I want to see Cass gradually learning, I want to feel her frustration with hitting walls, I want to see her struggle and achieve despite the struggle because that gradual progression was honestly something we weren’t delivered in the former canon. We have a great opportunity for it here. 

But y’know. I’m particular with Cass and it’s hard to say where her baseline for reading and speech even is in this canon because her dyslexia may be in tact but her circumstances growing up are completely different. So I don’t know. 

Now. I’m a sucker for Bruce and Zatanna team-ups because I’m a schmuck but I’m really excited for next issue. Had a lot of fun with this one. This feels like a decent pace for Tynion -- at least in my opinion. 

DC’s Gotham Academy: Second Semester (2016-2017) #10 Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, Karl Kerschl, Adam Archer, Massyk, Sandra Hope

This comic is speeding toward an end and I’m not sure if I’m ready! 

From the beginning, for me at least, the selling point for Gotham Academy has been just how much these kids felt like real teenagers and real friends with all their various relationships and connections, platonic or romantic or something in between. And it’s powerful to see that coming to play as an advantage to completing Olive’s arc, but also as a disadvantage since the consequences of many of her actions hurt that much more.

I’ll save a lot of my thoughts for a complete wrap up of the series but overall, very happy and very grateful for the continuously good read that is GA

DC’s Justice League of America (2016-present) Volume 1: Road to Rebirth Steve Orlando, Jody Houser, Ivan Reis, Andy MacDonald, Stephen Byrne, Jamal Campbell, Mirk Andolfo

WE GOTTA GET THE BAND BACK TOGETHER. WE’RE ON A MISSION FROM GAD. 

In all seriousness, I’m a huge fan of Vixen and Ryan Choi as well as a big fan of Justice League International, as it was in its 80s glory. So my interests with this particular lineup were piqued from the beginning and I made myself wait for the first volume to dive in. 

For the most part, this is a team gathering exercise. Characters that have lacked the spotlight in the last few years -- Vixen, Ray, Killer Frost, and the Atom -- were given whole issues to reintroduce them to this continuity. And honestly those issues were great. I really, really love the updated origins for them and feel that they’re a good blend of honoring the past of the characters as well as adapting them for a new world. 

Lobo, Batman, and Black Canary took back seat, but considering that there were already tensions showing within the group, I think it’s safe to assume that giving the spotlight to the rest of the team won’t always last this long. Things are nothing if not explosive among these members.

I really did mean it when I said this is a team gathering exercise, because there’s no first case to unite everyone. There’s not any real antagonists or team-ups we see to speakof. It was just getting hte jLA together. 

And for me it’s enough to get me intrigued, though I’d completely understand if people told me it was far from enough for them. 

Now they just need to add Big Barda, Booster Gold, and Ted Kord and I’ll be satisfied. 

Image’s Motor Crush (2016-present) Vol. 1 Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart, Babs Tarr

I was not the biggest fan of this team’s Batgirl team though I appreciated the aesthetics and what not. There just never seemed to be a storyline that really interested me and I couldn’t be sold on the characterization for Barbara. So I kept hearing about Motor Crush for the last year and was really itnerested in it so I wanted until this volume came out and. 

Well, quite simply, I’m in love.

Tell you what, those biker gangs that kept coming up really confusingly out of place in Batgirl make a hell of a lot more sense now that I can see this team’s actual passion project. 

So I love Motor Crush a lot, I’m really invested in Domino, the mystery that is her origins and the powers of Crush itself. I love her relationship with her ex, Lola, I love her father -- I love just about everything and the cliffhanger really surprised me. 

I will say that while I love having a world that speaks for itself rather than constant narration, it’s a little hard to follow this world entirely, I’d like a bit more explained than what has been, but at the end of the day I’m very excited to see more. 

DC’s Superwoman (2016-present) #11 K. Perkins, José Luís, Ray McCarthy, HI-FI

You know, I have made it clear that I’ve been worried about this title for a while now, really just hoping it was going to find its direction and wow us with the great potential that is the Super Family outside of the main Kent triad. And I feel like that’s for good reason -- the end of Jimenez’s run let a lot of people feeling justifiably scorned, there was a mishandling of a lot of heavy and important subjects that were raised, and at least the initial stuff with Perkins taking over kind of left one wondering if they had a fully formed direction to go toward next. 

But I am really glad that I stuck it out for this long because the family of John, Lana, Nat, and everyone else is so important and so fundamentally different from the dynamics found elsewhere in the new familial renaissance of the DCU that I needed it. And I hope it continues to emphasize these relationships and how important they are to each other.

I’m still unhappy with how anxiety and mental illness is being handled in the title and find it lacking since it was brought up to begin with and now being ignored. That subject alone is making me rethink my disinterest in Green Lantern books as a whole because I have loved and felt inspired so far by what I’ve seen of Jessica Cruz and their handling of anxiety, and it’s why I picked up Silk at the high recommendations of a close friend. 

So I’d like for mental illness to be treated better in this title -- the least it can do after bringing it up and treating it the way it did at the end of Jimenez’s run, but there’s so much value in the non-nuclear family dynamic of the Irons household and of the uniqueness of Lana’s powers and her approach to fighting crime that it’s worth it. For me anyway.

IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2011-present) #70 Kevin Eastman, Tom Waltz, Mateus Santolouco, Ronda Pattison

I knew the end of this storyline was going to be, at the very least, explosive but wow, WOW I had no idea how many twists and turns it was going to take in that time. That was a phenomenal ending to the Mutanimals storyline for the time being, and I just feel so bad for Slash, down to my core. I’m so worried about him, and whenever he will be allowed to recover.

At least I hope he’ll recover.

This series is seventy issues strong and i’m just so blown away by the way they still manage to keep me on the edge of my feet while so many different storylines and character developments are happening at the same time.

I mean, I even feel for Old Hobb here!

I do suppose a complaint I could hold here is that the titular turtles themselves have ultimately not been very front and center throughout this storyline, and that really showed in the conclusion, where for the most part they were lost to the colorfulness of the huge, colorful supporting cast that has been developed over the years. 

For me, personally, I think that’s honestly okay. We can’t have the same story over and over again with only the main four characters driving the narrative, and it’s been a long standing tradition in TMNT for a good 30 years now to sort of embody the concept that our main guys don’t really look for situations to get involved with but sort of fall into them naturally. 

Not to mention it’s probably a strength that 70 issues in, we haven’t once repeated plots or stories or put any of the characters on a loop of development to end up right back where they started. I don’t think the achievement of that can be understated, especially as we near that landmark #75!

DC’s Titans (2016-present) #12 Dan Abnett, Kenneth Rocafort, Dan Brown

Bleh. BLEH. I was holding out judgment on the twist of Wally and Donna and Roy ending up in some kind of love triangle because I wanted the context but honestly the context is kinda... bleh. It would be awesome if we lived in some world and time where Donna’s origins were not constantly retconned and thus the source of her characterization in every run of every thing she showed up in. Which is by no means a new problem but still.

And my opinion is... Wally and Donna are both going through a hard time and Wally is having to accept that his life is fundamentally different from the previous world he knew, that he can’t just badger people into returning things to the way they were -- especially Linda, who he loves but it’s a very one-sided relationship as a result of the parallel universe paradox and stuff. It makes sense to me that in a ploy to gain some sense of control over that, he and Donna both would try to take fate in an unexpected direction, into their own hands. 

But making it a love triangle with Roy just kinda keeps my eyes firmly rolled into the back of my skull. 

I overall like Lilith, Dick, Garth, and Karen’s development and characterization in this issue. I think they’re taking Lilith in interesting directions and I’m really curious about what her omen means for the future, since apparently there’s a traitor among them. And they set up plenty of reasons for various members to be that traitor in this issue but I can’t help but assume already that it’s going to end up being a twist. Good twist or not remains to be seen. 

IDW’s Transformers: Salvation (2017) John Barber, Livid Ramondelli

I’m going to be completely “original” here and say that I’m not a fan of Ramondelli’s at for the various Transformers comics. i know! I know. Shocking, never said before, completely going against the general fandom consensus. I’m such a brave soul. I know. 

Okay, joking aside though... I didn’t think the art was bad in this one-shot. Actually! I’d argue a lot of it was even good. He may not be my favorite artist and I’ll think that his colo gradients are butt ugly most of the time, but there was better handled action sequences than usual, the characters looked like they had weight, and we even got a range of expressiveness in the characters that is... well, frankly, not usual for Ramondelli. 

So other than that shocking revelation, I thought Barber performed good once more on tying the TF universe together again, answering some prior plot points and nicely knotting off loose ends. Trypticon being a Titan is not the biggest revelation in the world, but the development of Sandstorm and the Dinobots was great, and I loved just how devious Starscream truly is under Barber’s pen even though I’ve fully been enjoying the characterization for him in Till All Are One. 

But the most important thing of all: SPARKLINGS. SPARKLINGS. All I’ve wanted for years is baby transformers so I am HAPPY BEYOND BELIEF. THEY’RE NO LONGER A DYING SPECIES AND THESE PRECIOUS BABIES COULD BE BORN WITHOUT EVER KNOWING THE CIVIL WAR AHHHHHHHH

DC’s Wonder Woman (2016-present) #24 Greg Rucka, Bilquis Evely, Romulo Fajardo Jr. 

WOW! I mean, just wow! What a resolution to everything. I have so many emotions for Diana, for Barbara Ann, for even Veronica Cale of all people. Etta and Steve were great, the art was amazing.

It’s just such a relief and such... honestly just an amazing feat that Greg Rucka is beginning to wrap up this just phenomenal run of Wonder Woman 

I really enjoyed how everything turned out and it was so remarkable to see Diana’s resolution to save Veronica but also to not turn her back on her friends and loved ones as well as the torment it is for Barbara to not be able to get into Themyscira after all her life’s work.

And I liked Diana’s assessment of Veronica at the end, it was true and also blunt to the point of cruelty. But fitting also. 

It’s amazing what a turn around I’ve personally felt when it comes to Veronica’s character because in all honesty I was not a fan of her most of the time in the preboot, but Rucka really has fleshed her out and done something unique with her perspective now. There is tragedy but there’s also less deniability for her fault in all of it. 

I’m sad to be coming toward Rucka’s end on the run, but I’m also so happy to see the love and passion he’s put into everything culminating to what it is now.

This is a genuinely hard choice but I think if I go by what tugged on my heartstrings the most, what gave me the most joy overall and just feelings unrelenting from start to finish, I would have to say that my pick of the week is All-New Wolverine. I adore this series and I couldn’t be happier with this issue and how they’re keeping my precious Marvel girls faaaaaar away from Secret Empire. A close second would be Wonder Woman but really I would happily recommend my entire pull this week. It was a geat week for comics.

But that’s just my opinion! I’d love to know your thoughts. Agree? Disagree? Think I missed something I should’ve picked up this week? I’d love to hear from you!