#it’s not her shaming kate but rather being like damn girl I gotta be like you | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

katehuntington · 5 years ago

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Title: Ride With Me (part fifteen) Fandom: Supernatural Timeline: 2008 Pairing: Dean x Reader Word count: ±5200 words Summary series: Y/N is a talented horse rider who is on her way to become a professional. In order to convince her father that she deserves the loan needed to start her own farm, she goes to Arizona for six months, to intern at a ranch owned by Bobby and Ellen Singer. Her future is set out, but then she meets a handsome horseman, who goes by the name of Dean Winchester. A heartwarming series about a cowboy who falls for the girl, letting go of the past and the importance of family. Summary part fifteen: The sun rises and it’s time to bring the herd home, but not before Dean reconnects with an old friend. Warnings series: NSFW, 18+ only! Fluff, angst, eventually smut. Swearing, smoking, alcohol intoxication, alcohol abuse. Mutual pining, heartbreak. Crying, nightmares, childhood trauma. Description of animal abuse, domestic violence, mentions of addiction. Financial problems, stress, mental breakdown. Description of blood and injury, hospital scenes, character death, grief. Music: Dean & Rocko scene: ‘Road To Perdition’ - The City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Final scene: ‘Ride’ - Hans Zimmer. Check out ‘Kate Huntington’s Ride With Me playlist’ on Spotify! Author’s note: It’s about damn time, ain’t it? Thank you @kittenofdoomage, @girl-with-a-fandom-fettish and @winchest09 for helping me. You girls are awesome betas and friends.

Ride With Me Masterlist

Slow hoofbeats, little rocks and earth crunching underneath the thousand pound animal. Surprisingly light on its feet, never disturbing the quiet, as it scours the land for the last grass of the season. Calm breaths, taking in over a gallon of oxygen with each inhalation, followed by a soft purring sound when the air is pushed out through the nose. The cold of the night lingers and the air condensates. The first glint of the sun catches the moist clouds coming from its nostrils, turning the fierce creature into a dragon. Kind eyes, calm when it’s safe, but scanning the environment nevertheless, always on the lookout for predators. Pointy ears, flitting back and forth independently, picking up even the smallest whisper, like two little space antennas scanning the sky.

Dean watches the herd from a distance, with Y/N still sound asleep in his arms. He can tell she’s exhausted, because she didn’t stir once in the past three hours. The cowboy made sure she was fully covered with the unzipped sleeping bag, holding her close to keep her warm. She seems so comfortable, so trusting; it humbles him. Apparently she’s completely at ease being so close, her self-consciousness burned away by his never ending adoration. Of course he noticed the hesitation when they all went for a swim yesterday evening. She wanted to disappear, covering herself with her arms crossed in front of her chest, her expression shameful. And then there was the insecurity just hours ago, her mind clearly spiraling when he couldn’t give her the confirmation she so desperately seeks. Dean wonders what happened for her to lack confidence. If she has some douchebag ex-boyfriend maybe, who didn’t treat her right.

Staying awake wasn’t any trouble overnight, because he had plenty to think about. He’s not the guy to analyse his every thought, he'd rather stuff it all down and ignore them all together. But spending several hours under the Yucca tree, in an embrace with the one person that has his mind reeling, left him no option. So many questions, so much doubt. He wishes he had more answers, he wishes he could have a glance into the future in order to tell if he’s on the right path. If he can make it work with her, if he can step up to become the man she’s looking for. If she will stay with him, even after the internship, because the thought of her leaving brings back an anxiety that he used to experience when his family threatened to fall apart, which is exactly what happened, eventually. He came to one conclusion, though; he’s not going to let her go.

His gaze remains absently fixed on the horses, who have moved a few hundred yards closer. The oldest stallion of the herd had spotted the wranglers about an hour ago, but after careful observation decided that they weren’t a threat. It’s a beautiful sight, beams peeking over the mountain range, framing the horses’ silhouettes with gold. Small bugs twirl in the air like fireflies, surrounding the large animals. Dean squints and tips his head forward when the rising sun becomes brighter. The warmth is welcome; he hasn’t moved an inch over the past hours, not wanting to wake Y/N, causing the cold to settle in his bones.

A new dawn means they’ve got work to do and Dean is left no choice but to wake the heavy sleeper. The arrival of morning does the job for him, however; even with her eyes closed, the light seeps through. It triggers her to turn into him and hide her face in the crook between his shoulder and his chest. Y/N grunts, disagreeing with the time, and Dean sniggers. He’s not much of a morning person either, but his intern takes the cake. “Mornin’, Yankee.” She opens one eye and looks up, meeting an amused yet adoring smile. “Morning…” Groggy, she rubs her face with the back of her hand. “Five more minutes?” “You’ll miss the view,” Dean says, nodding at the horizon.

His eyes reflect the scenery he’s beholding, the colors vibrant as the sun hits them just right, adding amber to the jade in his irises. It peaks her interest, and Y/N turns her head to face the new day. Only leaving a crack for the light to pass her long lashes, she takes in the mesmerizing scenery. On the edges of her vision, a darker shade of blue transitions into a lighter one, the tones changing from cold to warm as they enclose the sun. Cirrus clouds catch the first rays, curling across the sky like wisps of silk hair. From cobalt to pale turquoise, from apricot to saffron. The painter of this picture used every color on the spectrum. And smack in the middle, the sun rises. So bright, she seems to be aware that planets orbit around her. The Superstition Mountains stand proud and tall in the south, the peaks catching the early light, making the volcanic formations seem blood orange, as if lava is erupting from the earth once again.

The herd is only a couple of hundred yards away now, grazing calmly. They don’t seem to be aware of the humans sitting on the top of the hill, almost as if Y/N is in a cinema, watching a gigantic movie screen. It would explain the idyllic Wild West decor, because such magic can only be created with CGI in a Hollywood studio. But they are here. Y/N can smell the air, sweet and earthy. She can hear the wind rustling small bushes and blowing gently through the canyons. She can feel Dean, the warmth radiating from his large form that has enveloped her. “It’s breathtaking,” she says softly, leaning into him. He places a soft kiss on her hair, and she smiles, content. “Thanks for letting me sleep.” He shrugs it off. “You needed it. We’ve got a long day ahead of us.” Y/N sits up and rolls her neck to loosen her muscles. “It’s going to be intense, isn’t it?” she guesses, getting to her feet. “I’d call it adventurous and exciting,” Dean chuckles, stretching his back now that he can move freely again. “Just like the old spaghetti westerns, y’know? Well… without the gun slinging and bounty hunts. It’ll be awesome, trust me.”

Y/N sniggers, strolling around the Yucca tree to meet her horse. She finds it cute how the tough cowboy, who’s closing in on thirty, is beaming like a little kid. After ruffling Joplin’s mane, she takes a small case from one of the saddlebags, which holds her toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste. She has found a new level of appreciation for these simple products of hygiene, given that she has been stripped from luxury and has to do with the absolute necessary. Especially since she’s not just kissing Dean in her dreams these days.

Looking forward to the day on his doorstep, Dean pulls his radio phone from the front saddlebag, turning it on and twisting the knob to find the channel. “Benny? Come in?” He lets go of the PTT button, the device beeping once when he does, then it’s quiet for a moment. Mirroring Y/N’s actions, he one handedly fishes out his toothbrush as well, but when his friend doesn’t respond, he pushes the talk button again. “You better get your lazy ass out of bed, Lafitte. Gotta bring the horses in.” Dean clips the radio to his belt. He has brushed his teeth, rinsed his mouth and cleaned his face by the time the farrier replies. “Good mornin’ to you too, Chief.” Dean grins at the slightly cynical tone of the Southerner. He pushes the button again, moving the speaker closer to his mouth. “We’re with the herd, on Black Top Mesa, close to Dutchman’s Trailhead. Ya’ll ready to move?” “Sure am, just cooking up some breakfast to go. Do you want some or did you already eat out?”

Y/N has never timed taking a sip of water worse, because it comes out through both her mouth and nose. Dean stares at her mortified before he snaps the walkie talkie to his mouth. “She can hear ya, you jackass!” he returns, his voice higher than he anticipated. “Oh, I bet she can.” The head wrangler shuts his eyes and cringes, turning away from Y/N to hide his red face. His free hand goes for his belt loop first, then rubs the back of his neck, before wiping the sweat on the denim of his jeans. Shit, this is embarrassing. “I - I - We… You know what? I don’t owe you an explanation,” he hisses into the radio phone. “I’m just saying, brother, if you haven’t yet, it’s gonna take us at least forty five minutes to get to ya, so--” “- Over and out, Benny!”

Quickly, he turns the device off, breathes out, and scoffs. That son of a bitch. Dean isn’t sure how he’s going to make Benny pay just yet, but he will taste his wrath. He carefully glances over his shoulder to check on Y/N, who he finds with her hand clasped over her mouth, trying her very best to contain her giggles. “You think that’s funny, huh?” he mutters, flustered. She laughs warm and hearty, wiping tears from her eyes as she approaches the cowboy. “You don’t need enemies with friends like him, that’s a given,” she chuckles.

He glances at her, his mouth pulling into a smile. She can spot a hint of relief, now that he knows she’s taking it well, but blood still warms his cheeks, making his freckles invisible. It amazes her every single time how all that confidence washes away once he loses direction. Benny was just teasing him, Dean must be aware of that. Besides, it’s not like the green eyed wrangler to take things easy, as he said so himself, so it’s not strange his Southern friend figured he covered at least a couple of bases overnight. She can feel a blush add color to her face as well, when the thought crosses her mind. Honestly, she too silently hoped he would have gone ‘down that road’.

“Well, unfortunately he assumed wrong,” she addresses boldly, taking the collar of his stockman coat gently between her thumb and index finger, reeling him in. “But he was right about them taking at least forty five minutes to get here.” Stunned eyes flick over her features, wondering if he’s imagining things or if she really just gained the confidence he’s lacking at this very moment. Once again she blows him off his feet with her newfound assertiveness, like she does every so often. Shit, she’s sexy when she takes the lead like that. “He sure was,” he returns, his hands now moving to her waist. “I know we agreed to take it easy,” she tilts her head slightly, folding her arms around his neck now. “So what should we do with all that time?”

Dean smirks at her from under his hat, shaking his head amused without breaking eye contact. What a tease. He couldn’t resist her to save his own life. Her radiance is brighter than the rising sun behind her. The pull he’s experiencing, the level of attraction, it’s so strong; he knows he’s going to have a tough time sticking to his boundaries. He has to, though, he has to do right by her. But that doesn’t mean they can’t have a little fun along the way. “I got a few ideas,” he implies. Before Y/N knows it, the strong wrangler lifts her up, pulling a squeal from within her, followed by a fit of giggles. He adjusts his grip when she folds her legs around his middle, smothering her sly grin with a sweet kiss. The low chuckle that escapes his throat sounds both gentle and gruff, adding to the wholesome sensation that fills her chest. By the Yucca tree, he lowers himself to the ground, still holding the cowgirl in his arms until she has found her balance and straddles his lap, a knee buried in the gravelly sand on either side of him. The intimate connection strengthens as they get lost in the moment, the laughs dying down, eyes falling shut.

Dean lets his fingers wander over the fabric of her clothes, tracing the lines of her neck, her spine, the curves of her hips. Feeling no pressure that this needs to lead somewhere right now calms him, because even though it’s proven to be difficult to keep their hands off each other, he knows she will give him the space he needs and, despite this little tease, she respects him more than he respects himself. He makes a little mental note when she whimpers, as he continues to leave a trail of kisses from the corner of her mouth, down her throat and her collarbone. Dean might not go down on the beautiful cowgirl today, but he will remember the little touches that make her sigh and squirm.

Their agreement to take it slow, combined with Benny’s remark, sparked something new. Since their first kiss, she has been willing, eager for more, but now that what she wants is just out of reach, she finds it difficult to control herself. He can tell in the way she touches him, the audible breaths that reach his hearing when their mouths aren’t sealed together, the longing in her eyes when she opens them for a brief second. Dean never thought he would say it, but taking their time might have an advantage he hadn’t considered before. Teasing him, tempting her… it’s an interesting way to pass the time. Making each other wait might feel like a torturous game right now, but when the moment does arrive for them to take things to the next level, it’s going to be something else. And just like that, the bachelor who didn’t waste a second to get around with so many women, doesn’t mind waiting for the one.

The two lay together for at least half an hour, making out like teenagers. Sweet touches, cute giggles, all smiles. If they could freeze time, they would. But when Dean glances north and notices the dust clouds coming from La Barge Canyon, they have to interrupt the intimacy; Benny and the others are on their way.

Five minutes later, Dean shrugs off his long coat, now that the sun has cast out the crisp of the night. He folds it up tightly and stuffs it into one of his saddlebags. Y/N has already mounted Joplin, at home in the Tucker trail saddle. The mare didn’t entirely awaken from her slumber apparently, because for once in her life, she stands still and doesn’t bounce around impatiently like a bronc in the holding box at the rodeo. Her rider has her wrists crossed on the horn, the reins casually between her fingers, as she stares at the herd ahead. “That’s the leader, isn’t it?” she says.

Dean turns his head, looking at the dark bay horse, who stands between them and his congeners. The animal stares back, ears perked forward, one of them flicking back to the herd every now and them. The stallion observes him carefully, he doesn’t seem entirely sure how to deal with the presence of humans. He’s alert, ready to bolt and take his herd to safety, yet at the same time curious. Understandable, because these youngsters spent most of their life living as feral horses, only seeing men when they were moved from the reservation to the large winter pastures closer to the ranch, and back to the mountains when spring was around the corner. “Yeah, seems like it,” Dean confirms, watching the beautiful creature. He returns his gaze to the task at hand, tying the sleeping bag behind Ted’s saddle, but then realization hits him. Wait a minute, is that…? The wrangler turns to face the interested horse again, who is looking at him from about two hundred yards away, like he seems to recognize the cowboy as well. Y/N glances from the wrangler to the horse and back. “Dean?”

But he doesn’t respond, slowly stepping away from Ted, narrowing his eyes to see better. The horse’s mane grew long, his forelock covering his face, the black hair growing all the way down to his nose, but a hint of a blaze still visible through the curtain. Dark brown eyes take Dean in as the stallion waits, so still that one could mistake him for a statue, save the wind playing with his tail. The low vegetation hides the white markings on his legs, so the wrangler can’t tell for sure. It can’t be. He couldn’t have grown that big, he wouldn’t be the alpha, he reminds himself. But besides the horse’s size and rank within the herd, there’s nothing that indicates the animal, isn’t him.

Dean moves his hand to his mouth, pressing the tabs of his thumb and index finger together, creating a circle, before he places them on his lips. He inhales and whistles sharply. The sheer, high-pitched sound moves across the land, reaching ears miles away. The ears the whistle was meant for, pick up the unique sound too and instantly the caution and doubt in the horse’s stance is gone. He neighs back, loud and strong, confirming Dean’s suspicion. “Well, I’ll be damned…” he breathes. “You two know each other?” Y/N wonders. Dean beams. “Yeah, we go way back.”

He leaves Ted and Y/N on top of the hill, carefully making his way down the slope without spooking the feral horse. But the stallion doesn’t feel threatened anymore, now that he recognizes Dean. He jogs up to him, taking a few more steps before he halts. Friendly eyes take in the wrangler, his nostrils flaring when Dean tentivally reaches, picking up his scent. As a content smile spreads across Dean’s face, he lets his fingertips brush the horse’s nose, soft as velvet. He takes another step, gliding the palm of his hand up his jaw now, to his cheek and then down his neck, following the flow of the horse’s dark hair. The short summer coat has already partly been replaced, now that the cold of winter will arrive in a month or so. Last time Dean saw him, he was barely two years old. A youngster, a boney juvenile, who was a tad small. Obviously the fellow needed more time. That’s why the wrangler gave his horse another year to grow. It worked out well, because look at him now. “Hey, bud,” Dean says softly, ruffling the horse’s mane. “You got big.”

From a distance, Y/N watches the reunion. She doesn’t know the whole story, but the connection between man and animal is unmistakably strong. They have a place in each other’s hearts and even though they have been apart for a while, that didn’t change. The leader of the herd, who one would expect to be dominant, accepts a human touch without hesitation. It’s an unusual response for a horse who has lived off the grid for years.

Warmth fills her chest, a smile on her lips, similar to the one Dean carries. It’s incredible to witness him around the animals that captivate them both. She has enjoyed his interactions many times before, watching him handle them on the ground, seeing him ride. Always kind, always respectful. He has a way with horses that is special. Her grandfather would have said he’s gifted. He also would have given her a thumbs up. Grandpa always offered wise words, often followed by silence, the quiet giving them even more strength. One of his sayings comes to mind: You can judge a man’s character by the way he treats his horses. Well then, if that’s a given, then Dean is definitely one of the kindest and most loving souls she has come across.

The wrangler rubs the stallion’s shoulder, before he slowly turns around. He tries to beckon the beautiful dark horse with a simple shoulder movement, using only body language to invite the large animal to follow him. After a moment of hesitation, during which the stallion glances at his herd and back at his human, he follows. No rope, no pressure, no constraint, but free will. It’s hard to miss the pleased expression on Dean’s face when he looks up at the cowgirl, who still watches from Joplin’s back. “I know country boys aren’t known for manners, but aren’t you going to introduce your friend?” she jokes.

The stallion stops at the bottom of the small hill, aware that as the leader of his group, he still has a task to fulfill. He stands tall, checking on the herd, the autumn breeze catching his tangled mane, folding his tail around his hind legs. He looks almost mythical. “His name is Rock N’ Roll.” Dean takes him in, proudly. “But he goes by Rock’o.” “Is he yours?” she asks, curiously. The wrangler nods. “I was there when he was born. He had a rough start in life. I bottle fed him the first couple of months.” Amazed, she smiles at him. “No wonder you two are close.” He returns her expression, taking a moment to absorb the image of both the woman who is conquering his heart, and his horse who already claimed it years ago. “It’s gonna be much easier to bring in the herd with him on our side,” Dean says, moving to Ted’s left side, after which he puts his foot in the stirrup and swings the other over the saddle. “We have to handle it delicately, but he trusts me.” “You think he will follow you?” Y/N assumes, keeping Joplin on the spot, who seems to have woken up from her nap, now that Dean mounted his horse as well. “No, but he will keep the herd together. It's a misconception that the stallion leads the group. They are usually in the rear, driving up stragglers,” Dean explains.

The head wrangler glances over his shoulder at the growing dust cloud, an indication that Benny and the rest of the crew are closing in. Within a minute, he spots the four riders and their pack horses coming over the hill. The mischievous grin on the Southerner’s face can be spotted from far away. “Had a nice mornin’ ride, Chief?” he nags under his breath, once he has joined the two riders. Dean shoots him a glare, his fiery green eyes demanding him to shut up without using actual words. Y/N heard the farrier, however, and no one is prepared for the comeback. “Oh, we didn’t have time. Forty-five minutes isn’t nearly enough for what I had in mind,” she counters casually.

Dean snorts, caught by surprise, while Benny cocks his head at the intern, staring at her bug-eyed. Y/N doesn’t give the the blue-eyed cowboy another second of her attention and leads her horse to Ted, her fingertips briefly touching Dean’s thigh as she passes him, before she rides down the hill, her head held high. Amused, the head wrangler waits for his friend to catch the wide grin on his face, which he does once Benny snaps out of his trance. He shakes his head sniggering, his laugh rumbling deep and low in his chest. “Brother, you are in way over your head,” he states. “She’s a pistol.” Dean admittingly raises his brow, nodding in agreement while watching her ride off. “She sure is.”

“Yah!” In full gallop Y/N speeds up along the left flank of the herd, directing the horses back to a compact group every time they fan out. Benny and Macy are leading, Dean tailing, while Brad and Jon cover the right side. The head wrangler wasn’t lying when he said that it was going to be exciting, because she feels like she’s living a Wild West fantasy.

Joplin has her ears in her neck as she sprints away, cutting off two stallions who fan out. Her rider doesn’t even have to give a signal, the feisty dark mare knows exactly what to do. Even though she is smaller than the others, she stands her ground and didn’t think twice when one of the juvenile stallions took an interest in her. With a squeal and a firm kick she made clear not to mess with her, her zero-tolerance attitude keeping them at a safe distance. Y/N had a hunch Joplin was good at the job, otherwise Dean wouldn’t have chosen the strong minded horse for his intern, but she didn’t expect her partner to be this fierce. Unflagging, focussed, and fast as a bullet. It’s an absolute thrill to work with her.

They pursued the herd into O’Grady Canyon, the higher cliffs on both sides helping the wranglers keep them together. They passed the rock formations of Tim’s Saddle and Dean and Y/N briefly exchanged a look and a smile as they crossed the small creek. Revisiting the place where they shared their first kiss only two days ago feels special, that night’s energy still in the air. So much has happened since, and yet their journey has only just begun.

After a quick drinking pause, they continued, before the herd could fall apart. Some of the animals are restless, while others follow a lot more calmly. Using horses instead of dirt bikes or even a helicopter is a lot less stressful for the feral animals, but being chased makes them nervous nonetheless. Rocko’s laid back attitude towards the humans keeps the panic in the herd contained to a minimum, though.

Thankfully, the weather is working in their favor for a change. A cool breeze is sweeping across the terrain and swishing through the canyons, keeping the temperature from rising to the heights it reached in the past couple of days. It’s a good thing the conditions are a lot more tolerable, because the riding is intense. The wind, together with the stampede, does kick up a lot of sand, engulfing the wranglers in clouds of earthy particles. Dean, being at the back of the herd, has pulled his neckerchief over his nose, keeping the dust from entering his lungs.

Halfway through the afternoon, the wranglers have managed to guide the group of horses safely down the slopes on the east banks of the Superstitions. A time consuming detour, but crossing the mountains without a herd is challenging enough, not to mention with over a dozen wild animals added to the clan. After descending the much smoother slopes for hours on end, the canyon functioning as a tunnel and relieving the pressure from the riders, the walls on either side fan out. Before them lays the valley, the small town of Gold Canyon in the far distance to the west, the sun edging towards it as the day begins to close in on the night.

“Yankee!” It’s Dean who gets her attention, his voice rising above the sound of the stampede. Y/N turns in the saddle while she continues to follow the movement of her horse with her hips. Behind her, three young stallions have wandered away from the group in a matter of seconds. Joplin hasn’t noticed them yet, fixed on holding the flank ahead, but when her rider moves her hand to the left, she rolls away like a fighter jet. The little dark mare needs no encouragement and is at full speed within five strides, shooting across the terrain at a speed of forty miles an hour. Y/N has bent over Joplin’s neck, staying low in order to increase the aerodynamics. The fast rhythmic sound of hoofbeats tremor the ground, the wind rushes in her ears and drags tears from the corners of her eyes. The two cut off the youngsters, redirecting them back to the herd like they have been doing this together for years. Y/N’s partner in crime pushes her ears back and snaps her teeth, not so kindly advising the horses to hurry it up or else, triggering her rider to grin at her feisty character. Once the three join the others, the cowgirl lets out a cheer, adrenaline coursing through her veins. Dean was absolutely right, this is just like a spaghetti western.

They ride along the promontory of the mountains to their right, roughly following the Lost Goldmine trail. By the time the company passes a volcanic remnant called Turk’s Head, the sky begins to change, adding orange to the blues. A glance at her old watch tells her it’s 5.10 PM. Three days ago she kept feeling her back pocket for her phone whenever she needed to know the time, or felt the urge to check her messages, but not having her Iphone with her turns out to be a blessing in disguise. Who would want to stare at a screen and miss all the good stuff?

Ted’s strides are long and consistent, not a trace of fatigue noticeable with the bay gelding. From behind the group, Dean should have a good overview, if it wasn’t for the dust clouds obstructing his vision. The small particles cling to his skin, his lashes, the fabric of his clothes. He can still see the boys holding their ground well on the right, the steep slopes running up into the peaks of the Flatiron assisting them, working as a funnel. Benny and Macy are keeping a good pace; if they continue at this speed, they will be home before dinner. Y/N is doing outstanding on the other flank, forming a dream team with eager little Joplin. Thankfully, Dean has eyes up ahead, because the radio on his belt begins to crack. “Two miles to go, Chief!” Dean takes the radio phone and presses the PTT button before he answers. “Let’s bring them home, brother.”

With his thumb he twists the channel nob, switching to number four, before he calls in again. They should be within the perimeter now. “Bobby, do you read me?” It’s quiet for a moment, but then the static breaks. “Loud and clear, son.” The head wrangler smiles, glad to be delivering good news after three days and nights filled with nerve wrecking moments. Treacherous terrain, suffocating heat. Drought, snakes, minor injuries. “We’re comin’ in hot. Thirty minutes.” “The gates are open. I’ll tell Ellen to put the casserole in the oven.” Dean’s mouth begins to water when his aunt’s famous dish is mentioned. No disrespect to Benny, but after all that canned food, he can’t wait to sink his teeth into that delicious corn, beef, and onion stocked, stomach filling meal. “In that case, I’ll make it twenty. Over.” “We’re ready for ya. Over and out.”

The head wrangler hooks the radio back on his belt and glances aside. Rocko is galloping about thirty yards to his left, ahead by a few nose lengths. Sweat shimmers on his neck and shoulders, his dark bay coat almost black now. With big, powerful strides he pushes forward like a steam train, yet agile, maneuvering past rocks, cacti, and bushes. Even untrained, he has grown into a strong horse. Dean can’t wait to work with him. To strengthen that bond even more, to teach him. Watching the stallion by his side and under Dean’s wing as it were, fills him with pride already. It’s at this moment that Dean realizes; this horse is going to be something else.

Thank you for reading. I appreciate every single one of you, but if you do want to give me some extra love, you are free to reblog my work or buy me coffee (Link in bio at the top of the page)

Read part sixteen here

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millieswickedbooks · 5 years ago

Text

chapter three: goodbyes and old memories (part one)

previous chapter || masterlist || next chapter >>

pairing: Stiles Stilinski Black!OC

word count: 8,454

warnings: kate argent, abuse, pedophilia, trauma, swearing, implied PTSD, mention of a panic attack, slight violence, slight assault, mention of hunting, slight mention of bullying, mention of deaths via fire

"You have six minutes," the Peacekeeper informed us and shut the door behind my family. It was silent for about four seconds as my father, two sisters, Derek, Cora, Laura, William and Talia all stared at me. For some reason, those four seconds felt like an eternity and I thought the peacekeeper was going pop his head in any second now to tell us our time was up. Shockingly—but at the same time not shocking at all—my father was the very first to speak.

"Aurora?" He said, his voice trembling. I didn't know what to say. The look on his face—the look in his eyes brought my walls down.

"Daddy," I said, tears already beginning to roll down my face as I stood up from the chair I was sitting on and ran to him. I ran into his waiting arms, wrapped my arms around his neck and he hugged me back, wrapping his arms around my waist tightly. I didn't care if they all saw me crying, looking like a big baby in front of them. I needed to feel safe, even if it was for a second. Either way, they're all family anyway, so it shouldn't even matter.

"Daddy, I'm so sorry. I couldn't let Alise go up there, I-I just couldn't. I'm sorry," I sobbed out.

Bubba shushed me as I sobbed, hiccuping and all. He pulled away and gently wiped my tears away.

"I'm scared, Daddy. I'm terrified. I-I-I d-don't wanna leave you, I don't w-wanna kill chil-children. They're gonna m-make me kill kids, Daddy. But I-I... I don't... I don't wanna die. I'm so scared, I don't know what to do," I rambled, hiccuping like crazy and honestly at this point I felt a little embarrassed to be this emotional in front of the Hales. They've never seen me like this.

"My baby girl, my brave, beautiful baby girl," he began, and he looked at me with, so much love in his eyes, it made me feel like my heart was breaking all over again. "I'm scared too, baby. But you have a shot, okay? Remember, you have a lot of people waiting for you to come back. And you must come back to us, you understand?" I nodded, gripping his shirt like as if the Peacekeepers were about to come in any second now and take me away, and my Bubba's lip trembled.

"God, I love you so much. You have to be brave, okay? Just as brave as you were out there, you have to be in there. And the killing... no one will look at you differently, you won't be killer, okay? You have to do it to survive, Aurora. It's... messed up, you know that the most out of everyone, but in these conditions, it'll be okay. You gotta do what you gotta do to get back home," he told me firmly. I nodded and he continued, "no one will view you differently, baby girl. I'll make sure of it."

I nodded again, knowing damn well he couldn't force others to think I wasn't a murderer but I let it go for now. That's a different conversation for a different time, a time that I might not live to see, or a conversation I might not live to have either. He sighed and tears began to form in his eyes as he looked me over once again.

"God, you remind me so much of Rose," he commented and I smiled because, for the time being, I guess I could see what he meant. Mama would've done everything to protect her children, just like I did. He kissed my forehead and hugged me once again. I breathed in his calming, familiar scent and as I did, I heard him whisper in my ear.

"Hopefully now you can realize that you truly are a good person and can stop blaming yourself for a death that wasn't your fault," I pulled away from him, like as if I was burned and I stared deep into my father's eyes and he gave me a knowing look. I don't think he can even begin to comprehend how much those words are affecting me right now. I looked down in shame, suddenly feeling guilty for an unknown reason, and he tilted my head up, looking up at him once again.

"I love you, Aurora."

"I love you, too, Daddy," I replied, hugging him tightly for the last time, sniffling into his shirt, silently thanking him because for once in five whole years, I didn't feel the guilt of my mother's death on my shoulders. Even though I knew it wouldn't last all too long, since I have long accepted the weight of the guilt and allowed it to make a home somewhere deep within me, it was nice, at least for now. I unwrapped myself from his body and turned to face my sisters and, honest to God, I had literally one nanosecond to register the fact that Alise and Amara running at me. Literally running at me.

"God, why would you do that?!" I heard Alise say and she was quickly interrupted by Amara.

"Oh my God, you idiot, are you okay?!" Amara bombarded me. And then she, as well, was interrupted by Alise's screams.

"WHY WOULD YOU DO THA-" Alise screamed at me and I couldn't take it any longer.

"Alise!" I cried out, causing her to stop talking and I pulled away from both of their arms and crouched down to level myself with her crying face.

"Wh-why-why? Why would you do-do that?" She cried, hiccuping as she hugged me tightly.

"Alise, I would rather die a million times over than to watch you be in those Games," I informed her. She looked at me like she understood but I know she's incredibly stubborn, she wasn't having it. "When I heard your name be called I nearly lost my mind, I thought my ears were literally playing jokes on me."

"You have to win, you have to-to try, you have a chance," she whimpered out. I sighed, knowing this would be a hard conversation to have.

"I do have a chance, everyone's always told me I'm smart all my life. I'll definitely try, okay? You have my promise, Alise."

She nods and I kiss her forehead, hugging her tight.

"Don't let Beau forget about me..." I commented trying to lighten the mood, smiling at her. Alise laughed, sniffling as she nodded at me. I went to stand up but Alise stopped me again. I looked down at her expectantly and I felt her slip something metallic and small into my left hand. I opened my hand and I saw it was a golden pin; a golden pin of a Mockingjay holding an arrow in its beak

I looked down at Alise in confusion, why is she giving me this?

"It was Mom's pin... I made it a while back. I knew she loved Mockingjay's. It was her favorite bird. She told me once when she dies she wanted to come back as one of them. After she passed... I didn't what to do with it, so I just kept it on me all the time," Alise explained and I felt my heart break at the mention of Mom. I was also slightly taken back at the fact that Alise had managed to forge a literal metal pin but at the same time, I still didn't understand why she was giving it to me though...

"Alise, why are-?" Alise cut me off.

"Just take it, so you know we're with you, always, even when we aren't there. Even Mama, she's gonna be there with you, too. Through the pin," Alise rambled out and I nearly melted at the sentence. I wanted to break down into tears once again, but I had to stay strong, for my family. I quickly wiped the tears that escaped and nodded my head at Alise, putting the pin in my pocket.

I turned around to face Amara and I truly took in her appearance, like as if it would be the last time I would be seeing her and I wanted to capture the beauty that is my sister. She's crying just as much as she was when Alise's name was called, and probably not more than Alise currently is. I wondered if she had the same moment I did when she heard Alise's name and saw me go up on stage.

'Do you think she wanted to replace the both of us? Volunteered for us?' I thought to myself. It must suck for her not to be able to do anything, just stand in the sidelines and watch her siblings get sent to literal Hell. I think I would've literally lost my Goddamn mind if I knew I couldn't have done anything about to save Alise.

"Amara-" I started but she cut me off.

"Just come back, Rory. Please, come back," Amara whispered to me as she pulled me into a bone-crunching hug. She finished with; "I don't know what I would do if I watched... if I watched you get ki... get mur..."

I cut her off, knowing she was struggling with finishing that sentence, "you won't. I promise."

I pulled away from her hug and looked at the Hales. Cora and Laura were crying and so was Talia, which was a rare sight to see. William looked troubled, probably keeping it together for his weeping family and I looked next to him and my eyes landed on the last Hale, Derek and- wow. Derek was actually crying.

Derek and I had a nice relationship, which I'm proud of. He is a very silent, loner-type of guy. Reminded me so much of a hermit. He was a very closed person, never really wanted to let anyone in, never wanted to show that he cared. The fact that I managed to sneak into his life, slipping in through the cracks of the walls he has built around himself and that he allowed it, was a pleasant, almost satisfying feeling. It felt like a weird accomplishment, like a trophy. Especially since he basically acts like he despises everyone, and just barely tolerates Boyd, Erica, and Isaac—even though they still, very clearly annoy the shit out of him. He's super nice to me, Alise, his family, and my father—duh! And it annoys the shit out of Stiles, which is the best part too. And don't even get me started on he acts when it comes to Amara. Lord, the only time I've ever seen a love that deep and profound was when Mama was still alive. Bubba treated her like as if she was his entire world, which she was. Derek treats Amara that way and it what she deserves. I do pick them good, don't I?

The story of Amara and Derek began when I was twelve years old, almost thirteen. I had asked Amara, who had turned sixteen at the time, why she stares at this specific boy at school so much and she had admitted to me—after about five minutes of her making me super-pinky-promise not to tell a soul about her lil' secret—that she liked the boy. And after watching the boy myself, wanting to see what the hype was about, I noticed the boy was a year older than her but he was indeed cute. And I even tested him, acting all clueless and asked him to walk me to class because I was "lost". And he passed it because he did without a second thought, even it was about five months in the school year. He's a lil' clueless but it's whatever, his beautiful hazel eyes make up for it. He carried a nice conversation with me the whole time in which I learned that his name was Derek Hale. And he didn't forget about me either, which I personally thought was adorable, he would say hi to me in hallways all the time. So I knew he was a good person—and most importantly good for my sister.

But Amara never did anything to act out on her feelings. And I wasn't going to force her either. Mama used to say that if something is meant to happen, it'll happen, that fate works in mysterious ways. So nothing happened, no matter how many times I told her "stop waiting for something to happen out of nowhere and to do something about your feelings" or how much I wanted it to happen, Amara was too shy, too scared of being rejected. And soon it was too late.

The Hales were a big family and they lived in a pretty big house. They had many family members; cousins, uncles, and aunts. But then the Hale Fire happened, four years ago when I was still twelve. The only survivors were Talia, William, Laura, Cora, and Derek.

The Hales were a family of twenty-two.

Derek closed himself off from the world. He lost nearly all his friends, which was a disgusting thing, only five of his family of twenty-two survived and you leave him? Yeah, better not to have those people in his life but it's such a wrong time to leave him. I felt so bad for them and racked my brain for days, trying to find a way to help them out.

I remember a couple weeks, probably one or two, later, I overheard Bubba talking to Ms. McCall about the fact that the Hales were struggling food-wise and that they wanted to help them out. I decided that the next day I would hunt as much as I could give it to them. It took all day and I lost a lot of bows and knives and Scott and Stiles wouldn't stop complaining but I managed to catch four bunnies and two ducks and one squirrel. I even managed to get Alise to ask the Dunbar's for two pieces of bread that morning, which she got thanks to how adorable she was.

The next day I went over to their makeshift home at the time with five bags and a timid smile on my face when the door opened. Mr. Hale, whose name I would learn later on is William, answered.

"Sorry to bother you, Sir, my name's Aurora Galloway, daughter of Hudson and Rose Galloway, and I feel really bad for what happened to your family. You may be a stranger but my Mama... she used to always say our house is always open to those in need, even if they are strangers. And you are a stranger, in need. Hopefully, this helps," I proclaimed and I handed the bags to a very confused looking William. Once he looked in the bags the man broke down in tears.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry, also please don't tell the Peacekeepers I hunt," I begged the man, confused as to why food of all things is making him cry, hoping that he wouldn't rat me out because I hurt his feelings. He then dropped down to his knees and hugged me, thanking me profusely.

Out came Derek and Talia, I didn't know her name either, at that very moment, from inside their makeshift home, probably wondering what was taking the man so long or why he was on the ground. Now that I think about it, that view from inside the house was probably terrifying to them. They came running over and Talia spoke first when they reached William.

"William...? William?! What happened?! William, what is it?!" She yelled at him. Derek looked long and hard at his father and then at me and I saw anger flare in them. He then proceeded to grab me by the shirt.

"What did you do?!" He yelled in my face and recoiled back, trying to get out of his grip, scared at what was happening.

"Nothing, I didn't do anything! Well, I don't think I did anything! I just gave him this! I promise I only wanted to help!" I explained, trying desperately to remove Derek's hands from my body.

"Derek, let her go, now," his mother ordered and Derek looked torn but he begrudgingly let me go. I took a couple steps back, fearing what his mother had in store for me. At that moment I was terrified of all of the remaining Hales. What the heck is wrong them all? Are they vegetarians or something? Oh my God, what if they are vegetarians?

"Thank you, thank you so, so much!" Their father yelled, now up from his knees and literally picked me up off the ground, hugging me tightly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mrs. Hale take one look at the meat in the bag and she gasped.

Mr. Hale put me down and Talia crouched down to my level.

"Did you get this... for us? How...?" Even though the Hales were showing me kindness, they still pretty much terrified me, so I cut her off.

"Yes, but you can't tell anyone or I'm gonna get in big trouble says my Bubba! And I can't say, it's a secret. Well, gotta go now! You're welcome, bye-bye!" I rambled out, trying to get out of that conversation as quick as possible. I ran away from the Hales without a second glance.

I unknowingly began my relationship with the Hales after that day. A week later, William came to my house and Bubba answered the door. I was standing at the kitchen, absolutely terrified that Mr. Hale was going to tell them what I did and get us all in trouble. But he did the opposite; he thanked us, he told my father that what I did basically saved them, helped them out a bunch. He told Bubba that he should be glad to have a daughter like me.

Bubba ended up giving me a stern talk about hunting and how I was supposed to keep it a secret but I could see in his eyes that he was proud of me. I remember being so happy that day.

But what I personally believe really formed my relationship with Derek was the whole Kate fiasco. God, that crazy bitch.

Shortly after the fire, Derek had gotten involved with a woman. Her name was Kate Argent. Lord, did that break poor little Amara's heart. She assumed he wasn't on the market because of the fire so she hadn't made a move because he was still healing. When I told her that he was seeing this Kate lady, the look on her face said it all.

I felt bad for Amara, she really fell for this boy. And I know that I hated Kate because Amara is my sister and I have to hate whoever is hurting her, even if they don't mean it but this Kate chick was just... off to me. She gave me a bad vibe, one that said 'steer-clear-of-this-bitch!'. I had no idea what Derek saw in her.

I found out that they were a thing when I saw them making out in the woods when I went to do everything; hunt, practice my knife-throwing, my archery and hang out with Stiles and Scott when we weren't beyond the fence. They dated for about three months before I realized something was seriously wrong in that relationship. She had this grip on Derek that was... something I can't even begin thinking of the proper word to explain. She refused to let him do any work with any girls, have any friends, barely talk to family, it was bad.

Talia came over to my house one day and talked to Mama about it.

"I just... I don't know what going on anymore with him, you know? He was so open with me, used to talk to me about everything... and now, it-it's like I barely know my own son," Talia cried, laying her head on my father's shoulder as Bubba comforted her, trying to calm her down. She had shown up that night randomly at our doorstep, crying. I had answered the door. My father took her in immediately asking if she was okay. She explained that she hadn't to do her husband because he was "too worried about his job and he didn't need more on his plate". It was at that moment, after watching Talia sob into my father's shoulders, I decided I would put an end to that relationship, and possibly create a new one.

After spying on them for about a week or two, I realized that this Kate chick was using and abusing Derek.

I found out she was using him while walking to the Townsquare, for a little trading action. I had unintentionally eavesdropped on a conversation Mrs. Farway and Mrs. Evergraze were having. Mrs. Hazel Farway and Mrs. Primrose Evergraze were two little old ladies that had retired and spent the rest of their days watching others work, giving advice to others and, mainly, gossiping about the district. Always. Like gossiping was literally all they did. I had no idea how they got all the information they spoke of since they barely moved from those rocking chairs they basically lived in but everyone knew, when they said something, it was either true or going to happen.

Mrs. Evergraze was talking about how the Mayor had felt bad for the Hales and had made an arrangement with the Capitol to get them some money to get back on their feet.

"When will that Derek boy open his eyes and realized that slimy Kate is only with him for the money?" Mrs. Farway sighed. My eyes widened. First off, how the hell does she know they're together? And Kate's only with him for money? What money? I decided to continue my research later on that day, with my father because now he and Talia are constantly coming over each other's houses, quickly becoming best friends.

Later on, that day, before I went to bed I saw Bubba in the kitchen, reading. I decided to question him.

"Bubba?" I remember asking him quietly. He looked up at me, his brown eyes eyeing me curiously and a smile appeared on his face.

"Yes, Rory?"

"I got a question, I was wondering if you help me understand..." I explained vaguely, beginning to wonder if this was the right thing to do.

"Of course, what's going on?" Bubba asked, setting his book down on the dining table and motioning me over to him. I walked over and sat on his lap.

"I heard the Hales are getting money from the Mayor... is that true?" I had asked him, tentatively. Bubba's face changed almost instantly, going from curious and slight worriment to an almost angry look.

"And where in the Hell did you hear that from? Were you spying on my conversation with Talia?!" He interrogated me and instantly I regretted asking him anything at all. I remembered I made a mental note to trust my gut feeling always.

"No, no, Bubba! I heard it from Mrs. Farway and Mrs. Evergraze earlier today..." I explained myself, hoping not to get in trouble because of some gossiping old ladies.

"Gosh, those ladies do love to talk, don't they? Well, no one is really supposed to know but yes, they are. And honestly, it's great for them. It'll really help them out," Bubba explained and I nodded understanding. I then decided to ignore my gut feeling once again and ask him about Kate.

"And also, who is Kate Argent and why did they call her 'slimy'... is she a bad person?" I remember asking Bubba again and I also remember his eyebrows raising in shock or surprise, I don't know but it was one of those two.

"Kate? Did she talk to you?!"

"Bubba, no! It was Mrs. Farway and Mrs. Evergraze again! And no, she hasn't spoken to me! Is she really that bad?" I asked again, wondering what she did that was so bad.

"Oh goodness, you nearly gave me a heart attack, Aurora. Stay the hell away from those women, Rory, you're too naive, they'll confuse your little mind. But Kate Argent... is not a good person, at all. She's known for being a thief. She stole from everyone at the market, even assaulted Mr. Cornell when he caught her. But that was years ago, anyways her father, Gerard Argent, got her out of those accusations those, he's 'close' friends with the Mayor," Bubba tried to explain, using his hands to do the quotation over the word "close". I nearly recoiled back in shock at the new information.

"The Mayor's gay?! Doesn't he have a wife?!" I asked Bubba, now incredibly confused. I don't hate gay people, not at all, I'm literally bisexual. I believe all people have the right to love whoever they want to love, regardless of gender, but this man has been married to his wife like a thousand years now... and they have kids, too—and to this day I still laugh at the look my father gave me when that sentence came out of my mouth.

"My Lord, Aurora! No, he blackmailed him!" And afterward Bubba had to explain what blackmail was to me and after getting a stern talking for being a little snoop, I was sent to my room.

While laying in bed, after being banished to it by Bubba, I tried to figure out a plan on how to help Derek but nothing came to mind. I decided I would confront him after school.

And that's exactly what I did the next day. And after taking an entire day to explain the whole situation, what I was doing and what I was planning on doing to Stiles, I managed to get him on board. After I begged him for help for like ten freaking minutes.

"Derek scares me Aurora, let him suffer in peace, please, for the sake of me, pretty please?" He begged me, his arms flailing everywhere—a thing he still does to this day, you can't have a Stiles conversation without he waving his arms around like a madman—and I shook my head at him.

"Quit your begging, peasant boy! You made a pinky promise you'd help, and you're keeping it. Stop being such a coward," I argued, in a weird posh accent. I remember thinking that Stiles needed to calm down, he was acting like as if Derek was going to kill us.

"Aurora, come on-"

"Fine coward boy, I'm going on my own then," I had interrupted him, being fed up with his stubbornness. I had turned around to walk away from him and I was suddenly yanked back, a hand grabbing my arm. I turned and saw it was Stiles. I stared at him in confusion.

"I don't want you going on your own though," Stiles admitted, looking extremely conflicted. I glared at him. He wasn't giving me any leeway in this situation.

"Stiles, what the hell? Dude, I'm going, whether you like it or not. And I don't understand you couldn't just come with, it's not you had to talk to him," I tried bargaining with him, feeling a little bummed because I really wanted to spend some time with Stiles and I thought he was going to come with me but he didn't want to do this and I obviously wasn't going to force him too either.

"Fine, let's go," Stiles groaned out, finally giving up. I broke out into a big smile because thank God, I really didn't want to do it alone.

"Yay!" I cried out, grabbing Stiles' wrist and dragging him out of the school. We managed to find Derek speed walking down a neighborhood and I had a feeling I knew where he was going. We hiding behind Ms. McKenna's house, sneaking glances at him from a safe distance.

"Wait, so how exactly are you gonna do this? Just go up to him and say, 'Hey, your girlfriend is a scummy, gold-digging bitch with a serious history of theft and you should dump her for my sister,'?" Stiles whispered, mimicking me. I smacked his arm for his language and sighed because he was right.

"Just follow my lead," I whispered back and I ran up to Derek, coming up to him from behind.

"Hey Derek, how you doing?" I said, greeting him loudly. He jumped, obviously getting scared by my sudden presence.

"Aurora?" He asked, looking confused. I wiggled my eyebrows at him, smiling.

"In the flesh," I responded boastfully, striking a lil' pose for him. I turned my head, wanting to see where Stiles was and spotted him right behind me. I winked at him and turned to face Derek once again.

"What do you want?" Derek grunted out, his eyebrows scrunching up and his eyes glaring holes into my face. He eyed Stiles up suspiciously too. I decided to continue my lil' innocent act.

"Why are you assuming I want something? Can't I just talk to my old pal?" I lied to him, shaking my head at Derek.

"Who's the boy?" He questioned. I felt Stiles get closer and grip my arm from behind.

"None of your business. Anyways, back t-" I retorted quickly, trying to change the subject from Stiles back to whatever it was I was trying to do. I was still trying to figure out a plan and I only had like twenty-three percent of one at that moment. But Derek cut me off.

"I gotta go, don't talk to me," he grumbled, shutting me down completely. He turned around and began walking once again. I began following him and Stiles followed me.

"Derek, come on, don't go. Derek!" I pleaded, trying to get him to stop but he was ignoring me. I huffed and suddenly an idea came to me.

"How's the house-money treating ya? You just gonna not talk to me because you gonna be rich now?" I quipped, knowing damn well that would get his attention. 'Try ignoring me now, bitch,' I had thought to myself and then I quickly chastised myself for swearing.

Derek whipped around, causing me to stop abruptly, apparently too abruptly for Stiles because he ran right into me, causing me to stumble forward a lot and nearly fall on my face. He grabbed my arm from behind once again, stopping me from making a complete fool of myself.

"How do you know about that?" Derek questioned glaring at me harder than before.

"Don't need to worry about that, Derek, but just know, I'm not the only one," I said, smirking at him as I managed to finally figure out a plan and I had him exactly where I wanted him.

"Who else knows?" He interrogated me, stepping closer to Stiles and I. I stood my ground because if he even thought I found him in the slightest bit intimidating, he was going to be very discouraged and very soon. I decided to still answer his question though.

"The only people I know who know apart from myself and your family are my father and some big-mouthed old ladies. But maybe you should ask your girlfriend, maybe she knows someone else who does..." I hinted, trailing off at the end. I remember seeing something flash across his eyes and face, but as quickly as it appeared it disappeared before I could analyze it.

"How do you know about her?" He asked once again, deciding to get in my face, probably hoping that would get some answers from me. I could basically count his eyelashes from how close he was. Stiles at that moment decided to do something besides stand off to the side with his tail between his legs and that was to get in between Derek and I. He pushed me back and stood protectively in front of me. I couldn't see his face but it must've been a scary one because I honestly, at that moment, I thought Derek would swing at him for his bold move but Derek stared at him for about five seconds and then backed up.

"Y'all suck face where I hunt," I admitted, sneering at him. How dare he get in my face, has he lost his damn mind? I began to get mad because what the hell, why is he being so freaking mean? What happened to nice Derek? What does Amara even see in him anymore? But then I remembered the conversation my mother had with his and I remembered Kate. This is what his mom meant by "I don't recognize my own son anymore," He's acting like this because of her.

"Whatever, I gotta go. Don't tell anyone what you know or else," Derek said, threatening me. I was pissed but I decided to let it go. He went to turn around but I quickly began talking again.

"Wait, come on, Dere-bear, I just wanna talk, why you in such a rush?... Wait, are you in a rush to see her?" I said, realizing that I was right earlier, he was rushing to see Kate.

"Aurora, I really need to get going-" he began to say but I wasn't letting him get away that easily, so I cut him off.

"Yeah, get going out of that relationship!" I interjected in a witty way.

"Shut u-" I cut him off again because don't ever tell me to shut up. Fuck you.

"You're scared of her, Derek. I see it. I've seen what she does to you, what she tells you to do. My Mama told me that in a relationship the couple loves each other. What you guys have... it isn't Love. Hell, it's barely a relationship, Derek. I know you see that." I affirmed, looking him right in his eyes, trying to get him to see what she was doing, trying to get him to see that Kate was a bad person.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he claimed and I rolled my eyes at him. He's more stupid now for thinking I'm just as stupid as him.

"Derek, you're observant, you're smart, I know damn well you are. I know you see that she isn't a good person, I know you know about her not-so-secret past as a literal criminal, I know you know she's using you to get to that huge stack of money you're about to receive, and I know you know that she's turning you just as rotten as her and that this rotten version of yourself is hurting your family, especially your mother," I stated, glaring right at him. His eyes widened and I quickly continued, "And you're just ignoring that because you don't wanna face the consequences yet."

Derek stared at me and I could tell he looked defeated so I knew I was getting through to him.

I continued, "but the funny thing is, there are no consequences, Derek. If you explain what happened, your family will understand, you know that. They'll forgive you and they'll help you. You know they're there for you always."

"But she'll do something, her... her grandfather is... not a good person," he explained, looking at the ground.

"I know about her grandfather, but you shouldn't suffer through this because of some raggedy old ass man. Now go and break up with that scummy, gold-digging, pedophilic, slimy bitch," I finished, quoting Stiles a lil' bit, walking up to Derek placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me and I smiled at him.

"Now? But-" I cut him off.

"We'll go with you, if you feel like you can't do it on your own, she won't be able to do anything, we some good, innocent, adorable ass kids," I advised, pulling Stiles close to me and pressing my two pointer fingers into his cheeks, making it seems as though he had dimples.

"But Aurora-" I cut him off once again, finally getting fed up with his stubbornness.

"Dude, don't do this for me, do it for your mom. She's hurting seeing you like this," I mentioned, knowing I was hammering this home.

Derek looked as though he was thinking it over and I mentally patted myself on the back for accomplishing this. Stiles looked at me with this face that clearly screamed, 'what the hell else did you just get me into?' And I smiled innocently at him. Derek then spoke up, interrupting our little moment.

"Okay, fine. I'll go break up with her now but-" I nearly burst with joy at the sentence, I didn't even need to hear the rest of it. He's finally doing it!

"Yay, let's go!" I more or else shrieked, grabbing both of their hands, pulling them in the direction of the forest.

The break up consisted of many screams, insults, fake crying, and threats but he managed to maintain being calm and did get through it somewhat cleanly by pulling out the classic 'you're literally a pedophile and I can totally use this information against you and ruin your life forever' card which was a nice touch, in my opinion, got her to back off instantly.

Afterward, he went home, explained the whole situation to his family, apologizing to them. But Stiles and I obviously weren't there for that part, I found out through Talia. She had come over once again and she talked about the whole situation to Bubba over coffee, talking about how they all forgave him, how much he has truly changed and how happy and at peace she finally was. I walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of water while she was talking and as I made my way out of the kitchen, my father looked at me and winked at me. I smiled back, greeting Mrs. Hale on the way out.

And the look on Amara's face was great when I told her that a certain boy whose name starts with 'D' was single once again.

After the whole Kate fiasco, For about a month afterward, Derek would show up literally out of nowhere and pull me away from everything to talk to me. Now that I look back at it, I realize he was confiding in me, trusting me and I subconsciously smile at the memories. The first time he appeared out of nowhere. I was in school, in the hallways, talking to Scott and Stiles about some stupid test we had to take the next period. He had come from behind me, startling the hell out of me.

"Can I grab Aurora for a second?" Without even waiting for Scott nor Stiles to respond—which most definitely was going to be a big, fat"no" from the both of them, they had yet to trust him, around that time—he dragged me into an empty classroom. He apologized for being a lil' prick and I accepted his apology, in return I told him if he ever needed a friend to talk to, I'll be there. I didn't he would take me up on that offer so literally.

One day, about three-ish months after the Kate fiasco, Derek had come over to my house. He was telling me about some rumor that was speculating about him and at that moment Amara came in through our door. I smiled at her and then I saw her freeze. I also saw Derek kind of tense up as he stared back at her. I looked at Amara and then Derek and an idea popped into my head, gasping so hard I nearly choked.

"HEY AMARA, how you doing?!" I exclaimed, grinning like wild. She didn't answer, seeming frozen as she probably was trying to figure out why in the world her crush was at her house, so I decided to help her out.

"I'm good, thanks for asking, anyways have you met Derek Hale?" I asked, trying to sound as clueless as possible. Amara looked at me like as if she wanted to smack me and I smirked at her, giving her a thumbs up and winking at her. I got up from the couch and grabbed Derek, pulling him off too. I dragged him towards and I pushed him a lil' so he would be standing right in front of Amara.

"Derek Hale, meet my older sister, Amara Galloway. Amara Galloway, meet my friend, Derek Hale," I overexplained, grinning like a little school girl at the same time. All they did was stare at each other so I huffed, a lil' annoyed that I had to do all the work but I was going to do anyway. I pinched Derek's side and that seemed to snap him out of the trance that my sister's beauty put him in.

"N-nice to meet you," he stuttered out and I could already see them together. I was grinning like a madman.

"Nice to meet you too," Amara echoed shyly. She had this little smile on her face and I saw Derek smiling at her.

"Hey aren't Y'all in the same school? That's crazy, what a coincidence," I rambled out, trying to get them to talk.

"Yeah, I've seen her in halls before," Derek responded, sounding in a slight daze, still staring at Amara. Aurora turned to look at me weirdly.

"Aurora, there's only one school-" she began but I interrupted her.

"Anyways, that was nice, I gotta talk to Derek in private, bye Amara!" I exclaimed, excitedly. Amara stared at me and I motioned for her to go away. She huffed and walked in the direction of her room. I didn't want to send her away but I need her to out of the room for now.

Derek stared at her as she walked away and then when she was out of sight, he turned to look at me. We stared at each other for a few minutes; I had the biggest grin on my face and he looked a little scared.

"Aurora, are you okay? I've never seen you smile this much." Derek commented, looking at me incredulously.

"Am I okay? I'm great! But the real question is... what do you think about my sister?" I asked, not even trying to hide what I was trying to get at.

"What do I think about her? She's... nice I guess," Derek half-confessed, looking over in the direction Amara left. I scoffed, she's Goddamn stunning, nice is belittling to her, well, at least in my eyes.

"You guess? She's more than nice, I would say she's... gorgeous, don't you think?" I instigated, smirking at Derek. His eyes literally bulging out of his head.

"I didn't say that," he sputtered out and he was just making this too easy. They are literally meant for each other.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to because I already know that you want to."

"Umm..." he uttered out, looking around my living room frantically, possibly trying really hard to find something to get out of this conversation. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Derek, I saw the way you look at her, you look like me when I..." I trailed off, stopping myself as I realized where I was taking that god awful comparison. 'You look like me when I stare at Stiles,' I was going to say... how stupid could I be, nearly revealing my crush like that? I internally shook the thought out of my head and quickly continued my sentence, knowing that Derek would catch on and see this as a way out, "Look at some pumpkin bread or something."

"Pumpkin bread? What? You know what? Whatever. I don't like your sister," he disclosed to me, not even realizing it and my eyes widened. Jack-fucking-pot!

"I never said you did," I replied with the biggest, shit-eating, devious, smug smirk on my face. His eyes widened as he quickly realized his mistake.

"Fuck."

Turns out, about two weeks after the whole Kate fiasco, Derek caught me talking to my sister in the halls at school and was wowed at her beauty, because fucking duh, my sister is fucking drop-dead gorgeous, getting hooked on her immediately. He told me he wanted to talk to her but didn't know how to approach her due to the many rumors speculating about him at the moment. A week later, Amara grew some tits and asked Derek out. And the rest is literally history, they are literally married now.

I returned back to reality and realized I was staring right in his red-rimmed eyes. At that moment, that old memory of us made me realize something. I realized just how much I meant to Derek. I realized why Derek and I had such a lovely relationship, why he was so kind to me. I realized why Derek had allowed me to sneak into his life, why he let me slip in through the walls he built. I realized at that moment how much love Derek must have for me. I saved his family from starving to death, got him out of a predatory, abusive relationship, was his friend when he really didn't have any, held all of his secrets, let him confide in whenever he wanted to and helped him meet and get with the love of his life. He wanted me to get in because he trusted me, he cared about me. That old memory took a whole new meaning in my mind.

"Come back, Aurora. Please," Derek pleaded me, more tears falling down his cheeks. I nodded, now noticing that tears falling once again dripping out my eyes. Great, now I'm crying again.

"I will, Dee, I will," I whimpered out and he walked towards me, wrapping me up in a big hug. I hugged his torso tight, feeling my tears wet his shirt. I looked over and I saw his sisters, still crying and holding each other for support, staring right at me. I looked at them and smiled weakly.

"Get over here," I called out to them, pulling my left arm from Derek, motioning them over. They ran at me just like Alise and Amara did minutes ago and I allowed them to group hug me this one time. Might be the last one I ever have, so might as well.

"Time's running out, guys," Alise warned us and I let the Hale siblings go, wiping my tears away as I swore under my breath. I speedily walked towards Talia and hugged her, not wanting to let them leave without a hug.

"Oh, my sweet, brave Angel. You're gonna be okay, okay? You got this in the bag, you hear me? No one can throw a knife or shoot an arrow like you, sweetie. We'll be waiting for you when you win," she encouraged me and I hated it but she actually gave me some hope that I could possibly win this shit-show. I nodded and watch as a single tear ran down her tan skin as she leaned down and kissed my forehead. I smiled and turned to Mr. Hale and he quickly wrapped me up in a hug.

"There's nothing I can really say that hasn't already been said but as Talia said, you can do this, just remember that we're going to be on the edge of our seats waiting for you to return back to us," he promised me and I smiled once again, hugging the man tighter. I pulled away and turned to look at my family, smiling weakly at all of them, looking at them and feeling an almost... bittersweet... emotion? I couldn't think of the proper word since I was so focused on the fact that I had so many emotions running through me at the moment.

"Well, this is it, Y'all," I stated quietly, my voice cracking at the end. Alise suddenly looked panicked.

"No, no it isn't!" She cried out and at that moment Amara decided to speak up, looking very anxious and... bothered.

"Aurora, there's something I have to tell you," she said quickly, her Galloway rambling coming out. And before I could even process the sentence that came out her mouth, the Peacekeeper came in through the door.

"Time's up," he said simply and I felt my begin heart beating erratically. I didn't want them to leave, all of this instantly becoming too real for me but I couldn't cause a scene because then Peacekeeper would nine times out of ten hop in and that's the absolute last thing I want to deal with. Getting a war-styled trauma flashback while my hearts beating a thousand miles a minute and also, on top of that, I'm already on the verge of having a full blown panic attack doesn't sound like a good time for me. Sounds like the literal recipe for a heart attack.

Fuck.

They all began to be escorted out of the room by two Peacekeepers and right before she would step out those doors, Amara ducked under the Peacekeeper's arm and ran towards me. She wrapped me in one last, crushing hug and I felt her press her face up against mine, her mouth close to my ear.

"I'm pregnant. Come back so you can help me name your future niece or nephew," she whispered and turned around, letting the Peacekeeper who's arm she ducked under grab her and pull her out of the room. She was pulled out of the room and the doors were shut abruptly before I could fully process the news.

I stood there in shock at the revelation that was essentially chucked at me, my legs giving out and thank God, I was already standing in front of a chair, my knees would've paid dearly. Amara's pregnant. I'm an Aunt now... Aunt Rory. Let's see if I live to hear myself get called that.

I sat in silence for what felt like forever, with my head in my hands, wondering what the fuck was going on and I wasn't meeting my mentor, seeing Liam, or on the way to my inevitable death yet. Shouldn't I have been gone by now? What were they, or I guess, I was waiting for?

The sound of the doors opening once again got my attention and I swiftly looked up, wanting to see who came in and got the answer to my "who am I waiting for?' question from before because through doors I saw Isaac, Allison, Kira, Boyd, Erica, Lydia, Malia, Scott, and last but not least Stiles wall shuffle into the room.

"That's funny, you thought you were finally gonna stop crying about three minutes ago, didn't you?" I heard a tiny voice say in the back of my head as I stared at the group of friends that I loved so dearly. 'Think again, bitch.

➳

chapter tres was a long one... sorry, got a little carried away there. PART TWO IS GONNA BE LONGER !!! so sorry, just there's a lot of flashbacks and shit/ anyways, as always feedback always appreciated !!! thanks for reading ♡

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ellana-ravenwood · 7 years ago

Text

“Is...father drunk ?”- Bruce Wayne x Reader

I was trying to find a way to make Bruce say that alright ? And I was thinking : “That’s kind of something I can’t see out of his mouth unless he’s drunk, which is ridiculous cause Batman’s never drunk and...Wait...OH !”. And this is how this story was born. This is a poor attempt at imagining a drunk Bruce Wayne..After my latest fic, which was very sad, I though maybe we were in need of some fluff...hoping you guys will like it :

You can find my masterlist here : @ella-ravenwood-archives

__________________________________________________

This was...a first.

You had seen him in a lot of states that most people would find impossible to even think about when it comes to the Batman.

You had seen him happy, cheerful, silly, horny, goofy, cracking stupid jokes and farting in front of you without any shame (oh the number of time he trapped you under the sheet right after he let out an awfully loud and smelly fart...ass) !

But this ?

This was most definitely a first.

Leaning against his best friend, Clark Kent, eyes half-closed and a stupid smile on his face, his tie undone hanging around his neck loosely, his dress shirt out of his pants, you were pretty sure he was very drunk.

But it was impossible !

You’ve never seen Bruce drunk, and you’ve been with him for years !

He never even got tipsy, NEVER , at all those damn galas and charity event you always had to go. Not. Even. TIPSY.

He doesn’t like to loose control and usually drinks with parsimony. A few drinks within a few hours. Enough to socialize around a glass, definitely not enough to have his mind clouded.

And here he was, in front of you, an elbow on Clark’s shoulder, too intoxicated to even stand on his own.

Clark gives you an apologetic smile, as you look at both of them, stunned. With a little nervous chuckle, he says :

-Hum...So things kinda got out of hands.

Bruce whips his head around to look at his friend and, outraged, says :

-Non-sense Clarkie, things went perfectly fine ! Now bring me home, my wonderful and perfect wife is there and I want to see her because she’s wonderful and perfect and I love her.

You couldn’t believe it. Your Bruce was really drunk ! His voice wasn’t his usual one, it was weirdly clumsy and a bit higher than normal...him who always had a perfectly steady and sure low voice (that often made you shiver) !

Things do not quite register in your head, as you stare at both men, bewildered. After a few seconds, and while Bruce was singing “itsy bitsy spider”, running his fingers up Clark’s arm (imitating the spider you know), the reporter finally says :

-Not that he’s really heavy, not for me at least, but hum...Do you think we could come in ? Lois is waiting for me back home, it’s really late...

Suddenly, you realize that you didn’t even invite him in, and just stared at her for the past few minutes, too surprised to act, looking at your drunk husband and embarrassed friend without much reaction but widened eyes and mouth opened.

-Oh, yes, sure, sorry Clark, come in, let’s go to the living room.

The man follows you in, and you close the door behind him, completely astonished by Bruce waving at you dreamily and saying “theeeeeere she is, my wonderful and perfect wife...Or are you an Angel ?”, twisting his neck around to try and see you as you walk behind them both.

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

It was around 7 pm when he left to meet them in some dive bar uptown. You convinced him to go, and he wasn’t particularly happy about that but...Oh well, maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea.

That night, Batgirl and Batwoman, Barbara and Kate, were on duty in Gotham and for once in a very long time, the entire family was off...Only, it was Clark’s bachelor party (finally, after years of being together, the damn man popped the question to Lois...For real though, you gotta ask yourself some questions when Bruce “I’m emotionally disabled” Wayne asks his girl to marry him BEFORE you).

There would be other family nights, but Clark would only have one bachelor party (hopefully), and of course he really wanted his best friend to be there.

Bruce at first refused, wanting to be with you and his sons but...well, he had to admit you were right (you always were) and to be honest, a night away from his damn children always bickering each others for no reasons (and only when HE was around ! Like with their mother, everything was FINE...how did she do it?) sounded pretty nice.

He left at 7 pm, as you and your boys were getting ready to have a “The Lord of the Rings” marathon (extended version of course, your plan being to watch as much as you can until you all collapse of sleep and exhaustion, your belly full of cakes, ice cream and tea that Alfred made before he went to bed early...for once).

He came back at 4 am, in the middle of “The Two Towers”, struggling to walk, leaning on his best friend (who wasn’t drunk at all).

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

Clark couldn’t get drunk. He discovered that a while ago, when he was in college. When he told his friends that, none of them believe it and...drinking games started.

There were Barry, Hal, J’onn, Bruce of course, Arthur and him (Clark didn’t have a lot of REAL close friends). They all got very drunk, as he kept chugging down more and more shots of whatever they gave him.

The first one to go was Barry. They made sure he was safe in a taxi back to his home, calling his girlfriend to tell her to pick him up down their apartment.

The second one was J’onn. Alcohol might be ineffective against Kryptonian, but oh boy did it work on Martians ! He almost blew his cover, turning back into his original form in the middle of the fucking bar, before he realized he probably had enough and left...somewhere (hopefully, home).

The third one was Hal, and Clark had to take his Green Lantern ring away before a terrible accident could happen (or before he reveals his secret identity). They send him home too (the next day, they’d discover that he stopped the taxi in the middle of the way and wander around aimlessly the rest of the night...)

The fourth one was Bruce, but he refused to actually leave. He stayed and drunk some more. Terrible mistake.

It took ages before Arthur finally got very drunk...Clark had to hold both him and Bruce all the way to Gotham docks. He must admit, he felt a bit guilty that he kinda threw Arthur in the sea without being very delicate, but he was starting to talk in gibberish and being overly annoying so...it had to be done. As soon as Arthur hit the water, he grabbed a few dolphins that carried him home (hopefully) while screaming “WOOOHOOOOOO” at the top of his lungs.

And so Clark had to take Bruce back home...And here they were, in your living room. Bruce was still leaning against him and looking around as if it was the first time he saw the place, whistling, impressed, saying things like : “wow niiiiice carpet ! Guy who owns this place have good tastes”.

After he explained to you what had happened, and after you and your family (who were watching TV calmly) went over the initial shock of your Bruce being drunk...You all started to laugh like crazy.

Bruce joined, not really knowing why he was laughing, with a laugh that wasn’t really his (it was so ridiculous, and he kept burping throughout the entire time).

Clark joined too of course, it wasn’t every day that he saw the entire bat family laugh like crazy like that, it was quite a sight.

It took all of you a few minutes to calm down. After a few more explanation from Clark (how many drinks Bruce drunk (23...pretty impressive really, for a man who never drinks) and such things), the man was about to leave to go back home to his own wife and sons when something hit him all of a sudden :

-Oh ! I gotta warn you (Y/N), he’ve been drunk for a little while and...well, it’s like he just gulped down some veritaserum or something !

You smirk at the mention of the imaginary potion that famed writer J.K Rowling created for her series of books : “Harry Potter”.

You loved that saga, but would have never pegged the Superman to like it as well...He never mentioned it before ! Clark blushes slightly and, putting his glasses back up his nose a little bit mumbles :

-Damian lend Jon some of the Harry Potter books and he became so obssesed with it that I wanted to read them to to talk about it with him and that’s really not the point right now stop smirking at me like that (Y/N) !

You smile fondly at one of your best friend, genuinely thinking it was utterly cute that he would read seven books just to bond with his son (though, come to think of it...Bruce did it too, and he didn’t even like it !).

-No worries Clark. I love Harry Potter too. And...veritaserum ? You mean...

-I mean that you can literally ask him anything, he will answer it truthfully. At least...I think. I mean, he told us a few things that I don’t think he would ever make up so...

-Like what ?

Clark blushes more than ever and turns his head away from you, readjusting his glasses once again.

-Oh...N-Nothing. Not important. Ok gotta go bye !

And on that note, he flies away. Wayne Manor was isolated enough that it was completely fine for him to do that here but...his reaction makes you curious. You’ll have to remember to taunt him to tell you all about what Bruce said. You were pretty positive that you’d be able to “convince him” to tell you haha...

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

You and your sons go back to the living room, where you left Bruce alone the time to say goodbye to Clark and...He’s sitting calmly on the couch, as you approach him you realize that he’s commenting on the movie you were watching (the scene was frozen on Aragorn) :

-I really don’t know why she thinks he’s so attractive but she does. My wife loves Aragorn. Or rather, she loves Viggo Mortensen. She made me watch all his damn movies, drooling over him and all. How can I compete against him ? He’s awesome in real life too ! Oh and in the movies...The movies are some of my kids’ favorites. They often watch it and...oh there they are !

He heard you come in and instantly stopped talking to himself (?????), smiling at all of you stupidly. He points at all of you individual, and says :

-I love you. I love you. I love you too. And you, I love you.

Once he’s done, he looks very pleased with himself and lean back against the couch, starting to sing the main thune of The Lord of the Rings.

You approach him and before you can say anything, Jason goes :

-What do you really think of Superman ?

Bruce looks at his son and his eyes grow big, shining a little, just like a little kid who just saw his hero. He straighten up in the couch and, facing the six of you (you, Dick, Jason, Tim, Cass and Damian) he says :

-He’s amazing ! Like he can lifts fucking buildings end very very big fucking rocks ! I mean, “freaking”. Don’t say fucking, kids, it’s a bad word. He can smell brownies made in Kansas from the League’s watchtower !! He can smell brownies from space ! He’s not the smartest ever, sure, but he’s so kind and nice and his hair are always flawless, like I take hours every day to make mine look decent, and he flies around the wind all the time and like his are perfect ! Fooooosh, flawless ! He’s a very good friend...hell no, he’s not a friend, he’s my brother ! I’m not even mad he slept with my wonderful and perfect wife, years ago, before we were together...I mean, I’d sleep with her too...

There’s a small silence followed by this little speech. Your sons don’t even take notice of his comment about sleeping with you. Broken by Dick :

-Holy shit ! Uncle Clark was right ! It’s as if he’s wrapped in Aunty D’s lasso of truth ! There no way he would ever admit that Superman is that great otherwise ! I’VE NEVER SEEN HIM DRUNK ! I’M FREAKING OUT !

Your oldest son grabs your arm and pulls on it to bring you closer to him, putting his face really close to yours, and...Yes, freaking out a little bit.

Tim and Damian are speechless and you...Well you don’t know what to do with all this. After all, there’s not a lot of questions you’d ask him since he’ve always been very honest with you. And you sense how dangerous all of this can be if your sons start to ask him things ! Tim, just to make sure, asks :

-How do you like you coffee ?

-Just like you my boy, double red eye, blackest of them all.

Yes, this is all very dangerous if he only says the truth ! Sooner or later, they’ll ask him something that’ll be too much ! Each in turn, they ask him random things that comes through their mind, laughing way too much at the way their dad speaks and moves (so clumsy ! They’re not used to it when it comes to their father !) :

-What’s your guilty pleasure ?

-Watching cheesy rom-coms with Alfred. And putting ketchup on my rice.

-What do you think of climate change ?

-Oh awful, awful thing !

-Do you think you’ll ever stop being broody ?

-Absolutely no chance. Unless I get drunk every day, like right now, but then we’re replacing an existing problem with another bigger problem...

-Do you really like Alfred’s cucumber sandwiches or do you only act like you do not to hurt his feelings ?

-I’m a great actor.

-Between Diana and Clark, who would win in a fight ?

-Diana would whoop his ass in an instant ! But Clark would still have flawless hair...

-Do you actually enjoy wearing costumes and three piece suits ?

-Hate it, I wish I could hang out in pyjamas all day...

-Did you really like my cake ?

-Yes, it was amazing.

The next question, coming out yet again of Jason’s mouth, makes you cringe and is exactly what you feared :

-Who’s your favorite child ?

Bruce looks at him and a horrified expression paints itself on his face :

-Favorite ? FAVORITE ?! I don’t have a favorite ! How could I ? You’re all so amazing and perfect ! Not to be mistaken with your mother, my wife, who’s wonderful and perfect. It’s different, but still the same. You guys are all so beautiful. I love you all so much, equally, for real real.

Jason pouts a little bit, though he’s secretly relieved. He’s about to ask another question but his father isn’t done.

Bruce tries to stand up and fails miserably, falling back down in the couch and instead of going to them, he settles for pointing at them. He starts with his oldest :

-You Dick, you’re my favorite because you’re everything I wish I was. You lived the same tragedy than me, you lost your parents at the same age than me, but you never became me. You never became that dark and stupid man I am. You’re a light Dick, you’re a light for everyone ! We’re all lost boats and you’re a very bright lighthouse ! ...Or...Rather we’re all lost people who are on a boats, I forgot the name of people who work on a boat...I know in French it’s “marin” but that’s it. We’re all “marin” and you’re our bright lighthouse Dick. I love you so much my boy. And I’m so proud of you. I admire you a lot too...My beautiful lighthouse !

It’s rare, that Dick Grayson is left speechless. Very rare indeed. But hearing his father outright say that he loves him like that is a first...Bruce’ve always had his own way of showing them he loved them, his own twisted speeches of telling them how much they mean to him, and this is a first...Well, he’s drunk after all.

Your oldest son is kinda glad that his father doesn’t wait for an answer and turns to Jason, saying :

-And you Jaybird, you’re also my favorite. My sweet and beautiful boy. I know you think I disapprove of everything you do but it’s not true. All I want, all I ever wanted, all I ever want for you is for you to be happy, to be able to live again...And I’ll always be there to support you, no matter what.I felt a part of me die with you when you were gone you know. You made me want to become someone better. I love you very much, and I wish you knew that. I wish you knew how much you mean to me. You mean everything Jason ! Everything ! When you died I thought...I thought I could never...I could never...thanks God your mom was there but I thought...it was impossible to...But then you came along Tim !

Jason does a very poor job at trying to hide the tears welling up in his eyes, and just like his older brother, he’s very glad that his father’s attention is deflected on someone else. Namely, Tim :

-You Tim, you’re my favorite ! You arrived in a very dark moments of our lives ! You came not too long after Jason’s death, and neither me nor your mom wanted to...get attached again. It hurt to much to loose Jason...And yet here you came along, little eight year old boy knocking on our door telling us he figured out I was Batman ! You forced your way into your life and I’m so glad it happened. You helped us go through so much, and you don’t even know it ! You’re the smartest most brilliant man I know...Even smarter than me I think. I love you Timmy, I love you so much, and I’m glad you decided to take the “Wayne” name because with you, I know my parents’ name will be carried out well...With you too Damian !

Tim’s cheeks tint with red, and a stupid kind of smile appears on his face at his father’s words...Not even Damian’s little “tt” and smug face can break his good mood right now.

But Damian doesn’t do his famous little “tt” and instead, is completely focused on what his father has to say :

-Damian you’re my favorite. You came such a long way since you arrive in our home ! I’m so proud of you, I’m so so so proud of you. You overcame everything you were raised to believe to become a better boy and...I know you’ll be a beacon for so many people in your life. You’ll change things, things I’ve never been able to change. Your compassion and passion is an example for everyone ! You’re so much more than you think you are, and you don’t need my approval...You’ve got it anyway. I love you my boy, and this will never change no matter what and I.

Before he can finish his speech, and talk about why Cass is also his favorite...Damian lunges into his arms.

For a few seconds, you wonder if Bruce isn’t going to throw up, as he becomes suddenly very white after the impact of his sons against his chest and belly full of damn alcohol...But them your husband’s arms wrap around his son and he sighs deeply, content. It’s only when Dick, Jason and Tim make a mocked “aaaawwwww” and join in the hug that they separate.

Damian “Tt” them, and Bruce, too drunk to really be his stoic and serious self, just kinda...laugh and hit his thigh as if they made the most hilarious joke in the world.

But even that drunk, he didn’t forget what he was saying. He turns to Cassandra and continues :

-Cass, my only and oh so precious daughter ! You’re my favorite because you get me. On a level none other do. You’re an inspiration because despite the abuse you went through you never turned evil, despite what people forced you to do you’ve always been a hero. I love you so so so so so much, and you don’t have to speak for me to know that you’re the most perfect little girl a man can ask for. My only precious daughter. I can’t believe how you’ve grown, there’s not a day that goes by without you surprising me by how amazing you are. I love you. I love you all.

They don’t even know what to add to that. Hell, they even forgot to ask more questions even though it’s clear their father would answer them all...This is YOUR opportunity to jump in and stop this madness.

Besides, it’s very late, you’re getting tired, and Bruce also needs sleep, a big glass of water and a miracle if he wants to not be too hungover the next day !

You jump on the occasion that your children all have lumps in their throats and are too touched to think of anything else to ask to say :

-Ok kids, time to go to bed. We’ll finish LotR tomorrow !

They don’t even protest. They don’t even whine to stay longer. They don’t even THINK of asking any other questions to their father who turned into a truth pit. There’s thousands of questions you know they could ask. Things to embarrass him. Things to satisfy their curiosity. Things.

But they don’t. Exhausted. Both mentally and physically. Damn they weren’t ready for that ! They’re about to leave but their father is calling them back in, asking for a goodnight kiss and it’s just so...Weird.

Usually, only you would demand goodnight kisses, their father would just...not really like it ? But maybe they were wrong ? Maybe he loved it ? Because right now, as he smooches their faces and hug them tight, it certainly looks like he’s enjoying it and oh it’s so strange how he keeps saying “I love you” every time ! Nice, but strange !

They leave with a last stunned look to their dad, who waves at them happily.

A child. He looks like a tiny child. Maybe that’s how he was before his parents’ death ? Happy and carefree, loving hugs and kisses and not afraid to tell his feelings ? Maybe...

Finally you and Bruce are alone, and you turn to him, wondering how you’re gonna manage to bring him all the way up to your shared bedroom...

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

After ten attempts at going up the stairs, resulting in Bruce almost breaking his neck and you bruising your sides...You decide against going back to your bedroom and instead go fetch a few blankets and pillows to settled down in the living room couch.

You take Bruce’s shoes off...or try to, as he grabs you by the waist and crush you against his chest.

-Did I tell you I love you today, my wonderful and perfect love ?

-...Yes...Yes a few time already, you’re squeezing me baby.

-Oh, well that’s a change. Usually you’re the one squeezing me.

You roll your eyes at his not-so-subtle sex reference and pull away from him a bit. He looks at you intently, his eyes delving deep into yours, staring, love and awe shining in his pupils.

-I love you, (Y/N).

-Yes I think you’ve said that a few times.

-But I really do ! And I’m not saying that because I’m drunk. I really, really love you. You’re the best. You’re genuinely the best. Without you, I couldn’t endure everything that happens. I couldn’t raise our children. I...I couldn’t live. Without you nothing makes sense. You’re my everything. You genuinely are. You don’t even know it, but you’re the reason I function. I love you so much (Y/N), I love you so fucking much.

-Broosh...

-Can I touch your boobs ?

-I’m...Wait, what ?

-Your boobs, I really like them, can I touch them ?

You roll your eyes once again. Well, so much for a romantic declaration uh, the mood is ruined, as his drunk self takes over a little bit. You’re about to tell him to shut up and sleep but...oh the puppy eyes.

He dares to give you puppy eyes. And so you crack and say :

-Sure. Sure Bruce, you can...touch my boobs.

In a childish manner, he giggles and happily slide his hands under your shirt, all the way up to your boobs, and just hold them, as you’re now laying on him.

-I really like your boobs. So soft and squishy. I love them. Almost as much as I love the rest of you. I love you, (Y/N).

-I love you too Bruce.

You can’t help but smile, as you feel your eyelids fall heavy...

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

The next morning, all of you are extra careful not to wake Bruce up, as he’s heavily sleeping (and snoring, which happens rarely) in the living room.

When he finally emerges, he looks absolutely awful and...

“Note to self : Let’s get drunk a bit more often, it’s nice to be taken care off like that”

He thinks, as you guys take great care of him all day. He doesn’t really remember what happens, but...he guessed he didn’t make a fool of himself too much ?

The End.

__________________________________

Just a shitty short story I guess...Sorry, It’s rushed and bad, I wrote this in twenty minutes, at 11 pm, after a long day of working and I’m suppose to wake up at 4 am to go back to work so...Not in the best shape, yet wanted to write something blahblahblah and since I finished it might as well post it blah I’ll shut up now or I’ll start pointing out everything wrong with this shit.

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