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communicationthroughlyrics · 2 months ago

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I Work Too Hard, Can You Fuckin' Pay Me?

Part 7 - Y/N moved to escape some of thier looming troubles from Westview, to the place that their best friend said would make a difference. New job, new digs, will Y/N make a change for the better, or leave another city with their tail between their legs?

TW: Angst, Intersex reader, reader has some... not so great coping habits, sexual tension

Word Count: 2.3K

Read Pt. 1 HERE Read Pt. 2 HERE Read Pt. 3 HERE Read Pt. 4 HERE Read Pt. 5 HERE Read Pt. 6 HERE

You Say You Want Me, But You Know I'm Not What You Need

Pietro's words weighed heavy on you throughout your work week as you buried yourself in your latest projects. Every time you thought about Wanda, which was more than you cared to admit, the conversation with her brother- and your best friend echoed in your mind. It was like he had peeled back the layers of your defenses and seen right through to the fear that was holding you back. You knew he was right, that you couldn't live your life in fear, but the thought of hurting her was paralyzing.

Friday evening finally rolled around, and with it, the promise of the weekend. You decided to visit the local bar, hoping the noise and the company of strangers would help distract you from your tumultuous thoughts. As you sipped your beer, you watched the crowd, their laughter, and chatter creating a wall of white noise that you wished could drown out the voice in your head. A voice that had been echoing in the depths of your mind since that night you had shared with her.

As you were lost in thought, the door of the bar swung open, and Wanda walked in, looking radiant despite the sadness that still lingered in her eyes. You felt your heart drop as she scanned the room, and when she saw you, she paused, her gaze lingering for a moment before she turned away. You knew you couldn't avoid her forever. You downed the rest of your drink and approached her, your steps feeling heavier with each inch that brought you closer.

"Hey," you said softly, trying to keep your voice from cracking. She turned to face you, her eyes wary but open. "Can we talk?"

Wanda nodded, and you led her to a quieter corner of the bar, the neon lights casting a soft glow on her features. You took a deep breath, trying to find the right words. "Pietro came to talk to me," you began, watching the way her expression tightened. "He's worried about you."

Wanda looked down at her drink, her fingers playing with the condensation on the glass. "I know," she murmured. "I've been avoiding him too." You tried to ignore the pang in your chest, feeling like you had caused this. She was avoiding you, which made sense. But she was also avoiding her brother.

"Wanda," you started, "I need to tell you something." She met your gaze, her eyes searching for something you weren't sure you could provide. "I've been thinking about that night. And what happened between us." She nodded slightly, her expression unreadable. "I'm sorry I pushed you away. I'm just...scared."

She looked up, the sadness in her eyes shimmering with a hint of anger. "Scared of what, Y/N?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

You took a deep, shaky breath, trying to find the right words. "Scared of losing you," you admitted. "Scared of hurting you. Scared of not being enough." You looked down at the table, finding the rough texture suddenly interesting. "My last relationship, it…it was a mess. And it isn't fair to you," you took a deep breath, feeling her hands slide into your nervous ones. "I don't want it to feel like I am taking my issues out on you."

Wanda's grip tightened, giving you a gentle squeeze. "Y/N, I'm not just anyone," she said, her voice firm. "I know you're going through stuff, but so am I. And I know we can work through it together." She paused, her thumb tracing small circles on the back of your hand. "But if you don't want to, if you think we can't, then I'll respect that."

You swallowed hard, looking into her eyes and seeing the hurt you had caused. "It's not that," you said, your voice cracking. "It's just that I've hurt so many people before. And I don't know if I can handle it if I hurt you too."

Wanda leaned in closer, her voice soft but firm. "But what if we don't let fear dictate our future? What if we take a chance, and maybe, just maybe, it's the best thing for both of us? We can also help each other, Y/N."

You felt your resolve wavering, the warmth of her touch and the sincerity in her words reaching deep within you. "I want that," you whispered, "but I'm so scared."

"So am I," she started, gripping your hands tighter to help reassure you. "Your reputation proceeds you, Y/N. Pietro definitely told me a lot about you before you moved here." She took a deep breath, looking into your eyes. "But I've seen a different side of you. One that is kind, caring, and...scared." She gave a small laugh, trying to lighten the mood. "I'm taking a risk, too, you know. I've never felt this way before."

Her confession hit you like a ton of bricks, and suddenly, the bar didn't seem so crowded anymore. It was just you and Wanda, in your own little bubble. "Wanda," you whispered, leaning closer to her, "I can't explain what it is. There is this pull, I just want to be around you. I think about you constantly."

Wanda's smile was faint but genuine. "Then why are we fighting it?" she asked, her voice filled with hope.

You took a deep breath, feeling your chest tighten. "Because I don't know if I can give you what you need," you confessed. "I don't know if I can be the person you deserve."

"Let me decide that, Y/N." Wanda's voice was steady, her eyes unwavering. "You can't live your life assuming the worst."

You searched her eyes, looking for any sign of doubt or hesitation. But all you found was a determination that mirrored your own. "I know," you began, leaning back into the booth you were seated in. "I can't help but think the worst. I've been told, over and over that I am the worst. I don't want to find out what will happen if you were to think that too."

Wanda reached out and placed a hand on your cheek, her touch tender and reassuring. "Y/N, I'm not everyone else. I know you better than you think, and I know that you're trying."

You couldn't deny the warmth that spread through you at her touch, or the way your heart skipped a beat when she said she knew you. You leaned into her hand, feeling the tension in your shoulders ease slightly. "But what if I'm not good enough?" you murmured, your voice filled with doubt.

Wanda leaned closer, her thumb brushing gently against your cheekbone. "I wouldn't have kissed you in the first place if you weren't, Y/N. You're more than enough," she said, her eyes searching yours. "And if you ever doubt that, I'll be here to remind you."

The bar was a blur around you, the noise fading away as you focused on her. You felt the weight of your decision lighten slightly, the fear of losing her still there but tempered by the hope of what could be. You took a deep breath and nodded. "Promise?"

Wanda leaned in, her breath warm against your cheek. "I promise," she whispered, and with that, she kissed you. It was soft and gentle, a stark contrast to the passion of that night under the stars. But it was filled with something else—something deeper, something more profound. It was a promise of understanding and support, of patience and growth.

Your eyes fluttered closed as you kissed her back, feeling the tension in your body melt away. The world around you disappeared, leaving only the two of you in the quiet corner of the bar. The kiss grew more urgent, as you slid your way around the corner booth so your hands could find their way to her waist, pulling her closer. It felt right like you were finally letting go of the fear that had been holding you back.

She pulled away, resting her forehead against yours. "That night," you began, looking into her darkened gaze. "It took everything in me to not walk back over and just kiss you."

Wanda's eyes searched yours, the unspoken words hanging in the air between you. "What stopped you?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"My own crippling fear?" you let out a soft chuckle, feeling the warmth of her breath on your skin. "I didn't want to mess up what we had," you admitted. "And I didn't know if I was ready to deal with the fallout."

Wanda leaned back, her eyes searching yours. "But you are now?" she asked, hopeful.

You took a deep breath, the warmth of her body pressing against yours. "I don't think I ever will be," you said, feeling a newfound sense of determination. "But, I'm ready to try."

Wanda's eyes searched yours, a spark of hope igniting in them. "Okay," she said softly. "Let's take this one step at a time." she winked, "But maybe don't run away from me anymore, yeah?"

You couldn't help but laugh, feeling a weight lift from your shoulders. "Deal," you said, smiling. The rest of the night was a blur of laughter and stolen glances, a tentative dance of flirty banter and comforting touches. It was like the universe had taken a deep breath and finally allowed you to move forward.

"Dance?" she asked, standing as the floor began to get more crowded.

You nodded, feeling a rush of excitement. You had seen how she danced before, and the thought of dancing with her had your heart racing. You slid out of the booth, taking her hand in yours and leading her to the dance floor. The music was loud, but it didn't matter. You wrapped your arms around her waist, and she placed her hands on your shoulders, looking into your eyes as you began to move together. It was as if the world had stopped turning, and the only thing that mattered was the way she felt in your arms.

The rhythm of the music was infectious, and before you knew it, you were lost in the moment, your bodies moving in sync. You could feel the chemistry between you, the same spark that had been there the night of your first kiss. But this time, it didn't feel forbidden or wrong. It felt right. As you spun her around, her back now to your front. You leaned down and whispered into her ear. "I'm sorry for pushing you away, for being such a coward."

Wanda leaned back into you, her hands resting on your chest. "You're not a coward," she murmured. "You're just scared."

You pulled her closer, her back pressing against you. "I don't want to be scared anymore," you confessed. "I want to be with you." She ran her hands up your neck, carding through your hair and raking her nails on your scalp. The feeling sent goosebumps across your body.

Wanda leaned her head back against your shoulder, looking up at you. "Then let's not be," she whispered, and you felt the final piece of your wall crumble. The bar's lights flickered and danced in her eyes, casting an otherworldly glow. You bent down and kissed her again, the music swelling around you like a crescendo. It was a kiss that spoke of all the unspoken words, of the fears you had both been holding onto.

You both continued swaying to the music, your bodies fitting together perfectly as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The bar patrons around you melted away, leaving only the pulsing beat and the sound of each other's breaths. Wanda's hand snaked around your neck, her touch sending a warm jolt through your body, and you tightened your hold around her waist. You felt alive, more alive than you had in a long time. She turned around in your grasp, pressing herself up against you.

The music changed, the tempo slowing down, and you two matched it, moving in a sensual rhythm that had your heart racing. Wanda's eyes searched yours, and you knew she could see the conflict within you, the fear and hope battling it out. But she didn't push, she didn't ask for more than you could give. She just danced with you, her body a silent reassurance that you weren't alone.

The night grew later, the crowd thinner, and you found yourselves leaning against the bar, talking about everything and nothing at the same time. Her laughter was music to your ears, and the way she leaned into you made your heart swell with something you hadn't allowed yourself to feel in a long time—happiness.

"Want to get out of here?" Wanda's question was barely audible over the music, but you heard the hope in her voice.

You nodded, feeling a sense of relief wash over you. "Yeah," you said, taking a step back to let her lead the way. As you followed her through the crowded bar, you couldn't help but feel like you were being reborn. The night air was cool against your skin as you stepped outside, and you took a deep breath, feeling it fill your lungs with a newfound sense of freedom.

"I guess I'll see you at home?" you asked, knowing you both brought your own cars. Wanda nodded, a shy smile playing on her lips. "Yeah, unless you want to come over?" The question hung in the air, filled with a tentative hope that had your heart skipping a beat.

"Sure," you laughed. "I'll be over once I change out of this," you motioned towards your work attire, wiggling your eyebrows.

"Actually," she started, biting her lip as she pulled you into her with your disheveled tie. "I was hoping I could help with that..." The look in her eyes was hopeful, tinged with lust. "Unless you want to wait, that is."

You felt your heart thud in your chest, the warmth of her body making your head swim with desire. "No," you murmured, your voice thick with want. "I don't want to wait. I think we've done enough of that.”

#communicatethrulyrics #wlw fanfic #wanda x reader #wanda maximoff fanfiction #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff #lesbian nsft #wanda maximoff smut #wanda maximoff x female reader #wanda maximoff x you #wanda x you #wanda maximoff fluff

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kaiowut99 · 11 months ago

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A Special Announcement~ | Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V Tag Force Special Re-Translation Project!

I've been itching to get around to posting about this for a few months now, but wanted to wait until I'd worked on enough for it, but also had the idea to create an announcement trailer to go with it for added good measure--after recording and editing clips for a couple weeks and leveling the audio last night, heremst we are! (For some clips, I forgot to turn off the PPSSPP emulator's DevMenu option so that shows up in the top-left, buuut I didn't feel like re-recording those, lmao.)

Details worth reading below the cut here, but tl;dr work has been in progress for over a year in between things, work will continue to be in progress for a while, and the release will happen when everything's ready, but stay tuned, fun's getting started etc etc~

So, I'm sure most of us are familiar with the as-yet-unlocalized-by-Konami TFSP, the seventh and last entry in the Tag Force series on the PSP that came out early in ARC-V's run (featuring the first five series which was a cool first), as well as the current translations out there originally worked on by the guys at XenoTranslations (omarrrio and ScrewTheRules/ClickClaxer01 at GBATemp handling the card and story/etc translations, respectively) and how there are... some issues with what's out there. Everything from the DM story mode being loaded with YGOTAS references (no shade to YGOTAS and much respect to LK/Martin for his ongoing work on it still making me laugh sometimes, ofc) to the off-the-cuff edginess of 2014-2015-era internet culture and the problematic (in some cases, derogatory) language that permeated it--though to its credit, some parts do have some level of translation attempted, but taken as a whole, it can definitely turn people off from giving the game a try and seeing what it brings to the table (which is still a good amount despite the corners Konami cut here/there compared to prior TF games).

I actually did attempt a translation of my own back in 2015 (if you've been following me for a long time, you might remember it lol), tackling the GX story text starting with Judai's heart events, but eventually put it on the backburner as I focused more on my GX subbing work and beginning to finalize everything (which I'm still doing). Sometime in 2022, a friend over on NeoArkCradle (the "anonymous YGO fan" in the opening screen) was poring over the story text and patching it up the best he could to remove the references and inaccuracies with more coherent work, and after a while of seeing what he was working with in the Discord, I was a bit blown away by just how inaccurate much of it was--so alongside him, and using the better tools available since then (including some really awesome work from both nzxth2 [who did a proper re-translation of 5D's TF6 not too long ago and was kind enough to release his tools for it] and our coding helper Xan1242 who we eventually reached out to for some help), I decided to *cracks knuckles* get involved and help give everything a more accurate and professional translation, much like I do with my GX subs, working directly off the Japanese text and files. I've been taking cracks at everything in between the GX episodes I've been finalizing going back to at least last January (and I'd used my little hiatus after finalizing GX Season 2's subs to really get at some other stuff throughout the game), starting with re-translating DM's story text but also properly translating other aspects of the game, from the character names (using the original Japanese names, including those of the TF-exclusive characters, partly since Konami made a whole mess of them in English TF1-5), in-duel dialogue, pack descriptions, and more to images with Japanese text (such as localizing the in-duel cut-in onomatopoeia as you see in the video above, or other little images throughout) using some Photoshop skills I've picked up. And it's been a joint effort, as said NAC friend and I have been bouncing off how we'd like to see this go between us to stay on the same page and all, while also checking with other translators there for second/third opinions as needed.

Our plan is to release two versions of a translation--one which uses the OCG [translated] card names in Story Mode, in-duel, and other text but not in the game's card system (mainly to deal with story-relevant notes like Osiris vs Slifer with the Gods or things like not-Utopia Hope being symbolic between Yuma and Astral, akin to how I do my GX subs), and one which uses the TCG card names in everything (like how the official subs go about it). While we're mostly working with the Japanese game files due to how the Xeno team went about decoding everything, we'll be using the card-system-related files from the fixed ISO provided by FLSGaming which fixed some issues that had been present there. And Xan has helped us with a plugin that will be used to apply our translations to the system files that were hard to edit otherwise (things like the character and recipe names, as well as the pack names pulled from for the Card Description screen), but more on how that'll work once this is ready for release, lol. At some point, I'd like to also look at HDifying textures and things, but that's definitely a bonus-level thing for after the main work here is done.

SO.

Currently, Story-Mode-wise, I've gone through everything up to Yusei's events--so Dark Yugi/Kaiba/Jounouchi/Ishizu/Mai in DM, Judai/Manjoume/Asuka/Misawa/Ryou in GX, and Yusei in 5D's have been fully retranslated, though I took initial cracks at Yuma and Yuya's events to get content for this video lol (I've also been intentionally holding off on as much ZEXAL as I can until I've properly watched the whole show so I have context). I haven't tackled overworld text yet, though (like pre-duel or the tournament-related text, which is all in the same file as all the story text). I've also been handling the in-duel dialogue as I go through the character stories, so also just up to Yusei, though I did take initial cracks at Aki's, Yuma and Shark's, and Yuya and Yuzu's for the video.

Other things tackled that were sprinkled into the video, along with some other notes:

Pack names and descriptions have been retranslated, though the descriptions may see minor edits closer to release for a little variety between worlds given the different characters at the shop. Character recipe names were also retranslated, with Yugipedia's translations for them used as an occasional second opinion, though ones based on pack names had to be abbreviated in spots.

Menu text, from the Options to Help screens and stuff in between, has been retranslated, as have in-duel text strings (so, you'll see a full "Activate Effect" instead of "Activate" or "Switch to Attack/Defense Position" instead of "Switch to ATK/DEF Position", etc--also fixed the "BATTELE PHASE" graphic typo, and NAC friend created a new translation for the "Turn Change" graphic for accuracy since ENG TF1-5 made that into "Next Player's Turn").

Database stuff, such as the Sound Test, Tutorials, Duel Missions, etc., have been retranslated closer to the Japanese text; originally I retranslated the Tutorial text via hex editor, with compromises done on quite a bit of it due to the space limits, but as Xan recently updated a text extractor tool of theirs to more cleanly pull out and reinsert that text, I've been going through and fleshing out those translations more (on my commutes to/from work mostly, to be productive lol).

As mentioned, I've been localizing/translating Japanese-text images throughout the game as I come across them, like with the in-duel onomatopoeia that come up during cut-ins or images in the shop/duel/etc screens using Japanese text, to make sure the game is fully translated.

The series logos, used during the title sequence and in the Series Select screens, were updated with translated fan edits shared on Deviantart (which we'll credit in the final release) for DM and GX, while the 5D's-ARC-V logos were edited to enlarge the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" text on them that was pretty hard to see originally.

The game's original opening sequence starts on an anti-piracy message before going into the Konami logo and then a "From Yu-Gi-Oh!..." screen before the opening animation for each series logo--the original team decided to use the first image to vent their frustration at Konami for not localizing this game, and while that's valid (to some extent), we thought we'd use the opportunity to dedicate this project to Kazuki Takahashi for inspiring our love for YGO and the place it's had in our hearts for all these years.

We'll be updating the names of cards that had TCG releases after the original patch was worked on/updated by FLSG to those corresponding names.

Xan has been working on many UI fixes for us to apply with this, among them 3-line dialogue box text as is used in the ENG TF1-5 games--once implemented for TFSP, I'll be going over everything to make full use of that extra space where needed, so things might not look as they do in the video by then.

Character bios will be worked on after I've done the story stuff, though I've taken initial cracks at it for Yuma and Yuya's bios for the video, along with translating the location/affiliation names ("Domino High School," "Satellite," etc).

Currently no release date is planned, as I'm working on this between my GX-finalizing work and actual IRL work, though we'll see how later this year looks as more work gets done--but as noted in the video, all things being equal, it will be released when everything is ready. I'll try to post regular updates or rambles now that this announcement's been made, lol, but do try not to constantly check in on a release date. 🙏🏽

All that said, I think that covers just about everything I wanted to put out there with this, lol. It's been fun to work on this so far and getting to see what I've re-translated in-game is definitely neat; looking forward to us being able to release everything when ready.

Stay tuned for more; the fun's just getting started!

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hoffmannwrites · 2 years ago

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On My List

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 + 1 Masterlist

Author’s Note: I'm gonna just post part 2 now because the response has been overwhelming and also I need to ride this train until it runs outta steam, yfm?

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson

Description: 5 Times Steve and Eddie kiss as friends, and one time they don't.

Warnings/Tags: Everyone lives, Nobody dies, 5+1, Kissing, Fluff, Idiots to Lovers, Friends to Lovers, some pretty brief mentions for drinking, smoking, being inebriated (the gang is drunk here but nothing too bad, just in a fun way), uhhh they're gay your honor, no beta we die like Barb, vague medical issue, fainting, let me know if I missed anything?

Every Breath You Take

Two

The second time Eddie and Steve kiss it’s not really a kiss at all. Robin and Steve are working a shift at Family Video - well, trying to work at least, because Eddie’s there which means everyone’s just sort of dicking around. Steve is processing some returns while Robin and Eddie argue about some sort of incomprehensible music shit. They’re both such fucking nerds about it that it makes Steve’s head hurt hearing them discuss the rhythm vs the beat and the symbolism of the song's accompanying music videos. Steve doesn’t understand why they have to analyze everything, why they can’t just like shit.

He’s not really paying attention until he registers the panic in Robin’s voice as she suddenly pushes off the counter and says Eddie’s voice just a little too frantically. Eddie has slumped slightly forward over the counter, eyes rolled a little too far back, and not responding to her calls for him. Steve immediately jumps into action, thinking about seeing Max in an eerily similar situation, about the fits Will had when he came back. Steve grabs Eddie and lays him gently in the ground, immediately crouching over him to do CPR, not bothering to check for a pulse or breathing. Just starting compressions, counting the way he learned how while hanging out at the hospital waiting for Max and Eddie to wake up. He couldn’t just sit there, and the hospital offered free training courses in shit like this, so he went. And he’s so glad he did as he starts doing rescue breaths on Eddie, ignoring Robin’s “ohmygodohmygodohmy-“ as she struggles to remember Hopper’s number when she finally stops freaking out enough to grab the phone. It doesn’t matter though, because by the time Steve is halfway through his second set of 30, Eddie’s eyes are fluttering open and he’s breathing heavily, but just fine on his own.

“Oh thank fuc-“ Robin starts as she drops to the ground on the other side of Eddie. “Are you okay? What happened? You just-“ Robin starts rambling, panicking that this meant the worst wasn’t over.

“Robs. Give him a minute. Go grab a water bottle,” Steve softly commands, his instinct to protect and help and heal outweighing his ability to do anything else. She does as he asks, and Steve starts to help Eddie move to a sitting position. “Easy does it, man. You can keep laying on the floor for a little if you need.”

“No, no. I’m okay. Sorry. I just, uh, had a minute. It happens sometimes. Happened a lot more when I was little. Stress, ya know? Was real bad right around the time I started living with Wayne. Had a really bad couple of weeks after Bonham died, too. But since, ya know- everything, it’s been happening again.” Eddie explains, rubbing the middle of his chest where Steve had previously been pressing. Steve just nods as Robin hands him the water bottle, watching, waiting for everyone’s adrenaline to slow.

“Jesus, dude. I think you almost cracked a rib. Way to put those muscles to use,” Eddie jokes, in between sips. Steve cracks a smile, but his eyes are still filled with worry. “Thank you for trying to save my ass, but in the future, I’m just fainting. No CPR required. Just make sure I don’t hit my head on the way down,” Eddie explains.

“Sorry,” now it’s Steve’s turn to ramble. “I just went into panic mode and I didn’t even check for a pulse or-“

“Don’t sweat it.” Eddie cuts him off. “I appreciate you wanting to save my life. Again.” He adds that last part a little quieter, knocking shoulders with Harrington. As Steve helps him to his feet, he adds even quieter “You sure you didn’t just wanna plant one on me again, Big Boy?” And Robin is too busy fussing over Eddie and asking questions about his fainting and yelling at him for not warning anybody that they’re both too busy to notice the blush that creeps up Steve’s neck and the way he flexes his hands like touching Eddie hurt.

A/N: Not so fun fact! John Bonham, drummer for Led Zeppelin died in 1980 after a heavy drinking binge. This would have been absolutely devastating to a young Eddie Munson, as it was for everyone else with ears and a soul at the time.

Also, Steve does the Pride and Prejudice hand flex every time he touches Eddie. Convince me otherwise. I dare you.

#Steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #Steve x eddie #Steve Harrington x Eddie munson #stranger things #fluff #hoffmannwrites #5 + 1 #5 + 1 fic #everyone lives/nobody dies #they're gay your honor #idiots to lovers #friends to lovers #stranger things au #stranger things fanfiction #Steve Harrington saves the day #kinda #on my list

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justafoox · 7 months ago

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Gasters Scar - Part 2

"What have I done.." Gaster was almost frozen for a moment before suddenly grabbing his desk chair and slamming it against the chamber, immediately shattering the glass. He used his magic to grab Chrys, lifting her up with his extra hands and carrying her out of the lab, which he sealed off to go through a sort of magical cleaning that would get rid of the gas. He brought her over to his actual office, laying her on his desk before calling Reappo. "I need you to come to the lab, now.. Its Chrys-" He couldn't even finish his sentence before Reappo suddenly blipped into existence beside him

"What happened?!" Reap shouted as he rushed to Chrystals side, immediately moving to pick her up.. But he was stopped by Gaster, who put an arm out to stop him

"You can't touch her right now.. She's covered with the toxin-" His was cut off by his arm being pushed out of the way

Reap glared up at Gaster, his pupils glowing blue in their sockets "What did you do to her..?" His voice was low as he spoke, obviously upset

Gaster sighed as he took a step back "I didn't do anything.. She agreed to do the testing. I wanted to see if she was truly immune, or if it was only targeting one part of her soul.. The mechanism that filtered the gas into the chamber must have poured all of it in there at once, I couldn't stop it-"

"You put her in a fuckin container with the shit that's been killing us?! And you just waited until she passed out to get her out?!" Reappos hands balled into fists as he glared at Gaster "I'm gonna take her to Alphys.. I swear to Asgore, if she doesn't wake up.. I'll throw your dust into the Core myself" He turned, picking up Chrystal carefully and leaving the office

Gaster reached out towards Reap, going to stop him… And was met with a flurry of glowing blue bones shooting towards him. Most of them just pushed him back, but.. One was a direct hit, cracking open his skull above his left eye from the force. He winced, holding his head as he leaned back against the wall.. Deciding to just let Reappo leave.

Reappo immediately just warped to Alphys' lab in the Oasis, and after doing his best to explain what happened, Alphys had Reappo lay her on one of the examination tables and told him to wait in her office while she worked. About an hour later, she came back to her office, looking tired. She explained that she'd been able to get Chrystals breathing stable again… but with how much gas she'd inhaled.. it got to her soul, and had began to cover her lungs. Her throat was extremely irritated as well, most likely from coughing. Reappo could take her home, but she needed to stay in bed resting for a few days… That wasn't really an issue though, as Chrystal didn't wake up for 2 weeks. Alphys had to setup an IV of water and a magic equivalent to food for sustenance, and after the first week she'd noticed that the skin on Chrystals chest had started to darken.. Seemingly from the toxin in her lungs.

After a little over 2 weeks, Reappo was woken up in the middle of the night to Chrys having a coughing fit, having ripped out the IV in a panic as she sat up in her bed, holding her chest with one hand and looking down at the other, which was covered with black gunk. Reappo was able to calm her down after a few minutes, and immediately called Alphys to let her know Chrys was awake.. Chrystal explained what happened at the Lab, what she could remember at least.. and since then, she's had horrible coughing fits at least a few times a week. She still goes up on collection missions, but now wears a gas mask to help her breathe… though, as the years have gone by, it seems like she's able to spend less and less time up there without losing her breath and coughing..

#burrowtale #undertale #undertale au #ut au #alternate universe #au undertale #foox

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browzerhistory · 2 months ago

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i've acquired one encouragement (thank you @fleshy-reblogs)

ok so her name is menura and she's a human artificer. since it's kind of a silly campaign i didn't go too hard on her backstory; she has a guild artisan background and her thing is that her parents are both master locksmiths and wanted to raise her in the family business, and she was really gifted, but she used her talent for Evil and mostly just stole shit. eventually her parents got fed up, cut her off and kicked her out, with the instructions to make an honest living or never come back, so she decided to try her hand at adventuring.

i wanted her to be an artificer because our campaign concept is that there's a rift in reality that's allowing a sci-fi, futuristic world to leak into the usual medieval fantasy dnd world we start in. i'm hoping as the story progresses she can learn about the insane future weapons and tech and use them. plus i haven't played an artificer before so yknow, broadening my horizons and such.

unfortunately she is also the most unlucky character i have ever had the misfortune to create. our first session we have a classic "party meets in a tavern" and our 'bard' badly fails at singing a nice song, which makes everyone in the bar mad at him. menura is just hanging out nearby and watching it go down but like three people start beefing with HER for NO REASON. only because another member of our party caused a ruckus outside did she escape without a fight.

shortly after we're going into the fields outside town to check on the local wizard, whose tower has been diagonal and whom nobody has heard from for a week or so. menura opens the door and peeks in to make sure he's not dead, and from behind a kitchen table, he THROWS LIGHTNING AT HER and barely misses. he's on guard because a missile from the rift knocked over his tower despite his enchantments.

the rest of the first session passes without major issue. shortly into our second session though, we find a small structure that came from the rift and investigate. however theres goblins Also investigating and for some goddamn reason our 'bard' uses color spray and overrolls SO HARD that he turns one of the goblins to RED MIST.

immediately we get scared bc theres still like seven goblins and we are all level 2 (and our gnome is Incapacitated due to drinking, amd 2 of our other players couldnt make it). then i think: hey, menura can speak goblin, maybe she can diffuse the situation!

reader. i rolled a 1.

one of the goblins immediately jumps for a stab, but she dodges and lands a hit while their back is turned. another goblin attacks and fucking one taps her and she goes down.

our 'bard' manages to handle the rest of the fight all by himself and at one point uses thunder wave, causing menura's poor carcass to be launched into several more goblins and knock them over. she gets revived once the rest of the goblins retreat but it's not a great way to start a campaign huh.

one long rest later and our wizard is cooking some breakfast on a mysterious box he got from the structure. the main issue here being that it's steadily getting hotter and hotter and the wizard can't stop it (it's a bomb he was cooking breakfast on a BOMB).

a big crack forms in one of the sides and everyone dives behind trees. dm has us roll for how lucky we get (a worrying sentence to jear from a dm in any situation).

reader. i rolled a 3.

thankfully, this time, menura was Not onehit, but she failed to get her arm behind the tree and it was straight in the blast.

there was no visible damage, but she can feel something deeper than her skin, deeper even than her bones, taking hold. we try cure wounds and it works at first, but as the spell finishes, not only does the feeling return but it starts spreading up her arm with her pulse. weird little spots start appearing on the back of her hand too.

and then we had to end session because it was 7 pm!! so she's probably irradiated or something now :(

i dont have any art of her on hand but i will make a shitty little drawing in a moment so you can put a face to the suffering

would anyone like to hear about my dnd character.

#go5 kind of long but its chill. blorbo from my meme dnd campaign #also i put bard in quotes bc im pretty sure his bit is that hes a sorcerer badly pretending to be a bard #we also have a human sorority girl. an alcoholic gnome called shrex. a recovering alcoholic dwarf whos neefing with shrex.#and a somewhat normal human cleric of osiris who was keeping watch outside during the goblin fiasco #cant wait to see where it goes tbh. most of the party hasnt played dnd before or hasnt in a long while #god bless our dm he is so funny and patient and does a mean wizard voice

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forcebewitht · 3 years ago

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Force's Disney Geek Master Theory: Why Twisted Wonderland Is Called Twisted Wonderland

We have all grown to know and love various Disney characters over the years, correct? Yet, I believe a lot of us can argue that not many characters have the same effect on us even as adults today as the Villains do within their respective movies. In the game Disney: Twisted Wonderland as we all know and love, the select boys to Overblot are supposed to have the "souls" of their Villain counterparts, right? But...why is it called "Twisted" Wonderland, then? The truth may lie within something that has been right in front of us all along, my friends: the meaning of a mirror. Ready to buckle in for this one? If so, then here we go!

We have seen all of these guys share character traits, looks, etc with their Disney counterparts, correct? Well, what if I were to tell you that things in terms of the "main" guys that we are supposed to pay attention to aren't exactly what they seem? This could be analyzed in a few different ways, honestly, yet the most prominent way is this: the differences in their personalities- they are reversed. Let us take this bit by bit, shall we?

Ah, yes. The Queen Of Hearts. The ranting, raging, bundle of red, black, and gold we all know and love. (or else heads would roll, I'm sure) One of the things that everybody knows about her is that she's extremely hellbent on the crazy rules that she makes up and is prone to anger honestly very easily. Yeah, you can connect that to Riddle- but think about it for a second. While that rage and the rule thing is still there, it isn't as prominent with him as it was with her, is it? With the Queen of Hearts, her whole "issue" was that she wished to make everybody listen to her and follow her every command- but Riddle was essentially always following the rules of another- not his own. This seemed to make Riddle a little more calm most of the time in terms of how he handled and oversaw things. It wasn't until he actually Overblotted that the "listen to me and only me" thing came out- buuuuuuttttttt I'll get to that part in a bit.

Next: Leona and Scar. While we honestly didn't get to see a lot of what went on behind the scenes in the Outlands in terms of how Scar even met the hyenas to begin with at all, one thing can honestly be said- Scar worked very hard to get where he was. I mean, it's not like you can get an entire pack of rabid, hungry hyenas onto your side in the course of a single day, or maybe even a week (especially as a lion, no less). No, something to that extreme takes careful planning, wording, and stringing along to ensure that nothing goes wrong along the way. The way Scar spoke to Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed made it seem as though he had known them for a looooonngggg time before this- that's where that behind the scenes planning comes in. And then...you have Leona. Leona, from what we can tell in Chapter 2, planned the idea for the "endgame" alright- but he didn't actually act upon any of the plan for himself. Ruggie did. Even in the Lion King, we see that Scar had no problems whatsoever getting his paws dirty a little within his own scheme to take his "rightful place" at the head of Pride Rock- but Leona quite honestly did not a thing once Ruggie was in motion. See where this is starting to head?

Azul and Ursula. Ursula, the Disney baddie queen of my heart Ursula, the Sea Witch. She was known all around the ocean floor for helping out poor little merfolk in secret, wasn't she? Yet, nobody ever really seemed to catch wind of the whole "her turning those who didn't quite fit the bill into polyps" thing, did they? That was one of the things that made her such a honest threat to Ariel herself- because Ursula was cunning. She did things behind the scenes, and sure- we could catch onto it out in the audience (annnddd maybe Sebastian and Flounder as well), but nobody else really seemed to, right? Azul is the complete opposite in this standpoint. He instills direct fear into his "workers" and those even beyond and within his dorm. Like- basically most knew that this dude was bad news to begin with. Azul, mostly, seemed to hide his cunning facade behind a fake yet still seemingly "soft and genuine" smile and act. But all in all, he didn't really attempt to "hide" anything- hell, he even proclaimed his entire plan of what everyone with those things on their heads were gonna do for him in the open! At least when Ursula sang as Vanessa, she was in an almost perfectly enclosed room with nobody else around.

Jamil and Jafar. This comparison here, given what occurs in the movie Aladdin, is honestly one of the biggest possible indicators of this reoccuring theme I shall clarify in a bit. Jafar, while being sneaky, was known for being a more "out there" Disney Villain in terms of his personality alongside that of his partner Iago in the film. He would smile in a sinister way, he would crack jokes out in the open, and let us not forget his crazed yet oddly interesting laughter. Jamil? He's the exact opposite. Given his past and what he has had to dealt with growing up with Kalim, he is much more reserved and barely releases a chuckle or cracks a smile at all. His personality is a lot more repressed than that of Jafar himself throughout the film. Jamil has been so used to having to hold himself back thanks to his parents in favor of Kalim's family, he doesn't seem to know how to "let go" whatsoever. Yet Jafar, while still maintaining that sneaky side of him as well, has no problems whatsoever letting a little hang loose whenever he so chooses to.

Vil and the Evil Queen. This one honestly may be a bit more self explanatory than the others- but the difference between these two is their expressions of themselves. The Evil Queen was the very first animated counted Disney Villain within Disney's history- yet, she barely had any lines throughout the film at all. Her ranges of expression were almost little to none thanks to the era in which the movie was released in- but she always looked like she was pissed, huh? Vil is the exact opposite of her in this sense. He is able to fully express himself through his various facial expressions, theatrical abilities, musical experiences, fashion style, and even how he behaves. Vil is able to do so much more than the Evil Queen did or could do within that time period, that it's almost a little staggering if you fully picture it.

Idia and Hades. Now, now. We haven't honestly seen too much of the flaming blue boy yet in TWST, but one thing is apparent here right off the bat- in terms of his personality? He is the exact opposite of Hades. Idia is much like Jamil but to a more "geek" degree- he's extremely introverted, shy, a bit snippy, yet mainly keeps to himself and his gaming tech. Hades is most often renowned as the Disney Villain with the most personality- and the best humor. Hades has no problem whatsoever being "out there" with his crazy puns, sassy remarks, anger, and even mocking behavior. I mean, please, guys- I haven't been this choked up since I got a hunk of moussaka caught in my throat!

Finally, Malleus and Maleficent. Ooooohoooooooo boy. We have to count out the live action movie Maleficent for this one (sorry horned queen fans). One thing that basically everybody even with their toe in the water in that of Disney movies kind of knows this fact- Maleficent is c r u el. She's got a bizarre set of dark powers and an even blacker heart than that. Hell, we basically had to "soften her up" a little bit in Maleficent thanks to just how seemingly irredeemable her character is in that of Sleeping Beauty. I mean, c'mon now- cursing an infant? And we get no explanation for that in the original? C'mon, now. Anyways, Malleus? As we all can tell by now, this dude is the compleeettteeeeeee opposite. Sure, he has those repressed bits here and there too, but it is evident that this dude has a heart crying out for the MC and it is big, bold, and golden to the core once you look past how he looks. He sent the MC a card for winter break, for crying out loud. Yeah, let me know the next time you see Maleficent do that smh.

Now, I have avoided using a certain word up until this point to see if anybody could catch on to what exactly is happening here. Did you figure it out? Reverse. The boys that either have Overblotted already or intend to Overblot soon stop holding out on us, Chapter 6 have had the exact opposite personalities compared to that of their Villain counterpart- until one prime point in their "character arcs". Their Overblot.

Riddle wished to have all bow before him and obey his rules.

Leona led his entire dorm into ruin and nearly sanded away the entire school in the process.

Azul let himself finally free of his personal shackles entirely and "took what was his".

Jamil finally let himself go and opened up more in his personality, almost seeming to be driven insane in the process.

Vil wanted to become the most beautiful one of all and would kill anyone within the way of that goal without any hesitation whatsoever.

The moment that the boys' Overblotted, that was the exact moment when the "soul" of their Disney Villain counterpart took control. Keeping that idea in mind, that should mean that this will happen in the upcoming chapters and their Overblots:

Idia will show off all of the personality, powers, and intelligence that he has been keeping down within this introverted self of his.

Malleus will become so broken by being left out and alone in the cold for the final time that he will turn into a completely cruel Fae and possibly nearly kill either the MC or the representation of Prince Philip within that Chapter in the process.

(Hello, my dear Readers! Guess who is trying to get back into her bigger pieces of writing? This gal right here~ feel free to drop a comment and tell me what you think of this theory- I'd love to hear your thoughts! 💕)

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dean-winchester-is-a-warrior · 3 years ago

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Green is My Favorite Color Ch. 11

Series Summary: Dean has been her hero from childhood, can she ever get him to be more?

Pairings: Dean x OFC

Warnings: Angst, some fluff, hospital setting, talk of injuries.

Word Count: 3,395

Chapter Summary: What will happen for Julie and Dean when she wakes up?

A/N: The eleventh chapter in a longer series. As I’m writing, the story is stretching out a little and I’m thinking it’s going to be at least 20 chapters. Sorry! 😬 It’s what I’ll call cannon adjacent. It will follow the general storylines through the seasons, but I’m creating my own offshoots. 😊

A/N 2: I'm SO sorry this chapter was two weeks in coming. RL got all up in my face! LOL! The next chapter should be up by the end of this coming week. I hope chapter 11 was worth the wait even though it's a bit short. I know for sure the next chapter will be pretty long, so I figured I wouldn't tire you out with this one! 😉

Series Master List || Dean Master List || Main Master List || Tag Lists

Julie's eyelids felt heavier than lead as she tried to force them open. The room was dim, but still bright to her exhausted eyeballs. They felt grainy and dry, but she finally managed to keep them open long enough to take in her surroundings.

She was in a bed.

She looked down at her chest to see the countless tubes and wires that were connected to her.

Check that - she was in a hospital bed.

She looked passed the end of her bed, to her right, and saw Sam's very long frame scrunched up on a tiny, two person, blue vinyl, hospital couch.

It made her smile.

Then at the foot of her bed were two wooden chairs, covered in more vinyl, yellow and orange this time. One of the chairs held a dozing Bobby, his hat over his eyes and his mouth open slightly, a light snore issuing from it.

The other chair held a man in a tan trench coat, staring at the floor. She didn't recognize him, but there was a sort of vague familiarity there that she couldn't put her finger on.

Sitting beside her on her left, was Dean.

His hand was pushed through the side rail of the bed so it rested over hers. He sat upright in what looked like the world's most uncomfortable chair, the blue vinyl that covered parts of the arms and back was cracked and tufts of white stuffing were sticking out.

He couldn't possibly be comfortable, and yet he was sleeping. Maybe he was just exhausted Julie reasoned, since there were dark purple circles under his eyes and his cheeks looked sunken and pale. He had what looked like several days worth of beard covering his face and Julie found she wanted to reach up and run her fingers through it.

As she shifted her hand under his, intending to do just that, his eyes sprung open and then widened in shock.

"Jules." he whispered. Then he shouted, "Jules!"

The other three men jumped to their feet, Sam's legs a little rubbery under him after being constricted for so long.

"Sam, go get the doctor." Dean shouted at him and Sam nodded, his deep dimples showing in his wide grin as he dashed out the door.

Julie shook her head, overwhelmed by all the faces staring at her in expectation. She gave a kind of feeble wave.

"Hi." she said, lamely.

But Dean was beaming down at her like she'd just given the most rousing of speeches. Bobby was surreptitiously wiping away tears and the handsome blue-eyed man at the end of the bed gave her a small smile and a nod.

He continued to be familiar, his identity just out of reach. Dean saw her staring at him and smiled.

"Oh, yeah. Guess you guys haven't officially met. Cas, this is Julie. Jules, this is Cas."

Julie remembered suddenly where she recognized him from. He'd been with Bobby and Sam when they came to fight the angels.

"Angels." Julie whispered.

It all came rushing back to her memory and she closed her eyes, her breath catching as the fear and terror came rushing back to her.

Dean leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead. "It's okay, Jules. You're safe now." Before he could say anything more, the doctor came in, with a bright smile on her face.

"Good morning, Ms. Taylor. I'm Dr. Doshi." She said with a hint of a musical Indian accent lilting her words. "We've been a little worried about you. You've had quite the room full of champions here these last few days." she said, indicating the four very large men taking up most of the room.

"Days?" Julie asked, shocked.

"Yes." The doctor said as she pushed her way in between Dean and the bed, paying no mind to his hulking presence or his refusal to move.

She looked at the machines that were beeping around Julie and wrote on the clipboard she carried before tucking it under her arm and laying her hand on Julie’s shoulder.

"It was almost three days ago that you were mugged and stabbed. Do you remember what happened?"

Julie looked at Dean and he smiled. "Oh, um...no, I'm sorry. I don't remember much of anything."

The doctor nodded and smiled kindly again, patting her and moving off to the other side of the bed to mark down numbers from those blinking and beeping machines.

"Not to worry, my dear. That's very common when someone suffers a trauma as you did. It may come back to you slowly, or it may not come back at all. But for now the most important thing is that you continue to rest and improve."

She moved to the foot of the bed and hung the clipboard there. "You had a puncture to your spleen and had emergency surgery to remove it. You shouldn't worry about the loss, since your liver will take over for most of the functions your spleen carried out."

Julie just nodded feeling as though her head might split from the sheer amount of data being processed by her brain.

"You lost a lot of blood, and we were quite concerned for some time about the excessive internal bleeding you’d suffered. You also had an infection take hold at the site of the wound, but you seem to be coming along nicely now. Your vitals are good, and you're awake which is a very big sign of improvement."

The doctor turned to the men. "Now gentlemen, against all the rules of the hospital, I have given you permission to stay here while Ms. Taylor's condition was so unstable. But I'm afraid now, I must insist that you go get a proper night's sleep for yourselves, eat food, and return tomorrow when visiting hours begin."

The others nodded reluctantly, but Dean sat back on the uncomfortable chair. "No, I'm gonna stay here."

Dr. Doshi smiled sweetly, but her voice was like steel. "No, Mr. Winchester, you will not stay here. You will leave with your friends and let Ms. Taylor rest. She is only going to sleep now, anyway."

Julie turned her head to Dean in time to see him give the little doctor the most withering stare he could muster up. "Yes, and when she wakes up, I will be here."

"Dean." Julie admonished quietly. But she needn't have bothered. Dr. Doshi was not impressed with or bothered by his steely demeanor.

"You will be here in the morning when visiting hours begin, at seven AM."

The doctor stared at the hunter, never losing her smile, but never giving an inch either. Clearly Dean was not the first stubborn patient or family she'd dealt with and she would brook no nonsense.

Finally her eyes softened slightly and she leaned forward to pat Dean's hand. "I promise we'll take good care of her, haven't we so far?"

Dean nodded, begrudgingly.

Dr. Doshi nodded back. "And so now I must insist that you don't make yourself our next patient. Please go take care of yourselves." she said, looking around and including the other three men in her concern.

Dean caved. Orders and commands he could fight, but he got awkward when someone showed concern for him, and he never really knew how to act.

"Fine." he said quietly. "Can I have two minutes?"

Dr. Doshi nodded as she turned away. "Just two and no more." Dean rolled his eyes.

Bobby and Sam came and gave her a hug telling her they'd be back first thing. Cas shook her hand a little stiffly and patted Dean on the shoulder as he left.

Dean looked down at her and suddenly the room was very empty and quiet. Julie smiled at him, completely unsure how to act now that they were alone. She was so tired and her mind was still swimming with everything it was trying to process.

Seeming to understand, Dean just leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek before he pulled back and took her hand.

"I'll go and let you sleep. I just wanted to let you know that you'll be safe. Cas branded your ribs."

Julie's eyes got wide. "He did what?"

Dean smiled. "It's an Enochian sigil. It will keep you hidden from the angels. Cas carved it into your ribs, it's what he did for me and Sam."

His eyes got dark, and Julie could see guilt rear up in his expression. "God, Jules, I'm so sorry. I should have sent Cas to you a long time ago to hide you from them. It was so careless...so..." he broke off, his jaw clenched.

"Dean, don't." Julie said, tears coming to her eyes.

She wasn't sure why she was crying. Maybe it was just the culmination of everything that had happened, or maybe it was her sadness at knowing that no matter what she said, Dean wouldn't let go of bearing the guilt for what had happened. Whatever the reason, tears spilled down her cheeks and Dean shook his head.

"Don't cry, Sweetheart." He let go of her hand and reached into his jacket pocket.

"Here. Maybe you could use this again." He said as he opened his hand to show her what he’d pulled out.

Hanging from a thin piece of black cloth was her cherished silver talisman. He tied the delicate cloth around her wrist like a bracelet.

Instead of ending her tears like Dean had hoped, her sobs increased.

Dean was immediately contrite. "Jules, this...it was supposed to help!"

Julie laughed through her tears. "It does. Really." She reached up for him and he immediately leaned down to her so she wouldn't have to stretch.

She pulled him in for a kiss that was meant to be quick, but turned heated and extended as soon as her lips met his. Ten months of wanting his mouth on hers made it very difficult to stop or pull away.

But the sound of a throat being cleared pulled them apart. In the doorway, Dr. Doshi stood and tapped her watch without saying anything. Dean growled slightly, and Dr. Doshi smiled back.

With one more wholly unsatisfying peck on the lips, Dean stood up. "I'll be back first thing." Dean promised.

Julie nodded and brushed away the last of her tears and smiled. "I'll be here."

Dr. Doshi moved out of the doorway as Dean pushed passed her. "Doctor." He acknowledged with a tight smile.

"Mr. Winchester."

The next morning Julie was sitting up drinking a cup of coffee from her breakfast tray when she heard Dean’s voice.

“It’s five friggin’ minutes! Are you kidding me?” He wasn’t exactly yelling, but he could definitely be heard.

Julie heard the muffled and significantly quieter voices of the nurses, but couldn’t make out their response.

“So what if she is sleeping? Do you think I’m gonna go in there with a fucking brass band and wake her up? I just want to go into her room.” He seemed to realize he was contradicting his claim of being able to be quiet, and his voice got low enough that she could no longer hear him.

But he must have won the fight because shortly thereafter he was quietly opening her door and peaking inside. When he saw her sitting up finishing her breakfast, he scowled out the open door. “She’s eating breakfast, and you’re telling me you didn’t know if she was awake?”

He rolled his eyes and tried to slam the door, but it was on hydraulics and couldn’t be slammed. He settled for scowling his way over to her bedside, cup of coffee in hand.

“Good morning!” Julie said, extra chipper. “Sounds like your morning is off to a great start!” She gave him an overly cheery smile and he returned it with an incredibly sarcastic one.

“They weren’t going to let me in because visiting hours didn’t start for another five minutes. Can you believe that? Why are they so against visitors here?” He handed over the coffee he held and took the plastic cup out of her hand.

“Here, this will be much better.” He said, setting the hospital coffee down on her breakfast tray.

Julie took a sip and let out a grateful groan. It was delicious and was once again made perfectly to her preferences.

Magic.

She pushed her breakfast tray out of the way and scooted her legs over a little, patting the bed, so Dean would sit down.

“How are you feeling?” He asked as he sat.

Julie shrugged. “Not bad. They gave me a lot of painkillers, so I slept pretty good.” She dangled the charm on her wrist and smiled. “And of course, I had this.”

Dean smiled back, but it was short lived. “Jules...” he began and Julie knew what he was going to say before he said it.

“I’m so sorry. I never thought…I mean, I knew how badly Zachariah wanted me to say yes, and I knew what he was willing to do to us, to me and Sam, to make it happen, I just didn’t think he’d go so far as to hurt someone completely innocent and uninvolved.”

He shook his head. “But I should have known. I should have realized how fanatical he was. I should have had Cas ward you a long time ago. It’s just…” He closed his eyes tightly. “I spend so much time actively trying not to think about you, that I…” He trailed off and opened his eyes again.

“Jules, I’m so sorry. I can't ever...” his voice was too choked to finish his thought.

Julie shook her head and reached out her hand toward him. He took it and trapped it between both of his. “Please, don’t apologize, Dean. And don’t feel guilty. You didn’t do this to me, and it's not your fault." Julie tried to bolster him with a grin. "You did, however, end the guy who did, so...thanks!”

Dean nodded absently and Julie knew he wasn’t going to let go of the blame. “Yeah,” he said with a smile, “I managed it with a pretty amazing assist from this newbie hunter. You shoulda seen her.”

Julie blushed a little, but before she could respond, Cas pushed open the door. “Dean.”

He noticed Julie and nodded. “Hello. How are you this morning?”

“Better, thanks.”

“That's good.” The angel looked back to Dean. “We’ve gotta go, Dean.”

Julie felt her heart drop. Dean rolled his eyes and licked his lips before he looked over his shoulder at Cas. “Yeah, okay Cas. Just give me a minute.”

Dean turned back to Julie and opened his mouth to speak but then he paused, looking back to Cas still standing in the doorway. He stared at him for a moment before Cas seemed to cotton on.

“I’m sensing awkwardness. I should leave the room?” He asked.

“Yeah, Cas. 'Give me a minute', means go away and I’ll see you in a minute. Or two.” He added when he realized the angel was likely to time out an exact minute.

Cas nodded slightly and left the room.

Dean shook his head and smiled at Julie. “He grows on you.”

Julie nodded. “I bet. Tell him I say thank you for helping to save our lives.”

“I will.”

Julie frowned. “How did the three of them even know where we were, or that we were in trouble?”

“Cas.” Dean said, nodding toward the door and the departed angel. “Another angel, Inias, an old garrison buddy of Cas’, didn’t approve of what Zachariah was doing, involving an innocent human, and reached out to Cas.”

Julie nodded. “I guess we should be grateful not all the angels are sadistic monsters.”

Dean gave a small huff and rolled his eyes. He didn’t seem to be won over.

There was quiet for a moment and then Julie spoke, barely above a whisper. “You’re leaving?”

Dean inhaled deeply. “Cas says there’s a rogue cupid in a little town back east.”

Julie frowned. “A rogue cupid? Like, you mean the fat baby with a bow and arrow?”

“That’s what I said,” Dean smiled at her. “but Cas says a cupid looks pretty much like any other angel.”

Julie nodded. “Well, we don’t want a rogue angel running around, that’s for sure.”

Silence reigned again, but it was so full of unspoken things that Julie felt choked by it.

Finally Dean stood up and moved to her side. He leaned down and grasped her face with both hands and captured her mouth in a deep kiss.

With all the tubes and wires still hooked up to her Dean couldn’t get as close to her as he wanted, but he swept his tongue into her mouth, licking up into her and causing Julie’s stomach to tighten and her core muscles to clench.

He slanted his mouth over hers again and again, moaning softly as she grasped the zippered sides of his green canvas jacket and pulled him closer.

Suddenly there was a very loud beeping noise coming from one of the machines beside the bed and a nurse came rushing in. Seeing, the tableau of Dean grasping Julie’s face and Julie grabbing onto Dean, the nurse rolled her eyes, but grinned as she moved over to stop the beeping.

“Your heart rate spiked.” She said, blushing slightly as she looked at Dean, with his kiss swollen lips and heated expression. “Try to be careful.”

She practically ran out of the room and Dean dropped his forehead to Julie’s with a chuckle. “I’m pretty sure most of the medical team looking after you wants to throttle me.”

Julie smiled through the tears that sprang to her eyes as Dean pulled away. She let her hands drop from him and looked down at her lap.

“Jules.” Dean said, his voice soft and imploring. “Please…don’t.”

Julie looked up at him and didn’t try to stop her tears. “I can’t help it. I won’t pretend I’m okay with this, because I’m not. I know you have to go now, but come back to me. When this hunt is over, come back to Bobby’s, let me help you heal, let me take care of you just a little bit before the next fight comes. And when I’m well again, let me join the battle, let me fight beside you.”

Her voice got very soft as she reached out a hand and ran it down his cheek.

“God, Dean. Just let me love you.”

Dean closed his eyes and she could see the column of his throat moving up and down as he swallowed. When he opened his eyes again, Julie saw that something had shifted in his gaze. He almost looked resigned and fearful. His look was one that said, 'God, I shouldn’t be doing this.' He opened his mouth to say something but Cas was suddenly there in the doorway.

“I’m sorry, Dean, but it’s been a lot more than two minutes, and we really must go now.”

Julie was desperate to know what Dean had been about to say, but he just nodded silently, jaw clenched, before he pressed a kiss to her cheek and pulled away.

“Please take care of yourself, Jules. Sam will stop in right away to say goodbye and Bobby and Annie are going to be here soon to stay with you.”

He nodded again stiffly and his smile was more like a grimace. “I’ll see ya, kid.” He said and spun away from her and out the door.

Cas looked at her heartbroken face and her tears falling rapidly and frowned deeply. “I really am very sorry Julie. I don’t know…” He paused and looked very confused.

“I’m sorry.” He repeated, following Dean out the door, and Julie was alone again, her heart broken again.

But this time she had a tiny spot of light in the form of Dean’s interrupted thought. He was going to say something, and despite telling herself that it was stupid to consider it, stupid to think he was going to say anything besides another goodbye, Julie couldn’t beat back the kernel of hope in her heart that maybe she would see him again soon. Or sooner than last time anyway.

She did see him a lot sooner. He showed up on her doorstep three months later, when his world ended.

Chapter 12

#dean winchester angst #dean winchester fluff #dean winchester fanfiction #dean winchester series #dean winchester fanfic #spn fanfiction #spn fanfic #dean winchester x ofc

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viking-raider · 4 years ago

Text

Southern Generation - Part VI

Summary: Sy officially moves in with Lily and they go on a road trip to make amends.

Pairing: Austin Syverson/OFC (Lily)

Word Count: 11,965

Warning: PG-13 - Language, Fluff, Angst, Smut, Oral - F Receiving, Drama, Pregnancy Cravings

Inspiration: Syverson is OP

Author's Note: Thanks to the wonderful @wondersofdreaming

Author's Note 2: Make sure to follow and turn on the notifications for my Tag List blog @viking-raider-taglist to stay up to date on this and all my other stories!

“That's the last of them.” Sy smiled, setting the last box of his stuff down.

With Lily pregnant and them making their relationship official, Sy moved all of his stuff from his Austin apartment into the farmhouse with Lily.

“Well, officially.” Lily replied, resting her hands on her hips and looking up at him. “Welcome home.” She smiled, giddy and proud.

“Thanks, Darling.” He grinned back, cupping her face and kissed her.

Lily smiled, as she woke up from her nap, feeling the warm and heavy weight of Sy's body in bed with her, his head in its customary place, on her chest. She usually woke up from her naps with Sy, whether or not he was with her, when she fell asleep or not. Sighing and moaning softly, she lifted her hand to twist the short, curling ends of his hair between her fingertips.

“Hm.” Sy hummed softly, rubbing his scruffy face against her chest and hugging his arms tighter around her middle, thumb stroking her tummy.

“I'm surprised at you.” Lily whispered, still playing with his hair.

“Why?” Sy moaned back, turning his head to look up at her.

“When I first met you, I half wondered what your hair would look like if you let it grow out.” She explained, running her fingers through it.

“Oh?” He chuckled, smirking at her.

“Yeah.” She blushed at him. “But, I just didn't expect the Bear, Austin Syverson, would have curls.” She grinned at him, twisting the ends of his hair between her fingers, she loved his developing curls.

“My hair hasn't been this long in ten years.” Sy laughed, blushing and biting his lip. “I've been thinking about cutting it again.”

“I will end you, Wyatt.” Lily threatened, touching the tip of her finger to his nose.

“Oh, busting out the middle name and everything.” He smirked, taking a playful snap at the tip of her finger. “Lily?” He whispered, biting the inside of his lip as he stared into her eyes.

“What?” She replied, tilting her head at him.

“Have you thought about going back?” Sy murmured, brow creasing. “Back to Middleburg, to see your grandparents. Jak isn't a threat anymore. I'm sure they would love to see you and I'd bet my life, you want to see them again. Especially now, with the baby on the way.”

Lily pressed her lips together, resting her hands on Sy's shoulders. “It would be nice to see them again.” She answered, after a long pause.

“But?” He pressed, sensing it coming next.

“What if they don't want to see me?” She asked, searching his eyes for comfort, and found it. “What if they don't want me in their life anymore?”

Sy took a deep breath, sitting up as he did, and brought Lily up with him. “Then, that's their loss.” He told her, folding her up in his arms and pressing his lips to her forehead. “If they don't want you in their life, then they are missing out on knowing one of the most amazing gals, who can light up a room, simply by walking into it.”

“You're just buttering me up, Austin.” Lily mumbled into his neck.

“Woman, have I ever lied to you?” Sy grinned into her hair.

“No.” She chuckled, blushing shyly.

“I don't intend to now, Angel.” He whispered, kissing her temple. “But, you won't know their reaction, unless you go and see them.” He added, softer.

“I know.” She whispered back, leaning against his chest. “You're right. I owe it to them and myself.”

“Whatever choice you make, I'll support you, every step of the way.” Sy told her, gently tipping her head back and tenderly kissed her.

“I think I want to go see them.” Lily said, later that night, while she and Sy sat at the dinner table.

Sy looked up from his plate of spaghetti and garlic bread, slowly lowering his fork. “All right.” He nodded, straightening his back and giving her his full attention. “When do you wanna go?”

“The sooner, the better, I think.” She mumbled, shifting in her seat, her own dinner mostly untouched.

Sy nodded his head again, quietly regarding Lily from across the table. He could see the worried and fearful anxiety on her face, still mulling over every worst case scenario about seeing her grandparents again, he could almost see every one of them tick by her eyes. Afraid that her grandparents would disown her, the moment they laid eyes on her. Blaming her for what transpired with Jak. Afraid of what their reaction would be, when she showed up at their door, after five years of silence, pregnant with the baby of man they had never heard of or met before, especially since they were incredibly religious.

He reached across the table, just in time to catch the tear that escaped and started to slip down her cheek, then rested his hand over hers. “No matter what happens, Lily. You still have me.” He told her, lovingly.

“You still have us.”

Lily grasped Sy's hand and tried to smile at him and not cry at the same time, which was hard with the way her hormones were starting to really get out of control. “I know.” She choked back.

“Let me finish painting the rest of the house and go to your twelve week baby appointment on Friday, then we'll pack a bag and ourselves into the car and drive out there.” He told her, making a game plan, so her frazzled and tired mind could relax.

“It's only a twenty-ish hour drive.”

“I think, that's a good idea.” Lily nodded, chewing on her lip, taking deep breaths.

Sy smiled and squeezed her hand. “Good.” He chuckled and let her hand go, before picking his fork back up and dug into his spaghetti.

Sy double checked his large, Army issued duffel bag, making sure he and Lily had enough clothing, he had her zofran, nausea medicine, and prenatal vitamin, along with everything else he, Lily and Aika would need for the almost nineteen hour drive from Celina to Middleburg, Virginia, having already put her pregnancy pillow in the car, before tugging the bag closed, slung it over his shoulder and went downstairs.

“Billie promised to keep an eye on the place and pick up the mail for us.” Lily said, meeting him in the entryway hall.

“Great.” He smiled. “Well, I got all our stuff packed.” He said, jostling the duffel bag.

“I already packed some snacks in the truck too.”

“Then, we're all set!”

“No, I have to pee, one more time.” Lily giggled, and rushed into the half bath.

Sy laughed, shaking his head and took the duffel bag out to the truck, dropping it in the back seat with Aika. “All set?” He asked as Lily came out of the house.

“I am now!” She nodded, crossing the yard to the truck and got into the passenger seat.

“Did you lock up?” He asked, getting in with her.

“Yep.”

“You good, Aika?” Sy asked, looking to the German Shepherd, who let out a loud bark. “All right, let's get this road trip underway!” He pulled up Google Maps on his phone and entered the address to Lily's grandparents' place, then set the device on its dock and started the truck.

Sy and Lily laughed, as they sang along to a song that came on Sy's playlist that they both liked, Enemies by Shinedown. But, Sy turned the song down, when Lily suddenly stopped singing and quickly identified the look she got just before she threw up. Quickly popping open the center console, Sy reached inside of it and pulled out a circular, blue and white object and opened it, holding it out to her. Lily took it from him, without question and threw up in it, once or twice.

“Where did you get this?” She asked, looking at it, realizing it was a hospital-grade nausea bag. “Did you rob a hospital?” She chuckled, looking over at him.

“No.” He laughed back at her. “I bought them off Amazon. I wasn't sure if you got car sick on long rides or not. But, I was sure the baby would make you nauseous, at least, once on the drive. So, I wanted to be prepared and make you as comfortable as possible in the process.”

Lily tied the used bag closed, then opened the center console and found another twenty-plus of the blue emesis bags inside. She smiled up at him, shaking her head in disbelief of his utter and complete thoughtful and preparedness.

“You never cease to amaze me, Austin.” She said, sitting back up. “You see how amazing your Daddy is.” Lily grinned, looking at her belly, and making Sy blush.

“Well, I gotta take care of ya, don't I?” He smirked, resting his hand on her thigh.

“Yeah, I suppose.” She sighed, smirking back at him.

“There's some Listerine strips in the center console, by the way.” Sy added, after a few quiet moments.

“I'm sorry, am I offending you?” Lily giggled, opening the console again and fished around for them, before finding the small blue case.

“No, no.” He grinned, chuckling. “Just figured you'd want to get the taste out of your mouth.” He explained, finally getting them on the interstate highway.

“Did you pack my nausea meds?” Lily asked, feeling another wave wash over her.

“Yeah. It's in our bag.” Sy nodded, brow creasing, as he tried to figure out what stupid shenanigans the car in front of them was up too.

Lily twisted in her seat and pulled the worn green bag between the front seats, tugging it open and riffled through it, until she found the little prescription bottle of tiny, white oval tablets, then turned back around. She removed one of the pills and cracked open one of the two bottles of Voss water in the cup holders and downed the pill.

“Why don't you rest?” Sy suggested, reaching behind her seat for her pregnancy pillow. “It's just going to be annoying highway stuff for a while.” He said, giving her the pillow.

“I don't want you to get lonely.” Lily protested, maneuvering and situating the U-shaped pillow into a comfortable position.

Sy smiled over at her. “I'll be fine, Angel.” He assured her. “If I get lonely, I'll talk to Aika and we'll play the quiet game.” He chuckled, looking at the dog from the rear view mirror. “I'll wake you up around one, and we'll find some little place to have lunch.”

“If you're sure.” Lily yawned, she was usually already in the middle of a nap by now.

“Positive, Sweetness.” He nodded, turning the heat on a bit to make sure she was kept warm.

Lily contorted her body in her seat, drawing up her legs and propping her head and the curve of her pillow against the window, wrapping her arms around it and hugging it against her body, before dozing off to sleep. Sy reached out and rested his hand on her leg, gently massaging it as he kept his eyes on the road, just listening to the hum of the tires on the worn asphalt of Interstate Forty fill the silent cabin of the truck; Aika curled up on the backseat. The quiet boredom of the road allowed the devil to whisper into Sy's ear.

He wasn't sure what to do, if Lily's grandparents, the people that raised her, rejected her, and not only her, but their great grand-baby, his child. He knew he had to be strong for Lily, it would crush her, if they wanted nothing to do with her and the baby, but Sy wasn't so sure he would be able to keep himself under control. He had a feeling he would end up giving the couple a very big piece of his mind, before bringing Lily back home to Celina.

“It'll be fine.” He said aloud, glancing over at Lily. “It'll be all right.” He assured her sleeping form, leaning over just enough to lay his hand on her belly.

Sy found a turn off into Memphis just before one in the afternoon, parking at a small riverfront park in downtown Memphis, giving Lily a quiet place to wake up and all three of them a place to stretch their legs, and Aika a place to pee.

“Hey.” Sy called, softly, shutting off the car and leaning across the console. “Lily. Wake up, baby.” He cooed at her, brushing his knuckles against her cheek and tucking her hair behind her ear, kissing the corner of her mouth. “Hey, sweet pea.” He grinned, watching her eyes slowly flutter open, blinking at the bright sunlight glittering off the murky river water.

“Where are we?” She asked in a sleepy voice, rubbing her cheek against the microfiber cover of her pillow.

“The home of the King, Memphis Tennessee.” Sy chuckled, teasingly, and kissed her again. “So, love me tender.”

“I'm all shook up.” Lily chuckled, unfolding herself and sitting up in her seat.

“Well, it's now or never, baby doll.” Sy roared, his head going back.

“Oh, don't be cruel.”

“But, I can't help fallin' in love.” He chimed back.

“What now, my love?” Lily asked, smirking at him.

“I knew there was a reason I loved you.” Sy commented, finding more and more of them every day. “But, I thought we'd get some fresh air and stretch our legs, I'm sure Aika has to pee. Then, we'll find some lunch.”

“I like that idea.” Lily nodded, pushing her pillow into the back seat, then climbed out of the truck, taking the used nausea bag with her to throw away, while Sy put Aika on her leash.

Sy took Lily by the hand and strolled down the little sidewalk along the riverside, watching the various types of boats go by them on the water. The weather was nice and warm with pleasant enough humidity, a few clouds floating in the baby blue sky.

“Are you craving anything specific?” Sy asked as they patiently waited for Aika to do her business in the grass beside them.

“Hmm.” Lily hummed, pressing her lips together and considering if there was something specific she wanted for lunch; she hadn't had any definitive cravings yet, other than the three days she really needed to eat Mac and Cheese.

But, something specific did strike Lily.

“A pretzel.” She purred, already licking her lips at the thought of the salty baked good.

Sy chuckled at her, amused at the expression on her face, eyes closed and dreamy. “All right. I'll get you a pretzel then.”

It was like a ding went off in Lily's soul. “I want a lot of Pretzels.” She said, eyes popping open and looked up Sy, almost manic and desperate.

“Okay.” He replied, brows raised and blinking at her. “I'll get you a pretzel for lunch, then some to munch on.”

“Yeah.” Lily nodded, staring down at their feet, eyes wide. “Pretzels are good.”

“That they are.” Sy agreed, snickering, unable to keep back his amusement.

Lily's eyes snapped up at him, watching him laugh at her, his eyes practically teasing and making fun of her. “Shut up.” She snapped, but started to laugh back at him. “I can't help it.”

“I know you can't.” He nodded, trying to stop, but it only made him laugh harder. “That's what makes it even better.”

“I hate you.” Lily giggled, playful punching him in the arm. “Now, I want my pretzel, Captain.”

“Yes, Major!” Sy replied, saluting her, then quickly cleaned up after Aika and took them back to the truck. “I just need to find a place to get you one.” He sighed, taking his phone off its dock and googled where to get a pretzel in Memphis, Tennessee.

“Okay, there's an Auntie Anne's not that far from us that does pretzels.” He said, saving the directions and setting them in that direction.

Leaving Aika in the car, Lily and Sy went into the shopping center the Auntie Anne's was in, navigating the crowd and line to the counter. Lily chewed on her lip for a moment, torn between getting a regular pretzel or the pretzel bites, before finally deciding on the bites with the nacho cheese dip. With her food, they navigated their way around again and Sy got himself something from the Wendy's the center had as well, before going back out to the truck to eat there; Lily stealing a couple of Sy's french fries and sharing a couple of her pretzel bites.

Once their lunch was finished and they tossed their empty containers away, Sy made a quick run into the Mega Wal-Mart across the street from the shopping center to buy a big bag of mini pretzels and a case of Voss water for Lily, knowing she was going to get very thirsting from devouring them.

“Thank you.” Lily said, when Sy gave her the bag as he got in the car, her eyes glued on the bag.

“Just don't turn into one.” He teased her, chuckling. “All right, let's get back on the road.”

“I don't want you driving all night, Austin.” Lily mumbled around a mouthful of pretzel.

“I know and I won't.” He replied, reaching a hand into the bag. “I'll go until sun down, then we'll find a place to sleep for the night.” He said, then crammed the four or five pretzels into his mouth.

“Good.” Lily smiled, passing back a pretzel to Aika, who quickly devoured it and came back for more.

Reaching Blacksburg, Virginia just after dark, Sy found a drive-thru to order them dinner and a motel for the night, parking out front of the motel's office. Sighing, he rested back in the driver's seat, scrubbing his palms over his tired face and lulled his head to the side to look over at Lily, who had fallen asleep again, twisted around her pillow and her half eaten bag of pretzels clutched to her chest. They were three hours away from her grandparents' orchard, three hours from finding out whether or not they would be in Lily and the baby's life.

“Watch her, girl.” Sy said to Aika, before slipping out of the truck, locking the doors for extra measure, and going inside the office to get a room.

Once he had the room, Sy got back into the truck and parked as close to the room as he could, before going around and opening Lily's door, careful not to let her slip out. Then, gently took the pretzel bag from her and set it aside, unbuckled her seat belt and tried to figure out for a moment how to untangle the mess of limbs and pregnancy pillow, but quickly gave up with an amused chuckle. He just picked up both her and the pillow to carry her into their room and laid her down on the bed, tugging the turned down blankets over her, then went out to get their bag, dinner and Aika.

“Hey, Angel.” Sy smiled, closing the room door with his foot as Lily sat up, rubbing at her face and pushing her hair out of her face. “I got us some food.” He said, holding up the bag.

“You hungry?”

Lily nodded, still sleepy. “Where are we now?” She asked, sitting cross legged on the bed, beside Sy as they ate their food.

“Blacksburg.” He replied, shoving fries in his mouth. “About three hours away from your grandparents' place.”

Lily bit her lip and nodded her head, staring at the half eaten, plain chicken sandwich in her hand, suddenly losing her appetite and set it down. “I'm gonna take a shower, I'm sore.” She mumbled, getting off the bed and headed into the tiny bathroom.

Turning on the light and closing the door, Lily let out a heavy breath and tugged her tank top off over her head, followed by her elephant patterned leggings and underwear, before turning towards the shower, the walls were dingy and discolored, but clean. Spinning the hot and cold taps, then stepping under the shoddy shower-head, she leaned her forehead against the cracked acrylic wall, letting the pleasantly warm water cascade down her back, like a waterfall, with a soft moan. She was starting to have second thoughts about going to see her grandparents. She wondered how upset or disappointed Sy would be, if she told him she wanted to go back home to Celina in the morning, instead of going the three hours to Middleburg to see them.

She wondered how disappointed in herself she would be later on, if she chickened out this close to their destination.

The bathroom door opened and closed, followed by the rustle of clothing, before Sy stepped into the shower behind Lily, resting one hand on her hip and brought the other one around to cup the gentle slope of Lily's belly, pressing his lips to the base of her neck. Gulping down a thicket of emotions in her throat, Lily turned in Sy's arms and pressed herself against his chest, nuzzling her face into his neck. He smiled against her wet hair, gently kneading her hips and lower back, knowing after so many hours in the car and the way she contorted her body to sleep, she must have been in pain.

“Let me take care of you.” He whispered, kissing her forehead.

Sy picked up the little bottle of travel sized, hotel shampoo, broke the seal on it and poured it into his broad palm, then gently massaged it into her hair, stealthily wiping away a line of soap that dripped down her forehead and almost in her eye. Lily closed her eyes, softly moaning at the gentle and pleasurable pressure of Sy's strong and blunt fingers working the scentless shampoo into her scalp, his thumbs moving out to methodically rub her temples, easing the edge off of the tension migraine she had all day. Sy tipped her head back into the spray of the shower, combing his fingers through her wet and soapy strands to rinse out the shampoo. With her hair washed, he found a small wash cloth and bar of soap, and started to wash her body, beginning with her shoulders and applying a little bit of pressure as he did to massage the cramped muscles there.

“God, that feels so good.” Lily sighed, melting under his tender affection, a smile twitching on her face as he rubbed the cloth over the ticklish spots of her sides.

Sy smiled, kissing the bridge of her nose. “Anything for you, Angel.” He cooed back, paying special attention to the beautifully growing bulge of her belly.

“Thank you.” She whispered, relaxed and sleepy, after they got out of the shower, letting Sy dry her off and secure the towel around her body.

“You're welcome, Sweetheart.” He replied, kissing her cheek.

Lily went back into the room and opened their duffel bag, just pulling out the first article of clothing that her hand came in contact with, which was Sy's worn, Jack Daniels, Tennessee Whiskey t-shirt and let the towel slip off her and pulled on his shirt. Sy stood in the bathroom doorway, still naked and dripping from the shower and smiled at her, loving how the black garment hung on her like a dress, her shoulder length hair dripping and making it wet as she brushed it.

He had never seen anyone so beautiful in his life.

Moving over to the full sized bed, Sy situated her pregnancy pillow, then turned towards Lily. “Lay down, Angel.” He cooed at her.

Frowning at him for a moment, but seeing the look in his blue eyes, Lily chuckled and laid down, situating herself with her head and neck propped up on the belly of the pillow and her body comfortably cradled in the middle of it. Sy picked up her discarded towel and used it to dry off some, before turning off the room lights, then crawled into bed with her. Moving between Lily's legs and gently bending up her knees and pushing them apart, Lily's startled gasp filled the dark room as Sy's warm breath wafted over her exposed folds, just before his wide tongue took one long and leisurely lick.

“Jesus H. Christ!” She cried out, gripping the arms of her pillow.

“Just me, Angel.” Sy chuckled, hooking his arms around her legs, so they rested on his shoulders, and pressed his palms down on top of her thighs, to keep her still, before dipping his head back down and pressing an open kiss to her clit, flicking the tip of his tongue against it, melting Lily into a sweet and needy whimper.

Sy licked and suckled at her delicate pussy, slipping his tongue between her folds to tease her entrance and get a deeper taste of her, lewd noises filled the room as neither of them hid the pleasure they were in and having. Lily rocked against his mouth, her hands pressed to the back of Sy's head to hold him in place, eyes rolled and fluttered, her anxiety of not wanting to go to her grandparents' in the morning completely forgotten in the heady peak of her orgasm.

“I love your mouth.” Lily sighed, out of breath, exhausted and pleasantly numb.

Sy roared with laughter, laying down beside her. “Good to know.” He grinned, pulling the blankets over them and draping his arm over her. “Good night, Angel.” He whispered, kissing her cheek.

“Night, Bear.” She mumbled back, starting to drift off.

Sy stayed awake for a little while, his hand slipping up inside the shirt she was wearing to gently caress her belly and stared at the back of her head. “God,” He whispered, careful not to wake or disturb her. “I don't ask much of you. But, for whatever my word is worth, please don't let these people hurt my girl. She needs and wants them in her life, so does our little one.” He said, lifting his hand to gently stroke her damp hair.

“Let this meeting tomorrow go well, for all of us.” He sighed, squeezing his eyes shut and hugging Lily back against him.

Lily took a deep breath and held it, as Sy turned the truck off the main road and onto the dirt road leading onto the Warren Orchard farm, seeing the tall apple tree shaped sign with Warren Apples carved elegantly in its trunk. It wasn't long before they came to the closed security gate, shutting them off from the rest of the farm. Sy rolled the truck to a stop and looked over to Lily, lifting a brow at her, waiting for her to tell him what they should do next, when a voice came to life next to him.

“Welcome to Warren Apple Orchards, what can I do for you?” A deep Southern drawl asked from a mounted intercom box outside the driver's side window.

Sy rolled down his window and leaned closer to the box, spotting the security camera mounted above the one side of the gate. “Yeah, we're here looking for the owners of the place.” He replied, glancing over at Lily again.

“Mr. and Mrs. Warren aren't taking visitors just now.”

Lily huffed through her nose and leaned over the center console and Sy. “Tell them, Liliana wants to see them, Judd.” She called out, biting and pressing her lips together.

There was a long pause with a bubble of tension, before an electric buzz filled the humid air around them and the metal gate rolled out of their way. Lily sat back in her seat and Sy gave her a concerned look, before driving though.

“You know him?”

“He's worked here as long as I can remember.” Lily replied, staring out her window to the immaculate lawn and row of trees beyond that. “Just keep following the road, you'll find the house at the end of it.” She added, picking at the hem of the shorts she was wearing.

True enough, a few minutes later, a massive colonial, plantation house appeared behind ancient weeping willows. Made mostly of white stone with two stories of wrap around porches and ornate black railings, tall marble columns, from the foundation to the roof; what looked like five chimneys, three turrets and an apple tree weathervane. The driveway looped around the front of the house, leading up the stairs onto the porch was double french, front doors.

Sy was in complete awe of it as he pulled around to the front of the driveway. “This place is amazing.”

“Yeah.” Lily gulped, biting her lip and stared up at the house. “Oh dear god.” She whimpered, shrinking her seat, trying to hide.

“What?” Sy frowned, then noticed a whited haired man step out of the house, wearing a pair of light brown khaki pants and a black pull over sweater with the Warren Orchard's logo on it, an apple with an arrow threw it, the front of the arrow's shaft bent in the shape of a W.

“I'm guess, that's--”

“My grandfather.” Lily nodded, peeking over the edge of the door to look up at him. “Yep.” She sighed, squeezing her eyes shut and pressed her forehead to the window.

“Well, you can't hide forever, Angel.” Sy told her, tilting his head at her. “He knows we're here and this is more than likely us, sitting here.”

“I know.” Lily huffed, chewing her lip. “I know.”

“You can do this, babe.” He encouraged her. “I'm right here, Angel.”

Lily looked over at him, looking at him like a lost puppy, before taking a deep breath and fortifying herself. “You're right.” She nodded, leaning over and kissed him.

Taking another deep breath, Lily opened her door and stepped out of the truck, gulping as she looked up the steps to her grandfather. Her heart felt like a war drum in her chest, she was excited to see him again, he didn't seem any different from the last time he had seen him, at least, not from the distance they were at.

But, she was also afraid of what was about to happen next.

“Paw-Paw.” She called out to him, softly, her voice shaky.

“Liliana.” He replied, lifting a snowy brow at her, his honey-brown eyes scrutinizing her.

“I've missed you.” Lily blurted out, sniffling, tears burning her eyes. “I'm sorry I disappeared. I'm sorry I just ran away and I didn't tell either of you where I was going or why. That I stayed away for so long without a word.”

“But, I thought about you all the time.”

He stared hard at her, crossing his arms over his chest. “You scared the daylights out of your grandmother and I, Liliana. We tried looking for you everywhere, but you just vanished into thin air, like you never existed.” He told her, his anger slowly showing on his face.

“We thought you were dead.”

Lily bowed her head, ashamed for what she had put her grandparents through. “I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention, Paw-Paw.” She choked, looking back up at him, breathing hard.

“Then, what was your intention, Liliana?” He barked at her, his eyes glowing with rage. “Who are you?” He hissed, as Sy came around the front of the truck to wrap an arm around Lily's waist, to comfort her.

Sy looked up at him for a moment, his eyes hard at the man. “Austin Syverson.” He replied, hugging Lily against his side and rubbing her back.

“Your relation to my granddaughter is what?”

“I'm her boyfriend.” He replied, narrowing his eyes at the other man. “Look, she's come here, because she misses you both, very much, and has regretted the way she left. But, she had to leave, she had a very valid reason in doing so. In reality, she's an adult, more than capable of making her own choices and doesn't have to answer to anyone as to why she's made them.” He told Lily's grandfather.

“That includes you.”

“But, she's gained the strength to come here to try and make amends with you both, for more than one reason. You can either accept that or you can not. What happens now, is up to you.”

“Davy, who is it?”

A voice called from the double doors behind Lily's grandfather, before it opened to a thin, elderly woman with a short, curly pixie cut, who struggled to wheel herself out of the house and onto the porch. Her dim and pale blue eyes almost instantly found Lily at the bottom of the porch stairs, her hands flew to the front of her flower pattern dress, mouth dropping open.

“Liliana!” She exclaimed, reaching out a hand to her husband.

“Mee-maw.” Lily sniffled back, smiling at her grandmother through her tears.

“Thank the Lord, you're all right, my sweet child.” She cried, pressing a hand to her mouth.

“I am.” Lily nodded, wiping at her eyes. “And, I wanna be part of your lives again. I want to make amends for what I did by running away and disappearing. I'm sorry, I hurt you and Paw-Paw.”

Lily's grandmother looked up at her husband, who was still glaring at Lily and Sy, pressed her lips together, then looked back at them. “Come inside.” She said, letting his hand go and turned her wheelchair around and headed back towards the door.

“Davy.” She called over her shoulder.

Sighing, he turned and pulled the door open for her, eyeing Lily and Sy as they mounted the porch stairs, then followed his wife inside the house, before doing the same. She rolled down the hallway and turned into the private study, motioning to the long leather couch and parked herself in front of it.

“Hello.” She said, looking at Sy as he sat down beside Lily on the couch.

“Ma'am.” He replied, politely nodding his head to her.

“Who might you be?”

“Austin Syverson, Ma'am.” Sy answered with a sweet smile. “I'm your granddaughter's boyfriend.”

“Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Syverson.” She replied, regarding him. “I'm Violet Warren, and this is my husband, Davis.” She said, motioning to him as he took a seat in a chair to Lily and Sy's left.

“Sir.” Sy said, nodding his head stiffly to him.

“You're looking well, Liliana.” Violet commented, turning her attention to her granddaughter.

“Thank you.” Lily whispered, licking her lips. “I just go by Lily now.”

Violet nodded her head. “Very well.” She acknowledged. “Where've you been, Lily?”

Lily drew a deep breath through her nose and slowly let it back out. “It's a long story.” She whimpered, gripping Sy's hand for support, chewing the inside of her cheek to bits.

Davis and Violet glanced at each other, before she leaned forward and took a small hand bell off the coffee table between them and rang it. A moment later, a young lady appeared in the doorway of the room and Violet asked her to serve them some tea. The tension was tight and thick in the room while the tea was being made for them, no one saying a word to each other. The servant returned, carrying in a highly polished tea tray and set it down on the coffee table, setting out teacups for the four of them and filled the cups, before leaving the room again.

“What is your story, Lily?”

Carefully drizzling a bit of honey into her tea with a honey dipper and taking a fortifying sip of it, Lily started her story. “You know that I had been seeing Jak.” She said, looking between her grandparents.

“We did.” Violet nodded, taking a sip of her own tea.

“Well, what you didn't know was Jak had been abusive to me.” She continued, staring into the rich and steamy liquid in the expensive china teacup. “He had been the entire time we were together. But, I was too naive and silly to break it off with him for the longest time. But, after a particularly bad incident, I decided I couldn't take it any longer. So, I packed a bag and went to live with Maggie. I didn't tell you-” She paused, brow creased, she had often thought about why she hadn't told them, but had never really pinned down a specific reason to why she hadn't.

But, she shook that thought off.

“I honestly don't know why I hadn't. All I knew was I was terrified of Jak finding me again and dragging me back into the life and situation I had been living in for so long with him. While I was with Maggie, I changed my name from Liliana Jade Warren to Lily Ana Moore, to make it harder for him to find me, which made it hard for the both of you to find me, and finished university.” She continued on. “After I did that, I moved to a very small town in Texas and started my own company for my Graphic Design and Photography.”

“It's how I've been supporting myself.”

“I was so consumed by my paranoia and fear of Jak finding me, that I never left the house I bought in Texas, five years ago, this is the farthest I've been from it, since I've moved there.” She confessed, looking to Sy, who smiled at her, supportive and proud.

“What's changed?” Her grandfather asked, his own teacup still where the servant set it, ignored and cold. “Why are you here now?”

Lily cleared her throat and set her tea aside. “I left and became reclusive, agoraphobic, because I felt unsafe and afraid. That Jak would end up finding me and hurting me. He did end up finding me, but Austin...” She looked to Sy, her eyes filled with appreciative love and pride. “Austin makes me feel safe again. He's protected me, in more than one way, and he's shown me what real love is. I owe him so much.”

Sy grinned brightly at her, gripping her hand, a bit choked up at her words.

“He's helped me get back to this place, a place I've held onto, wanting to be a productive member of society, to be back in your life and be your granddaughter again. I miss you and I love you both. That never changed and it will never change.”

“That never changed for us either, Lily.” Violet replied, resting her teacup back on its saucer. “You will always be our precious granddaughter and we have always loved you; from the moment you were born to this moment right now.”

“I hope you could find it in your heart, to have a little more love.” Lily whispered, biting the inside of her lip, gulping.

“For what?” Violet frowned, brows drawing together and head tilting at her.

Lily looked to Sy, who nodded his head at her. “Sy and I are expecting.” She mumbled, not meeting either of her grandparents' eyes.

“You're with child?” Violet asked, shocked disbelief in her voice.

“I am.” Lily nodded, whimpering.

“I hope you're not here, thinking this little reunion will get you money.” Her grandfather snapped, coldly.

Lily's eyes snapped over to him, a cold knot of shock, hurt and anger in her stomach, she could feel the tension stiffen Sy's body. “We don't need any of the family money.” She hissed, eyes hardening. “My business alone is quite well off, thank you; and I'm more than offended at the accusation.”

“That's putting it politely.” Sy chimed in, staring daggers into the old man.

“Davis.” Violet barked, offended at her husband's insult as well, she had no feeling that Lily and Sy were there looking for money or assistance with their lives or the baby.

“Excuse me, for the last time I recalled a couple sitting on that very same couch to tell us they were expecting a child, it was our sweet Daisy and that good for nothing, Palmer, and we all saw how that ended.” Davis replied, his voice cold and sharp.

“Austin isn't my father.” Lily barked, her voice mirroring her grandfather's.

Lily and her grandfather glared darkly at each other, before Violet grew annoyed with their childish behavior and clapped her bony hands together, catching the room's attention.

“That is quite enough.” She scolded them.

Sy hid his smirk around the rim of his teacup, already liking Lily's grandmother.

“How far along are you?” Violet asked, looking at Lily.

“Almost thirteen weeks.” She replied, unconsciously touching her belly.

“Do you know what you're having?”

“Not yet.” Lily grinned at Sy, giddy at the thought of finding out the gender of the baby, she didn't care if it was a boy or a girl, she was just excited in general. “We won't know for another five weeks.” She added, glancing over at her grandmother.

“Well,” Violet grinned, her eyes lighting up. “I can't wait to meet my great-grandbaby.” She said, sounding overjoyed at the prospect. “Davy?” She looked to her husband, her eyes still filled with excitement, but outlined with warning.

Davis looked at her for a moment, then over at Lily, before looking down at the watch on his right wrist, then stood. “I have to meet Mac in the south orchard.” He said, tonelessly, and left the room.

Lily let out an uneven breath and painful tears punched her in the chest, turning her face into Sy's collarbone as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her against his side, pressing his lips to her hair. Violet's mouth was pressed into a thin, angry, lipstick red line as she continued to stare out the study doorway after Davis, the rapturous event of finding out about their great-grandbaby being overshadowed by his stubborn pigheadedness.

“I think we should go.” Sy said to Lily, gently wiping away her tears.

“Please, do stay.” Violet chimed in, turning her attention back to them. “There's more than enough room right here.” She said, looking back and forth between Lily and Sy. “Please, it's been so long, Lily. You've been gone and so far away. Town is twenty minutes away and with you here now, two minutes is too far away.”

Lily looked up at Sy.

“It's up to you, Angel.” He whispered, brushing his thumb against her flushed cheek.

She looked over at her grandmother. “Of course, I would love that.” She whispered, wiping her nose on the back of her hand.

Violet smiled at her, relieved to have her granddaughter under the same roof again. “I'll have Clara set two extra places at the table.” She grinned, overjoyed. “I'll even have her make your favorites for lunch and dinner.”

Lily smiled at her, touched at her grandmother's sentiment. “Thank you.”

“You remember where your room is?” She replied, lifting a brow at her.

“I do.” Lily nodded her head.

“Then, I won't keep you any longer. I'm sure you must be tired with the baby and the long journey from Texas.”

“I am.” She agreed, sighing softly.

“Off you both go then, the bell will ring, when lunch is ready.”

“Thank you, Mee-Maw.” Lily said, nodding her head and stood up, Sy standing with her.

“Ma'am.” Sy nodded his head to Violet, then followed Lily out of the room and down the hall to a flight of stairs. “Well, that didn't go as badly as the two of us thought it would.” He commented, mounting the stairs behind her.

“No, it did not.” Lily replied over her shoulder, going up the three sets of stairs. “I just hope my grandfather comes around.” She added, coming to the second floor and going down to a door at the very end of the hall. “This is...was—my room.” She said, turning the vintage, metal and ceramic door knob that had a hand-painted gold floral design on it, and pushed the door open.

The bedroom was spacious and bright with the mid-morning sun shining in through four windows, between one set of windows sat a squat, five compartment, vintage chest of drawers, across from that was a full sized, poster bed, with the doorway to a bathroom to the left and a walk-in closet to the right. There was a bookcase and table against the wall by the door, mostly filled with church and home school related things.

“It's a nice room.” Sy commented, picking up one of the books on the table, a bible.

“Thanks.” Lily smiled, shyly, seeing that her grandparents had left her room the exact way she'd left it, when she moved out.

“Do you wanna rest for a little while?” He suggested, stepping up behind her and resting his hands on her hips, gently pressing his thumbs into the small of her back and massaging them.

“Yeah.” She moaned, her head dropping back against his chest, turning to kiss the underside of his bearded jaw.

“How about a nice warm bath first, maybe a cup of tea?”

Lily chuckled into his neck, grinning. “So dotting, Captain.” She teased him.

“I love you.” He cooed, kissing her forehead, then moved away from her and went into the bathroom, plugging the drain on the ancient claw-foot tub and turned the X-shaped tap handles.

Lily padded into the bathroom, sitting down on the closed toilet seat and pushed down the stress of her grandfather's behavior towards her, to watch Sy fill the bath for her, a soft smile on her face. She stood up for a moment and reached underneath the sink and removed a small bottle and handed it to him. Sy smiled at her and took it from her, uncapping it and getting the strong snap of eucalyptus and sprinkled the Epsom salt into the delicately warm water, before turning off the tap. He grabbed a towel and folded it, then situated it at one end of the tub, to pillow her head, when she started to soak.

“Now, where is the kitchen?” He asked, looking at her.

“Down the stairs, first door to your right.” Lily replied, getting out of her clothing.

“Cool, I'll be right back.” Sy told her, kissing her temple and stepped out of the room to go downstairs to get her tea.

Lily finished undressing and carefully stepped into the pleasantly warm water, leaning back with a soft and satisfied moan, focusing on the warm water enveloping her body easing away her aches and pains, melting away the anxieties that had accumulated during the drive over from Texas and the visit. While Sy found the kitchen and pushed open the swinging door, finding the cook, Clara, inside, who looked up as she heard him come in and wiped her hands on her apron.

“Can I help you?” She asked, lifting a brow at him.

“Um, just need a cup of tea.” He replied, licking his lips and glancing around the kitchen.

“Oh, of course, right away.”

“I'd hate to put you out.” Sy said, alarmed.

Clara chuckled at him, pulling down a cup from a high cabinet. “It's what the Warren's hired me for.” She assured him. “I'm guessing it's for Lily.” She added, moving about the kitchen as she put the things together to make the tea.

“Yeah.” He nodded, then patiently waited for her to finish and took the cup from her. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome.” Clara smiled, and returned to what she had been doing.

Sy carefully took the cup back upstairs to Lily, smiling as he stepped into the bathroom and saw her lounging comfortably in the tub. He was glad she could relax and let the stress go, even if it was for a little while. Lily stirred as he sat down beside her, smiling at him and taking the cup of tea from his outstretched hands and let out a pleased moan.

“Feels like a spa day.” She chuckled, handing her teacup back to Sy for him to hold, so she could relax back again.

“You deserve to relax.” Sy replied, softly. “You've got an important job to do.”

“Yeah, I'm growing a Syverson.” Lily chuckled, teasingly.

“Exactly.” He laughed back. “That's no easy feat to bring one of us into the world.”

“Bringing a Syverson into the world is just the start of it, then we have to raise them.”

“Oh, trouble, trouble, trouble.” Sy grinned at her. “Nothing, but trouble.”

“Toil and bubble.” Lily giggled, fully amused and lighthearted.

“Come on, sleepy, out with you.” Sy said, setting her empty teacup on the vanity counter and pulled the towel off the bar and held it open for her.

“Okay.” Lily replied, stifling a yawn with her hand.

Stepping out of the tub and into Sy's arms, she rested her forehead against his chest and let him dry her off. Sy had taken a liking to drying her off after she showered or bathed, since she'd become pregnant, none of which Lily protested to, she was usually very sleepy by the time she got out of them, so having him there to finish up was always nice.

“Oh, fuck.” He barked, after helping back into her clothing. “Your pillow is still in the truck.”

“It won't kill me to have one nap without it.” Lily said, through yet another yawn.

“You were a very cranky mama bear the last time you didn't have that thing to sleep with.” He reminded her. “I'll go down and get it, just sit tight.”

“I'd rather lay tight.” She huffed, starting to get cranky as she shuffled over to her bed and laid down.

Sy rushed back downstairs and nearly collided with Violet. “Oh my god, I am so sorry.” He panted, making sure she was all right. “ Are you okay?”

“I'm fine, where's the fire, Mr. Syverson?”

“Lily's laying down for her nap and I just realized she doesn't have her pregnancy pillow and she always wakes up very cranky, when she doesn't have it to sleep with.” He explained, calming down.

Violet smiled up at Sy, touched and pleased at the plain devotion he had for her granddaughter. “Well, we can't have that, now can we?” She chuckled, rolling back out of his way.

“No, ma'am.” Sy shook his head at her.

“Violet, Mr. Syverson. Just call me Violet.” She informed him as Sy reached the front door.

He paused, hand on the door and smiled at her, remembering when Lily told him to call her by her given name. “Of course, Ms. Violet.” He nodded at her, politely.

Violet smiled back at him and Sy went out to his truck.

“Hey, girl.” Sy said, opening the passenger door of the truck and only to get attacked by Aika's tongue. “I know, I know. I haven't forgotten about ya. I promise.” He chuckled, petting her. “I'll come back down in a couple minutes and take care of you. But first, I have to take care of your mama.” He said, reaching in the back seat for Lily's U-Shaped pillow, pushed Aika back and closed the door again, before rushing back upstairs.

“Okay, pillow.” Sy said, bursting into the room, only to find Lily curled into a ball and sound asleep, making him chuckling. He situated her pillow and gently unrolled Lily from her ball and slipped her between her pillow, before covering her up.

“Sleep sweet, Angel.” He whispered, kissing her cheek softly, then went back downstairs. “Um, do you know where Ms. Violet is?” He asked the servant that had served him and Lily tea when they had first arrived.

“Yes, she's in the private study, right through there.” She replied, pointing the way.

“Thank you.” He nodded, then went down, gently knocking on the door.

“Enter.”

“Ms. Violet?”

“Ah, Mr. Syverson, I'm trusting the pillow crisis was averted?” She asked, an amused glitter in her eyes.

Sy chuckled. “It was, thank you.”

“Then, what can I help you with?”

“I, uh, brought Lily and I's dog with us...” He said, sheepishly, though Lily's grandmother seemed like a very sweet woman, Sy got the vibe she was the authority in this household and crossing her wasn't the way to go. “She's in my truck and I didn't want to take her out without asking first, so I didn't step on any toes and cause any issues with you and your husband.”

“What kind of dog is she?”

“She's a German Shepherd.” Sy replied, licking his lips. “I found her in the war-zone on my last deployment.” He half explained to her.

Violet blinked several times at Sy. “You were in the military?”

“Yes, ma'am.” He nodded, with a deep sense of pride. “I was a Captain in the U.S Army, Special Forces, for more than ten years.”

“What's the pup's name?”

“Aika.”

“Well, Aika is more than welcome here.” She told him. “As long as she behaves herself.” She added, a soft smile on her face.

“She's a very well behaved dog, you have my word.” Sy replied, smiling back at her.

“Good.” Violet nodded. “Just make sure you keep her out of the orchards or Davis will have a never-ending fit.”

“Will do.”

Excusing himself, Sy went back out to the truck and put Aika on her leash, walking her around the front of the property and away from the orchards, making sure to clean up after her, then brought her inside, taking her upstairs to Lily's room, where she curled up on the bed with Lily, before he decided to do a little exploring himself before lunch.

He wandered into the orchards, seeing the short trunks, but wide crowns, light green and shiny apples weighing down its branches and a couple littered the ground. There easily had to be a hundred trees of the same sort for as far as Sy could see in the area he was in, before he moved on. Sy came to a small dirt lane and crossed it into a totally different portion of the orchard, these trees were still squat and wide, but the apples on their branches were medium sized and mostly two toned, a dull red that faded into a yellow-y green color.

He crossed another dirt road and found another orchard of another kind of apple, this one a light yellow color, when he heard voices and then his name and turned, seeing Lily's grandfather, realizing he had wandered into the south orchard.

“What are you doing out here?” Davis asked, approaching him.

“Just looking around.” Sy replied, keeping his tone guarded. “Lily's told me a lot about the place.”

“And where is she?”

“Back at the house, sleeping.” Sy told him, his shoulders stiff. “She gets tired a lot with the baby.”

“Hm.” Davis huffed and turned on his heels.

“What's your problem?” Sy barked after him, unable to hold his temper any longer. “She just wants her grandfather, the man that raised her, back in her life, in her child's life. Not your money or your business, just your love and affection.”

Davis spun around on his heels to face Sy. “I might have raised her, because my Daisy died, and her father was an unreliable scum, but she's making the same mistake her mother did. I won't be part of that again.”

“I won't be there when it kills her too.” He hissed, then stormed off.

Lily woke up to Sy's angry pacing at the foot of the bed and cursing under his breath, and sat up, rubbing at her eyes. “What's wrong, Bear?” She asked, frowning at him.

“Your grandfather is a pigheaded, son of a bitch.”

Her mouth fell open for a moment, then her brows drew together and her eyes narrowed. “Did the two of you get into an argument?”

“Sorta.” He huffed back.

“For the love of Jesus, Austin.” Lily barked at him, pressing her hands to her face. “Why?”

“I didn't go lookin' for it, Lily.” He retorted, stopping his pacing. “I was just checking out the orchards and ran into him. One thing came to another, I asked him what his problem was, all you want is his love and affection back, not his damned money or his orchard, and his reply was you're making the same mistake your mother made and you'll end up dying because of it too.”

“Which you will fucking not!” He added, a panicked fright breaking through his burst of anger.

“Of course, I'm not going too, Bear.”

Lily sighed, shaking her head and running her hand through her hair, before getting up out of bed. “I'll be more than all right. We have a great doctor and an amazing hospital back home. Plus, I have you to take care of and look after me, the whole time. I'll be perfectly safe and sound.” She told him, hugging her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek to his chest.

“Don't listen to him, Sy. He's just a grumpy old man, set in his ways.”

“What's that make me?” He asked, half jokingly.

“My boyfriend and Papa Bear.” She giggled, tilting her head back to look up at him.

“Good to know, Mama Bear.” He teased back, dipping his head to kiss her. “The fuck was that?” He asked as two loud dinging sounds filled the house.

“That is the lunch bell.” Lily replied, pulling away from him. “One ding is breakfast, two is lunch and three is dinner.” She explained to him, finding her shoes and slipping them back on. “Old Virginian hospitality, Syverson. I know you Texans aren't used to it.”

“Oh, you posh and polished Southerners.” He teased back, following her downstairs. “Give me the ringing of a triangle any day and this cowboy will know the way to the dinner table.”

“Remind me to buy one for our house, then.” Lily giggled, showing him into the family dinning room.

“Buy what for your house?” Violet asked, already seated at one end of the table.

“Oh, Sy was making fun of us for being—what did you call it?” She asked, looking at him as he vigorously shook his head at her. “Ah yes, posh and polished Southerners, for having a meal bell.” You grinned at him, impishly. “While, pointing out the Texas Cowboy in him could only find his way home, if he heard the call of a triangle bell.”

“I said, I would be able to find my way to the table. I know my way home, thank you very much.” He spoke up, his cheeks pink underneath the hairs of his beard.

Both Lily and Violet's laughter filled the dining room, but Sy soon joined them. But, the laughter died down as Davis entered the room, taking his place at the other end of the table, practically sucking the air out of the room as he took his seat.

“How is the south orchard doing?” Violet asked, as lunch was being served.

“One of the original York apple trees is starting to fail for some reason.” Davis replied, picking up the salt shaker. “Mac and I were running through a list of things we can do to save it.” He explained, paying closer attention to his food than to the others at the table with him.

“This looks really good.” Sy commented, licking his lips at his plate.

“It's one of Lily's favorites.” Violet smiled at him. “Creamy Shrimp pasta.”

“I used to try and bribe Clara into making it for every meal once for a whole summer.” Lily chuckled, twirling the angel hair pasta around her fork. “Never worked out.”

“Didn't deter you from trying though.” Violet chuckled, smiling fondly at her granddaughter. “I'm more than sure you'll love what Clara is making you for dinner.”

“I have no doubt.” She smiled back.

“Oh, Mr. Syverson, if you'd like a place to park your truck, I'm sure Davis could show you where the garage is.” Violet said, her eyes on her husband.

“Thank you, Ms. Violet.” Sy replied, smiling at her. “And, please, call me Sy or Austin, whichever you might prefer.” He told her, a bit shyly.

“Austin, it is.” Violet answered, giving him a sweet smile. “But, you can do that for him, can't you?” She said, lifting a brow at her husband, with an expression that dared him to object to her request.

Davis stared at his wife, his hard brown eyes holding Violet's stern blues, before his shoulders dropped slightly. “I'll show you after lunch.”

“Thank you.” Sy replied, stiffly.

Lily rested her hand on Sy's thigh, gently squeezing it, trying to keep him calm and relaxed. “How have the orchards been?” Lily asked her grandfather, trying to open any sort of connection with him. “I know picking season is coming up soon in the next few months.” She pointed out, gathering up a forkful of her shrimp pasta.

There was a long silence at the table, each second made Lily's heart clench tighter, fearing her grandfather would just continue to ignore her and pretend she didn't exist. She didn't know how much more of his coldness she could take, before it became too much to bear and she would just want to leave again.

No matter how much it would hurt.

“Other than the York tree showing signs of white rot, the orchards are as productive and fruitful as ever.” He finally spoke.

“What happens if you don't cure the white rot?” Lily frowned, concerned for the tree.

“We lose the tree.” Davis sighed, resting back in his chair and tossing his napkin onto the table beside his plate. “It'll only be the third originally planted tree on the farm we've ever lost. Well, with any luck the rot won't spread and it won't hit us too hard.” He explained, looking at her.

“Just because you lost one, don't mean you'll lose more.” Lily replied, holding his gaze.

Davis dropped his eyes and nodded his head, sighing, then looked up at Sy, noticing his empty plate. “You done?”

“I am.” Sy nodded, wiping his mouth.

“Come on, and I'll show you where the garage is and you can park your truck.” He said, standing up, leaving his half eaten lunch on the table.

“I'll be right back.” Sy whispered to Lily, kissing her cheek and stood, following her grandfather out of the house.

The walk from the house was silent as they stepped off the paved driveway and onto a pea gravel lane that led a little ways away from the house, through a small grove of very ancient looking weeping willows to a large building with several vehicles parked outside of it.

“You can park it here.” Davis said, motioning to the area in front of them.

“Thanks.” Sy nodded to him, then turned back to get his truck.

Bringing his truck around and finding a place to park it, Sy got out and and grabbed their duffel bag out of the back and locked up, heading back up to the house; when Davis stopped in his tracks, noticing the duffel bag slung over his shoulder; the worn military green and the faded, black U.S letters.

“Something the matter?” Sy frowned, turning back to him.

“That's a military bag.” Davis replied.

“Yes, it is.” He nodded, shifting it on his shoulder and tilting his head at the other man.

“It's yours?”

Sy's shoulders slumped and he stared at the old man. “I served more than ten years in the U.S Army as a Captain in the Special Forces.” He explained to him. “I retired almost a year ago.”

“How did you and Lily meet?”

“As I said, I retired almost a year ago and I returned home to Austin, Texas.” Sy replied, sighing. “Even though I could live quite well on my retirement, I don't like not having a job or being idle. So, I went about applying for jobs, mostly jobs I could do with my hands, construction jobs and such. A construction company told me about a contract that they had gotten from a young lady, who needed help fixing her place up in Celina, which is about three hours south of Austin. I called about it and got the job. I'm sure you guessed, it was Lily.” He smirked, chuckling to himself.

“I started fixing the place up for her and we grew close, especially after we helped each other through a few traumatic things.”

“Like, what?”

“I have pretty severe PTSD from my time in deployment and Lily's gotten me through more than one episode.” Sy smirked, blushing slightly and toeing the ground with the tip of his boot. “She's the guiding light to holding them back.” He whispered softly. “As for her, she's been through a lot in the last five years, especially the fear and turmoil caused by Jak.” He said. “There's nothing on this planet, there hasn't been anything on this planet, I wouldn't do to ensure her happiness and safety.”

Sy looked Davis dead in the eyes, a deep seriousness coming over him, even though he had a knot in his stomach. “Listen, your granddaughter isn't a little girl anymore. She's a grown woman, and a beautiful, loving and intelligent one, at that. She's so incredibly caring for the people around her, even when she's been so hurt and her trust in people has been cut deeply. Her work ethic is admirable, she built a company from the reclusion of her own home, that she hadn't left in more than three years, and it is thriving. She's even currently in the process of interviewing people to fill two positions, because she has so many clients, that she's in need of the extra help.”

“You're projecting the fear of your daughter’s mistakes and death on Lily and it isn't fair to her, or to you and your wife.”

“My Daisy Mae's misfortunes aren't the only failures that have me disappointed in the situation.” Davis said, rolling his jaw at Sy.

Sy huffed at him, biting his lip and nodding his head at him. “You think I'd be some, what was it, unreliable scum, like her father?” He asked, lifting a brow at him.

Davis sighed back at him, scrubbing a palm over his wrinkled forehead and lifted a brow at him. “Come with me.” He said, motioning him back towards the house.

Pressing his lips together, Sy followed him back up to the house and into Davis's private study, setting the duffel bag down by the door as Davis closed it behind him. Davis motioned to a leather and mahogany upholstered chair in front of a cold fireplace, then moved over to a small table of bottles and glasses, pouring them both a drink. He handed Sy a glass and took the seat across from him, taking a long sip.

“Smooth stuff.” Sy commented, licking his lips and admiring the rich, amber liquid.

“Maker's Mark, Kentucky bourbon whiskey.” Davis replied, smirking at his glass, appreciatively.

“Anyhow.” He cleared his throat, balancing his glass on the arm of his chair. “Palmer Hughes. He came to work here in the summer of 1985, he was twenty years old and Daisy was eighteen. I knew the boy was trouble the moment I set eyes on him and knew I should have sent him picking.”

“But, for whatever reason, and against my better judgment, I didn't.”

“He took an instant liking to our Daisy, who was ordinarily a good mannered, well behaved and proper girl. But, as soon as he set his eyes on her, he started corrupting her. He would stop coming to work in the fields to sneak himself and her off the property and go into town or wherever it was they would go to. Daisy started to become more defiant and rebellious. One of our church elders even spotted her and Palmer with a group of their lowlife friends in a questionable area of town, getting high, smoking and drinking.”

“It was such an embarrassment.” He sighed, taking a deep gulp of his drink. “When Daisy was twenty-one, she came to her mother and I and told us she was pregnant. Palmer had split the moment he found out about it. But, I tracked his no good ass down and dragged him back. He and Daisy got married just before Lily was born.”

“What happened?” Sy asked, frowning at him, the burn of the alcohol melting through the knot in his stomach as he thought about it. “How did her mother die?”

“She developed a hemorrhage that the doctor's couldn't get under control, so she ended up bleeding to death.” Davis explained, growing pale at the memory of the doctor's telling him and his wife the news of their daughter’s death, their only child. “For his part, Palmer did seem distraught over her death. But, he blamed Lily for it. So, he spent the rest of her life coming in and out of it, before Violet and I finally just adopted her and permanently took care of her.”

“It was Violet and I that ended up naming Lily, as well. Daisy hadn't picked one, that we were aware of, and Palmer wasn't being cooperative with anyone, us or the hospital staff.”

“Where is her father now?”

Davis sighed and carefully regarded Sy for a long moment, before replying. “He died, some years ago.”

Sy blinked at him, shocked. “You never told Lily this.”

“No.” He shook his head, guilty. “Vi and I thought it would be best that we didn't.”

“That's not really for either of you to decide.” Sy frowned at him, annoyed. “Lily deserves the truth.”

“I know she does.” Davis agreed. “I'll tell her, one day. As for you, Austin.” He met Sy's eyes. “I've unjustly projected my prejudices of Palmer onto you. You are, not even an ounce, the man he was. You are a man I wish my own daughter would have met and fallen in love with. But, I am glad my granddaughter met, fallen in love with and is having my great-grandbaby with you.”

“Thank you.” Sy answered, taking his compliment and finished off his drink.

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vannybarber · 4 years ago

Text

Prank Backfired

Summary: This idiot plays too much.

Christopher Jamal Evans x Black Reader

Warnings: cursing, weaponry, mentions of cheating, threats of christopher jamal evans' life.

Chris, the most mischievous man you know, decided to upgrade that status and play a prank on you. A stupid one might you add.

You walk through the door after a long day of work. Even though you loved what you did and it paid amazing money, it could drain the hell out of you. You set everything down and kick off your shoes in the hall, heading towards the couch and plopping down.

Chris comes through into the living room and identically plops down beside you. You slackly move over to kiss him.

"Hey bubba", you say, but before you could reach his lips, he quickly leans back with a hardened look on his face. Confused you lean back as well.

"Chris, what's wrong?" He takes a deep breath, which does not help your racing heartbeat whatsoever, and starts talking.

"I'm just gonna be straight with it. I've been seeing this girl, well sleeping with her, for a few weeks now."

If looks could kill, you'd be sentenced life without parole for murder in the first, second and third degree. But hearing his words had you feeling all types of emotions. Angry, hurt, confused, flabbergasted, scared even, just to name a few.

"It was eating me up inside and I just had to come out and say it. I couldn't hold it from you anymore." He was fiddling with his hands and not even looking at you. It was quite strange because if he had something important to tell you, he would always look you in the eye.

"Who is she? Do I know her?" Your leg is bouncing and you're cracking your knuckles trying to hold it together.

"It was that waitress from Durty Nelly's on Blackstone. When you went to the bathroom, she slipped me her number."

"That bleach blonde, trailer-park trash, cousin-fucking tramp with those ugly cut out shorts and uneven boobs?" Oh there was no way in hell he cheated on you with that. Something was up.

But then you remembered. You never went to that bathroom because ew. You were considering it and you got up only to make 2 steps before sitting back down. And that girl was 2 booths down from y'all. There was no way she 'slipped him her number'. This motherfucker was lying.

"Yep.." he bites both lips. "That's her. Look babe, I'm sorry. I truly am. I don't know what I was doing. You know I have a habit on hopping from one thing to another." The fucking nerve of this fool. He finally looks at you and he honestly deserves all his success because he's really pulling this prank off.

"Well, I don't really have anything to say to you right now. I'm just gonna get my shit and go. You cheat on me with the literal definition of vile and expect me to forgive you like that? I mean out of all the people in this world, Christopher."

Still playing into his prank, you get up and walk towards the bedroom. He follows suite, totally thinking he's the shit pulling one on you, but things were about to get interesting. You turn into the bedroom going straight for the closet.

"Listen Y/N, I don't want to lose you okay? I just can't seem to let go of her. She's addicting, if I'm being honest." You just shake your head and chuckle. If you didn't know this was a prank, he'd probably be in intensive care right now.

"Baby boy, that is fine. You don't gotta worry about me anymore."

You move around his duffle bag and your never ending boxes of shoes until you find the one box you're looking for. You pull out the Yatch Club Vans box and set it on the island in the closet.

"You know, I don't know how you could cheat on me. I mean, besides the fact that I'm literally the best person over, look at me. Look at this fine black queenyou got standing infront of you. This shape is unique and very much rare. It don't get no better than this, honey. That's a fact."

You open the box and stare at your Glock 19. Yes, you had a gun. No, he didn't know about it. But he was about to find out now. You pull it out and insert the magazine. In the process, you hear Chris very audibly gasp and you smirk to yourself.

"Y/N Y/MN Y/LN! What the hell are you doing with a gun?" He absentmindedly backs up out of fear, for you were a very unpredictable person that it was actually scary.

"At first it was just for safety. I learned how to use it and everything. But since my mans wants to go out and have an affair, don't you think we should end it with something for you to truly remember me by?" By the time you're done talking, the gun is loaded and ready to be used. Only you had it on safety, of course.

"Babe listen calm down. For real Y/N. Look okay I was just joking. It's-it's just a prank. I didn't cheat I swear!" He has his hands up like he's surrendering, but pushing you away. Probably because you have the gun pointing to him. Gosh, this was so fun.

"Yeah sure it is. You can't even lie right. Well, one of us isn't making it out alive and I'm sure it's the one without the gun." You evilly smile and move closer to him. You lowkey feel really bad because your puppy is legitimately scared out of his little mind.

"Baby please listen to me. I was just joking! I would never cheat on you. I mean look at you. Why would I want that walking Pacific Ocean when I have you? I would never hurt you like that. You gotta believe me. I promise, just put the gun down please."

You tried to hold on for a few more minutes, but he was near tears and it tugged at your soft heart. You lower the gun and take it back apart.

"That didn't feel so good did it? I knew it was a prank. I just wanted to get you back." You close the box and put it back in it's place. You turn to him with your hands on your hips.

"Y/N, that wasn't funny. Why would you do that?" He moves closer to you, now angry. But oh well.

"That feeling that you had in your chest, that anxiety and fear. That's what I was feeling when you told me you cheated. You know I have trust issues and that wasn't funny at all. I wanted you to feel the same way. Maybe I went too far, but it's a done deal now."

You brush past him and back into the room. When you get into it, he is right behind you and grabbing your arm.

"I'm honestly sorry okay. I was just messing around and I wasn't being considerate of your feelings. I didn't think it would affect you like this. I didn't mean to put you in that position." You smile at his apology, knowing he was truly sorry.

"I will admit, I went a little overboard, knowing full well it was a prank from the start. You're a smart man. You know what you got right here." You trail your hands down your body playfully and pose. He giggles and wraps his large biceps around you.

"I won't do this again. I promise." He leans down and connects your lips, finally giving you what you wanted since you stepped foot in the door. You pull back and look up at him.

"To redeem yourself, you can order me take out and grab that foot massager I just bought and get to work, peasant," you giggle out while he rubs your sides.

"Your wish is my command." He grovels at your feet.

"As it should." And with that you sashay away like that HBIC you were 💅🏾.

This scenario came up in my head this morning and I wrote all of it tonight. How great is that? Now I shall work on my Andy Barber fic 😌

masterlist

#cevans #chris evans #avengers #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans x reader #captain america #chris evans fluff #chris evans x black reader #black reader #queen #chris evans fic #christopher jamal evans

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turinn · 4 years ago

Text

Naive

Ray Blackwell x M!Reader

Summary: An invitation at a party reveals that Luka had no idea you’re gay, and brings up a concern you hadn’t had before. Tags: Crack, fluff, secret relationship, mention of homophobia, alcohol consumption A/N: This is based on a dream I had where Luka and I had this exact conversation and when I woke up and remembered it I nearly threw up laughing. I did actual research for the girls outfit and hair bc im a fashion history nerd. the pocket watch i just thought was cute. Fenrir calls the reader fruity but its okay bc hes gay too god bless Word Count: 1.5k

The party was the usual affair expected of the Godspeed's, an air of elegance- present but not too overbearing- hanging over the large hall. Music drifted gently to your ears as you took everything in, a small smile settling on your face.

You couldn't help but feel a little underdressed. The officers had, of course, kept their uniforms on, but everyone else present was dressed to the nines. You'd thought the suit you wore was lovely when you and Seth had seen it last week, dark blue with a white trim, paired with a pale cyan tie and pocket square. The gold watch that settled comfortably in your pocket had been a gift from Blanc, supposedly made by Oliver to look similar to his own, to commemorate your decision to stay in Cradle. Compared to everyone else, it felt rather simple now, but you pushed the thought aside. Nobody was judging what you were wearing, they were here to enjoy themselves same as you.

"Would you like a drink?" Ray asked, voice soft enough not to startle you too much. This wasn't too effective, as you'd gotten lost in your thoughts, and sort of forgotten there were people around you, but it was kind of him to try. "Oh, yes, please." You smiled at him and a moment later he'd walked off, talking to Sirius about something, leaving you alone with Luka. Fenrir had disappeared to greet his family when you'd first arrived, and Seth was who knows where, but you didn't mind it being just the two of you. Luka rarely came to these, in fact this was the first he'd been to since you'd arrived in Cradle, despite it being your fifth, and you decided someone should stick with him so he didn't feel quite as nervous.

As you turned to say something to him, you noticed a lady making her way over to the both of you, looking rather flustered. Her fists were clenched at her sides, and she seemed to be muttering something to herself, but it was clear she had intent to speak to one of you. Perhaps she wanted to talk to Luka? He was cute, it wouldn't surprise you. What did surprise you, however, was when she walked up to you instead.

"Um, excuse me if this is far too forward, but... would you be interested in dancing with me?" She sounded so nervous, and you almost wanted to say yes. Any other man would have been lucky to get such an invitation- she looked stunning. She wore her hair in curls, gathered at the back of her neck, with a hairpiece of pale blue flowers was pinned at the front, a necklace donning the same type of flower hanging just above the neckline of her gown. The gown in question matched the colour of the flowers well, though the width of the crinoline supported skirt would have made you concerned about the logistics of dancing with her- if you'd had any intention of saying yes. Her cheeks were tinted pink as she chewed her bottom lip and waited for your answer, avoiding your gaze. A hand on your chest and a sincerely apologetic look on your face, you began to respond. "Oh dear. I'm terribly sorry, but you seem to have gotten the wrong end of the stick. You're a very attractive young lady but I'm afraid... how should I put this," You glanced at Luka for help, but he seemed to have no idea what you were trying to tell her, "I'm afraid I don't tend to set my eye on the ladies, so to speak." "You're... gay?" A sympathetic nod. "That's the ticket. Sorry, love." "Oh, it's not a problem! I'm really sorry to have bothered you!" She suddenly looked much less nervous, though a little embarrassed, and scurried off. You sighed. "I feel a little bad. I really hope she finds someone to dance with." Luka looked at you quizzically. "Why did you lie to her?" A confused laugh escaped you. "I'm sorry?" "You told her you were into guys. Why lie?" As he said this, Seth and Fenrir came up behind him, and hearing his question their eyebrows shot up. So did yours. Was he kidding? "Luka, sweetie, you have got to tell me what part of my personality made you think I was heterosexual, so I can set about changing it immediately." Seth choked on his drink, and though you flashed him a grin, you weren't entirely kidding. Going from Victorian London to a world where being gay was perfectly acceptable had been quite the change, but you'd been certain all of your friends had known. It's not like you were quiet about it, and sure, Luka was naive but... come on, now. "Wait are you... you were being honest?" "Yes?" "Luka," Fenrir began, stepping next to you and resting an elbow on your shoulder, "How have you seriously not noticed that he's gay yet?" "Well- there was no reason for me to assume!" "You watched me drunk make out with at least 2 different Black Army soldiers in my first month here!" Luka looked flustered, and utterly dumbfounded. The expression was one he wore often, usually when people insinuated that someone was in love- but somehow about five times more confused. He was unfortunate enough that Ray and Sirius returned at this moment, just in time to hear both your last remark, and his next one.

"I thought that was just something you did when you were drunk?" In another moment you were on your knees, legs shaking so much from laughter that you couldn't hold yourself up any longer. Fenrir was right there beside you, practically convulsing. Everyone else was laughing too- except poor Luka. You felt a little bad, truly you did, but this had to be the funniest thing you had ever heard. "He's completely straight, but watch out! Get a couple drinks in him and he turns fruity!" Fenrir managed to get out between cackles, and Ray was glad to have put your drinks down when Luka had last spoken, because he too nearly fell to the ground at this.

"Luka- Luka I'm sorry." You pulled yourself to your feet, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "We aren't laughing at you." Another fit of giggles overcame you. "Okay we kind of are, but it's not malicious or anything. That was just... hands down the funniest thing you've ever said." It took most of you 5 or so minutes to fully calm down from what he'd said, and anything that jogged your memories of it would bring you back to a state of uncontrollable laughter for the rest of the night. Luka came round to it being pretty funny after you talked him through the dozens of times you'd mentioned your sexuality to him since you'd met- every one of which had gone over his head.

Hours after the party had worn down and you'd all made your way home, you lay in bed, your head pressed against a familiar chest, and sighed. "What's up?" "I just... D'you think anyone else just hasn't realised?" Ray cocked his head, confused. "I'm gonna need a little more info than that, kitten." "I suppose I just... Back in London, it's not even legal to be gay, and I don't know if it ever will be. When I first came out to Fen, he told me that it was fine here, accepted and even celebrated. So, I guess I just thought that people wouldn't make the automatic assumption that I'm straight, y'know? I mean I talk about it a lot among you guys but- when I’m out and about... where do people think my final destination is? When I pick up a silly cat themed gift for you does the shopkeep think I’m buying it for my wife? It shouldn't be a big deal, I guess, but I'd never been able to be myself until I came here, and now it's like I can be me but... people will still only see who I am if I tell them. It's just weird is all. I dunno. Maybe I'm drunk." "You're not drunk. It's an understandable concern. I guess I've never thought about it, because whether or not people would accept that part of me has never been an issue, but the fact that you've had to hide it for so long and now that you're able to be open people still aren't seeing it must be hard. If you want we could... come out, so to speak?" Your eyebrows raised, and you moved back, propping yourself up on your arm so you could look your partner in the eyes.

It had been decided at the very start of your relationship, which had officially begun a few months after you'd made the choice to stay in Cradle, that the two of you would keep it under wraps for a while. Being from the Land of Reason was more than enough reason for people to take an unwanted interest in you, and you didn't need the extra attention being the King of Spades' partner would garner. Plus, anyone with a grudge against Ray would see you as a target the second you announced it. It had been a sensible suggestion on his part, one you hadn't hesitated to agree to, and as far as you knew only Sirius and Fenrir knew about your relationship. Fenrir because he had walked in on you sitting in Ray's lap while he worked late one night, and Sirius because- well, can anything get past that guy? And now, Ray was offering to tell the entirety of Cradle you were his, just so that you didn't feel like you were hiding your identity anymore? You could feel your eyes starting to burn, and you cursed the late hour and the alcohol in your system for making you cry so easily, but... "I don't think we need to be that drastic. You were right when you said it would keep me safe for us to not be in the public eye, at least for now. I'm sure Seth can come up with some better way for me to tell the whole world I'm gay." "I don't doubt that at all." Ray grinned, placing a gentle kiss on first your forehead, then your nose, and finally on your lips. "Tomorrow, though. You need your beauty sleep." "Ah, yeah, can't risk getting ugly. My boyfriend might not want me anymore." You quipped. "Exactly." He smirked at you, turning out the light and pulling you into his arms.

#🌙. by me #new fandom lads lets go!#i had a migraine earlier and now i cant remember how i tag fics help #ikemen revolution #ikerev #ikerev x reader #ikemen revolution x reader #ikerev x mc #ikemen revolution x mc #ray blackwell #ray blackwell x reader #ray blackwell x mc #☆ ikerev #♥️; ray blackwell

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5-falsehoods-phonated · 5 years ago

Text

Overgrown Metal

Chapter 2: Camping

Summary of fic:

Almost two decades ago, the fae rose up from beyond the realm with technology far surpassing the human race, quickly taking over after laying waste to nearly everything in their wake. Virgil and Roman, Society escapees and hunters, run into an uncertain future while fleeing from their pasts. Remy and Remus stare their only chance straight in the face as they teeter on the edge of reluctant adventure. Emile is left his cousins engineering palace and is given the tools to change the world. Logan, a lone researcher and outcast is found by an old friend who offers him a chance of the century. Hyden (deciet), can shift into anything he so chooses, but staying true to his form as his heritage slaps him sideways proves harder than he thought. Patton mourns the loss of his son as he slowly uncovers secrets he wishes aren't related.

Or less wordy:

Eight idiots with trust issues fumble around each other and try to save the world from killer mechanical beasts and fairies that will snap your neck without taking their hands from their wine glasses.

Warnings: Violence, fight scenes, dark fantasy, apocalypse setting, some gore, blood

TW for this chapter: spiraling thoughts, mentions of anxiety. If you see more you want mentioned, please say something.

Ships: Remy (sleep) x Remus. Brotherly Roman and Virgil. Platonic Logan and Hyden (Deciet)

Wrapping his cloak tighter around himself, the young man grumbled quietly to himself as he scooted closer to the small fire. Two cans of mini raviolis sat nearby, cracked open slightly and heating up just a foot away from the flames. He let out a quiet curse as his stomach grumbled loudly, making more noise in a couple seconds than he had in a week.

'What the hell is taking you so long?' he thought at his still absent companion. The water of the nearby river was freezing, it shouldn't be taking this long to clean. He would had heard if the other was attacked. Even if the attacker was silent Roman typically wasn't, their overly dramatic battle cries carrying over fields if they so chose them too. Maybe they fell in? Again, he would have heard the yell...unless the shock from the cold rendered them nonverbal. Or something had dragged them in. Maybe while cleaning off their weapons their hand had slipped and they had sliced themself open and was currently bleeding out and he wouldn't know because he was being too stubborn to leave the warmth of the fire. What if they fell and cracked their head open on a rock? What if-

Cruching footsteps interrupting his racing thoughts and he breathed a quiet sigh of relief. While he was getting better at not having to check on Roman every few minutes to make sure they were still around, it didn't stop his thoughts from quickly spiraling when the thought of him being alone again filled his head. Roman plopped down beside him having deposited their pack with their other belongings nearby, leaning forward to carefully take the cans away from the fire and depositing one in front of each of them before procuring spoons from God-knows-where but he was hungry so it didn't matter.

He growled low as he snatched the utensil, ripping the lid the rest of the way off and shoveling the ravioli with essence of tin in his mouth regardless of the heat.

"Slow down, dark and stormy gremlin, you're gonna choke!" He didn't even spare a glance at the scandalized face as the last of the sauce was scraped up and eaten in less than a minute.

"Was hungry." He mumbled out, hands disappearing back into the cloak as he burrowed further into its warmth.

The other eyed him fondly. "Honestly, Virgil I can't take you anywhere. I get a spot at the nicest pasta joint in town and this is how you behave? I really can't take you anywhere."

They frowned as they only recieved a soft huff in response. "Are you alright? I'm sorry I was gone for so long, that oil takes a while to work out in cold water."

Virgil shook his head. "....that."

Catching only half the mumble, Roman set their own empty can down and scooted closer. "Can I ask you to repeat that or is it a signing day?"

Virgil squeezed himself tighter in the fabric and lifted his head up towards the other. Roman's eyes shone with concern even in the dim light of their small campfire, the effect only slightly ruined by the dark curls drying in the humid air making them puff out in a fluffy halo around their head. The image made him smile lightly and duck his head back down to suppress his giggles.

"Hairs messy."

He only giggled harder at the offended gasp. "I'm offering you a damn heart to heart here and I get insulted!" Roman grimaced as they felt what state their hair was in, ruing their days as a traveler if only for the fact that hairstyles were rendered useless on an adventure. They were still bitter over The Great Hairspray Debacle of 2015, having to give the space up in their pack for "actual necessary supplies, Roman".

Virgils laughter died down as the nervous feeling began to creep back into his thoughts. Roman noticed the sobering mood and sat back slightly, willing to wait for the young nervous wreck to gather his thoughts.

"Town's coming up."

Roman nodded. They knew there was a town with an underground market a few days travel away from the last time they had come through this way. They hadn't had time to stop before, but this time around they needed to empty out their packs of the items that had been piling up for a few weeks now and their supplies were getting low enough that they would have needed to stop to stock up anyway. They gestured for Virgil to continue even though they knew what the source of anxiety was going to be.

"What if..." Virgil growled in frustration as the words stuck in his throat, the rolling anxiety in his stomach and mind making him struggle to not shut down. Long, pale fingers twisted and bunched the fabric around him until with a frustrated huff they darted out and flipped out a quick gesture.

"Recognized?"

Roman nodded in understanding and he sighed in relief. He knew not being able to speak most of the time had to be annoying for his companion but thankfully they never seemed to mind, only waiting patiently for either words to be forced out or hands to jerkedly spell out what little bit of sign language he knew. He made up a lot along the way and most of the time he was able to be understood. With no internet to look up the language, books being a Society priviledge and a general distrust of people making it difficult to ask anyone for lessons, even though they never stayed in one place for long, official sign wasn't something either of them were good at.

"That's why we have the cloaks and hoods and even the masks if we feel like we need them. We're pretty far away though, I doubt anyone we would know would be around." Roman took up a stick and poked around the fire a bit, stirring it as the embers began to die down for the night. "Nothing has ever happened at any of the towns we've been in, and I've heard this one is particularly...underground, so to speak. No one who would recognize us would be caught dead near there. We'll go in, sell our parts, grab supplies and get out. Next stop after that will be that abandoned city-town-place wherever that we heard about a while back. It'll be fine, Anx."

Virgil smiled at the old nickname, something Roman had taken to calling him when he refused to reveal his name the first few months they began traveling together. His shoulders relaxed the tiniest bit as the name ironically released some of the pent up anxiety, fingers releasing the cloak and instead splaying on his ripped black jeans to try and wipe off the accumulated sweat.

They both sat in silence for a while after that, watching the fire die down completely as the late evening faded into complete darkness, the clear sky allowing the stars to be on full display with no threat of light pollution to obscure their giddy twinkling. Crickets chirped quietly in the long grass, fireflies answering back their call with lazy winks of light. Even the river was hushed, water seeming to lap quieter at the shore for fear of breaking the rare tranquility the nearby travelers were soaking in.

With the world this soft and still, Virgil could pretend for a moment that this was merely an extended camping trip. Maybe they were on their summer break and were hiking for the fun of it. Tomorrow they could trek through a forest like it was nothing, sunlight streaming through normal tree branches as untouched wildlife teemed around them. All of their gear and supplies could be innocent in nature, the heaviest thing in their packs could be a small camping stove rather than their extensive collection of foreign trading parts. Their supplies were running low, so they'd soon start heading back the way they came, finding their car and laughing at some dumb play argument they had on the way back while they reloaded everything and climbed in the front, laughter turning to more bickering as they fought over what music they'd listen to first. Roman would drive first since Virgil only had his permit and wouldn't feel comfortable taking the wheel until he recognized the roads they were on. They'd get to Virgils house and it would be coming onto late evening so he'd let Roman stay the night, knowing his dad-

Virgil furiously scrubbed at his eyes, snapping back from his thoughts. His dad wouldn't care of a friend stayed over. He didn't care about anything. He didn't even care when - no. Nope, not tonight. Rubbing absentmindedly at his arms he scooted backwards away from the now dead fire and laid back to watch the sky, Roman following soon after. They didn't say anything as he turned and wrapped himself around the other tightly, for which he was grateful. He smiled as he felt lips touch the top of his head and careful arms lay themselves across his back. Surrounded by safety and warmth it wasn't hard for sleep to find him.

-------

".....an."

"Come on, Ro....."

"Princey, get up!"

Roman shot up, blinking rapidly to clear the lingering sleep from their eyes and shaking their head to try and whip the tangled curls away. Glaring in response to their brothers shit-eating grin, they settled for flipping him off while they rubbed at their eyes, getting a water bottle thrown at them in retaliation.

"Too early." They mumbled as they fumbled with the lid.

Virgil laughed. "Try again, Sleeping Ugly, it's almost noon. I've had camp packed up for hours now."

Offended at the nickname but grinning nonetheless, they downed half the bottle in one go and dragged their pack over lazily. Virgil was always the early riser in their party of two, despite the late nights he often kept as a sleeping schedule. Roman however, was happy to spend the day hitting the metaphorical snooze button unless they had actual plans. Which, unless another Mech Beast was spotted this close to a town, which was highly unlikely, this was supposed to be a day of resting.

Looking over at the other however, their irritation softened as the ball of anxious energy went from task to already done task trying to keep himself busy. Though it seemed he'd be more talkative today than he had been that didn't mean his nerves weren't soaring to the sky with how close they were to people again. They knew they should both take a break today, but if moving would help...

Mind made up they stood, swinging the pack around to rest on their shoulder and picking up another to carry first for the time being. Different peices of metal and containers holding strange substances clanked together inside, securely wrapped in paper and fabric to prevent them from breaking or getting scratched. They'd make Virgil carry it later on but they figured since they got extra sleep it would only be fair to carry the heavier pack first.

Trying one last time to fix their hair back into a reasonable shape Roman turned towards Virgil with a smile.

"Ready?"

Hoisting up his own pack he nodded and kicked at the already severely scuffed dirt, rising up on his tip toes as he began to walk.

"As I'll ever be."

--------

This is also available on AO3 if you're interested. I can't promise regular updates but I really like this story so I'll be picking at it for a while.

And we're another chapter in! I didnt think about this before, but if you'd like to be tagged for story updated feel free to ask. If you want to read it on here but can't find the first chapter, search overgrown metal in the tags and it'll come up.

#sanders sides #sanders sides fic #ao3 #overgrown metal #roman sanders #virgil sanders #apocalypse au #anxiety

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treasure7boys · 6 years ago

Text

Bicker || Lee Byounggon

♡♡♡♡

Type: Crack with a bit of Fluff [Requested]

Word Count: 1.1K

Warning: None~ (I think)

Description: You can't sleep and end up staying up all night with Byounggon

♡♡♡♡

You were lying in your bed wide awake, unable to sleep for some reason. Honestly, it was probably because you had lied in bed all day and got zero exercise. Even so, you pretended that that wasn’t the issue at hand. Turning your head, you checked the clock on your nightstand and saw it was just a little past midnight. A soft sigh escaped your lips and you picked your phone up. Just as you did, your phone began vibrating constantly as your boyfriend, Byounggon, called you.

“Can’t sleep, baby?” he questioned the moment you answered.

Looking out of your window at the night sky, you responded, “No. How’d you know?”

A soft chuckle escaped his lips. “I can’t sleep either, so I was on Instagram and saw you were active.” You smiled softly to yourself, enjoying the sound of his voice. “Wanna come over? We can play video games.”

Your roommate was out of town, so you wouldn’t have to leave a note or worry about her worrying. “Can I?” you asked, unsure if you were allowed at the dorms, especially since it was so late.

“Honestly? Probably not, but it’s fine,” he confessed. “I wanna see you, princess.”

Of course, how could you deny him? He was so adorable and precious. You quickly told him you’d be over soon and then ended the call. You lived in the same apartment building, just on different floors. Grabbing your lanyard, which held your key and other things, you shoved your feet into your fuzzy slippers and left your apartment, riding the elevator up to his floor.

The fact that he opened the door the moment you appeared in front of the door told you that he had been waiting for you. He smiled widely, immediately wrapping his arms around you and pulling you into his chest. “Should I have changed?” you whispered quietly as you entered the dorm.

He inspected your outfit. It was an oversized, grey T-shirt with paint stains all over it. Your pajama bottoms were pink with donuts on them and were short on you, stopping a good six inches above your ankles. You were wearing mismatched socks, one blue and one purple, and you had black fuzzy slippers on your feet. Your hair was in two braids, both messy from lying in bed. Smiling, he shook his head. “You look absolutely gorgeous. I love this comfy look on you.”

You smiled, proud to say you had the sweetest boyfriend on the planet. Byounggon quietly led the way to his room. “Where’s Hyunsuk?”

“He fell asleep in Junkyu and Seunghun’s room,” he informed you, carefully shutting the door behind him. Walking over to his bed, he pulled his Nintendo Switch. “Ready to play?”

A soft giggle escaped your lips as you nodded. He set it up and the two of you got comfortable on his bed. The first few games were spent cuddling but the two of you soon became more competitive, at one point you even started shoving at each other and Byounggon fell off the bed. You had to keep quiet, though, so you wouldn’t wake the others. Due to this, you were quietly punching his mattress or laughing into his pillows when you lost horribly.

Time completely slipped your minds and you ended up playing the game until morning, hearing the boys finally wake up and begin shuffling around. “In your face!” you shouted when you finally beat Byounggon at one of the hard levels. He laughed at your victory dance.

Suddenly, the bedroom door swung open, revealing the other boys. “Noona?” Yedam questioned, still waking up. “Wh-what are you doing here?”

They looked at the scene before them. “Wait, have you guys been playing video games all night?” Seunghun asked.

You nodded, watching him blush a bit. “Why?” you asked.

“Well, I woke up in the middle of the night and heard some, um, noises coming from the room.”

The others boys slowly began to realize what he meant and you and Byounggon began laughing. “You were probably hearing Y/N getting upset every time she lost,” Byounggon told him. “Come on, we wouldn’t do that with you all here.”

They nodded and Doyoung and Yedam quickly left to avoid to awkward situation. “I can’t believe you’ve been playing all night and didn’t get any sleep,” Hyunsuk chuckled, rubbing at his tired eyes.

“Ah!” Doyoung shouted suddenly from his and Yedam’s room. “Kill it!”

The three of you exchanged glances before rushing to the bedroom. “What’s wrong?” you asked.

“S-s-spider!” Yedam exclaimed, cowering behind Doyoung.

You rushed over to it and smiled. “It’s just a Grass Spider, so it’s not really harmful or aggressive,” you informed them. “He should probably be outdoors, though.”

Byounggon walked over. “He’s kind of cute,” he said.

“Maybe you guys should name it,” Hyunsuk joked.

You nodded in agreement, oblivious to the joke. “I say Allen,” you told them.

“No way!” Byounggon exclaimed. “He’s not an Allen, he’s totally a Michael."

Doyoung groaned. “Here we go,” he sighed. “Another crackhead fight. When you guys finally name him, please take him outside.”

With that, the three boys left you and Byounggon to bicker over the spider’s name. An hour or so later, some of the other trainees came over. “What is that sound?” Jihoon asked. “Are your neighbor’s fighting?”

Jukyu sighed and shook his head. “Those aren’t our neighbors. It’s Y/N-noona and Byounggon-hyung,” he informed them. “Doyoung and Yedam found a spider in their room and they’ve been bickering over what its name is for the past hour.”

Yoonbin snickered, “I have to see this.”

He and the others went to Doyoung and Yedam’s room, peering inside. “Let’s name it Byounggon since it’s such a creepy creature!” you exclaimed, standing on Doyoung’s bed to be taller than Byounggon.

Scoffing, Byounggon said, “Oh, no, Y/N is so much better because spiders are scary!”

“This is way better than cable,” Haruto joked. The boys nodded in agreement, enjoying your silly fight.

A groan escaped your mouth and you shut your eyes, trying to calm yourself. “Okay, on the count of three we both say a name and we’ll do it until we say the same one,” you finally say.

“Fine,” Byounggon said, pouting slightly.

Jeongwoo smiled, “1, 2, 3!”

“Kevin!” you and Byounggon both exclaim at the same time.

Hyunsuk sighed in relief. “Finally,” he mumbled.

Suddenly, the fire in both your eyes and Byounggon’s was gone and replaced by a loving gaze. “It’s perfect!” you smiled, stepping down to hug him.

“Oh brother,” Jongseob groaned.

Byounggon smiled as he stared at you. “I love you,” he said.

“I love you more,” you said back before the two of you hugged, choosing to not kiss in front of the younger boys.

The guys all began to jeer, but it was all in a joking matter. Truthfully, they were happy Byounggon had such an amazing girlfriend and that you were both happy together.

♡♡♡♡

A/N: I'm sorry this took so long! This week was very busy and bizarre for me! To the requester, I hope you liked this ❤ Also, guys, I'm so happy Jihoon made the lineup, I could cry 😭 What are your thoughts? I would have liked to see Byounggon and Seunghun there but they moved on to better things. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this part 💕💕💕

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gemini-boys-jjaenijeojang · 6 years ago

Text

"you're my dentist"

VAMPIRE!AU Ong Seongwoo

you're a dentist and your regular comes to visit you today but you didn't expect what you would see

Warning: slightly on crack, fluff maybe?

"Ong Seongwoo. I see this is your second time this week. What's your issue this time?" You nonchalantly said, knowing that he broke his implants for the teeth he broke last month and you have just, I repeat JUST fixed his teeth for the 3rd time this month.

His just sat across you with wavering eyes and shaky hands. Mouth awkwardly clenched together. You figured. Broken teeth again huh? You gave him the 'seriously' look and proceeded to move over to the just sanitised chair and pat it acouple of times for him to sit down. He played with his fingers as he walked over, still finding nowhere to settle his eyes onto.

"Open up" you instructed but he just looked at you nervously.

"What? I'm not going to bite, just open up. Let me see what wrong with your teeth. It can't be that bad right?" You cooed him.

When he opened up his holy gates, you would have never expected to see those canines. Your eyes were just wide in shock as he finally said his first words upon stepping in, "I swear I have no idea what happened. These things just grew and your implants fell out." He took out the two small pearly implants from his pockets and showed it to you in his palms.

Instead of being negatively shooked by this, you were wowed. A vampire? A VAMPIRE! You were absolutely astounded and fascinated by the ideas of vampires. You may or may not have the entire series of Twilight lying around your house or weird search history about vampire facts.

You started poking him and your eyes sparkled at his presence. You questions came out like a tsunami flood, "do you suddenly have abs?" "Do you sparkle?" "How about the sun? How did you come here?" "What's your weeeeeakness?"

"Man, chill. I seriously don't know." He responded. Your hands were just all over him at this point, trying to take convince yourself that you are not dreaming. [I don't recommend people doing this]

He squirmed in his seat becoming increasingly uncomfortable. His orbs turning darker. His urge was becoming stronger. He hadn't had his taste of blood yet as a fresh vampire. With his undiscovered quick speed, he pinned you onto your office wall. Fangs out and hissing.

"Stop it." with his voice almost demonic and he paused for a moment or two before continuing "I have never noticed how sweet you smelt." He moved his head past your neck and a smirk appeared in his face. You felt his breath on you. Honestly, you were reminded of how you overstepped your boundary just now. He slowly went closer to your neck and started licking it to find your pulse point for optimal blood collection. Don't ask how you knew. When you became squeamish under his touch, he got back into his senses and let go of you.

His voice turned back to being a puppy, " I only wanted you to help me fix it. I mean no harm really! Can you just help me shave these off?"

"Fine, but I'll be contacting you. I wanna know more about your situation and it sure is..." And you did a series of expressions that consists of (。♥‿♥。),٩(♡ε♡ )۶,(◕‿◕✿), ლ(́◉◞౪◟◉‵ლ), (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻, ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), ♪~ ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ to express your passion towards his situation. You continued, "...that's of course in exchange for keeping this a secret"

"okay..." there goes his reply [refer to gif above for reaction] and off you were with your creepy machines sawing and filing his elongated canines away.

You did as you said. You observed him and gave him calls for his life updates asking for any new discoveries that he had. Meeting up every weekend to discover new things about his vampire skills after his teeth filing sessions.

It almost seemed like a chore to him having this new vampire thing going on and having you check-up on him every other day. At one point in time, he even wondered if you had a life and how you were even running your clinic like this? But what he thought was true, even though you were clearly fascinated by vampires, you still had a life and a clinic to run. Furthermore, he wasn't giving you any interesting responses either. Giving you short responses and trying to throw you off on a rush when you are giving him your check-in calls. You slowly lost interest with keeping up with him but of course you still did his teeth filing every week just losing the coffee dates afterwards while discussing about his week and what stupid things he tried to do.

He slowly came to miss your weird giggles and your anticipated look waiting for him to say that he discovered something interesting when he actually just smashed his face onto the door while trying to avoid his colleague. Sometimes you wonder, how is he still alive and giggle at his weird antics. The time when he fooled you into thinking that his ear folding trick was a vampire thing.

He missed those times, he missed your connection but you certainly had no time to commit to doing this. Your appointments recently have been packed back to back leaving no time for your vampire interest.

It was Sunday again, your special appointment day.

Once again, you asked about his well-being and rambled on and on when all he could do was listen as you worked on his teeth. After you were done, you told him," see you again next week!" with no sign of wanting to catch up later-on or throughout the week. He cherished that hour he had with you in the clinic but he yearned for more. Not just how lying down there listening to your weird conversations starters and answering them yourself as he couldn't reply. He wanted to talk to you and ask you about your day, about your other interests. He wanted you all to himself.

"Can I have you just for a moment? Like really quickly." He asked you as he looked at you like [gif above].

"I'm really sorry but I have an appointment right after you." You replied but he just grabbed your hand and boom. You are at the beach. Woah. In the long stretch of sand, a lone table with two lattes was on it. He looked at you and said, "I miss our times, wanna discuss about my powers again?" He looked at you hopefully. "Well... I mean yes! This is so amazing!!!" You squealed and jumped still holding his hand.

You guys sat down and talked for what seemed like hours and apparently he discovered on new skill every night when you didn't call him cuz he had no idea what to do with that 2 hrs now. He answered every single question you had and he felt just great to be with you again. Then, reality snapped, your next appointment!! "OMG! Bring me back right now! My next appointment is waiting!! And we are so late!" your eyes moved towards your watch and you realised that time haven't moved since you two came. "Yeah, I forget to tell you that I can pause time too." He said sheepishly. What he didn't tell you was that he still had another power he discovered, he could erase memories. He was fully prepared with his feelings and he understands that if everything fails, he can just erase your memory.

"y/n, I know you're my dentist and everything and it can be really weird after this but will you accept my feelings? I'm not gonna bite, right?"

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valkyrie-echo · 7 years ago

Text

Project Echo, Part 3: Chapter 19 (50 Days Before the Explosion)

Part 3 Summary: Seven years after the events of “Part 2”, Avengers Tower explodes, fulfilling Bucky’s vision. All evidence points to Avengers Shadow-Ops leader Inessa Ryker, who is forced to seek out Bucky in hiding. Together they must determine who the traitor is in their ranks and if their friends are still alive- all while trying to survive deadly ambushes orchestrated by Sam Wilson and his hand-picked army.

Chapter 19: 50 Days Before the Explosion

"Noelle, can you come with me for a moment, please?" Steve interrupted Amadeus and his team as they ran yet another round of simulations on the symbols from the Shadow King's blood magic. At this point it was pretty much only them looking. Everyone kept Niflheim and what happened there as an active case, but it was more likely the answers would be found off-realm. With Odin's well-known distaste for the Avengers it wasn't hard to imagine that an answer had already been found- he just wasn't telling. As worried as the leaders were, they had a world to protect, and it was well over a month later. They'd never had an attack this drawn out before.

Amadeus glanced up and fixed the Captain with his coldest glare- his own form of greeting Steve, Vision, and Clint ever since the Leader's Meeting where they'd voted to form a second Black Ops unit. He willfully ignored Natasha and Wanda, who abstained from voting- meaning they agreed with Steve but didn't want to hurt Inessa's feelings. His smiles he saved only for Tony, Thor, Banner, and Sam who'd all sided with Inessa against the idea.

The new Unit couldn't form without the unanimous consent of every Avengers leader (which Steve would never get because Inessa wouldn't budge in her position that it was useless), or an 89% majority of all Avengers. Basically the only way he was getting his new team was to convince every last one of them it was necessary, but if more than four Avengers couldn't be won over then once again he would fail. He'd been speaking with them one-by-one for days, trying to explain that yes, the timing sucked, but they needed to support the Shadow Unit. Let them focus on Inessa and the Shadow King while another Black Ops team protected the world. It divided the teams within each of the four units- and now Steve had the audacity to approach a member of Inessa's group directly.

"Go with him and you're dead to me," Marie glanced up from her computer across from Amadeus in the small root interface of JARVIS' mainframe- a glorified server room that felt more like a claustrophobic closet. She'd never seen him look so cold, or so dead serious. The more Steve pressed his case against Amadeus' friend and leader the less old loyalties mattered.

Steve rolled his eyes, "I've about had it with you Amadeus. Noelle- Captain's orders. Come on."

"Sorry," she shrugged to Amadeus and slid back from her computer. Marie was indifferent on the whole issue. She ignored Steve, Amadeus, and their little feud. She was too new to be loyal to a leader she'd frankly hardly seen and pretty much just followed her lieutenant's orders- right now that meant running down leads on blood magic… Even though in reality she was taking advantage of her secluded position and playing Oregon Trail. Amadeus had cholera, Inessa died from exposure, and Noelle was still going strong despite being 65.

"Hey Steve," Amadeus got his attention before he left with Noelle.

"Let me guess, you're going to tell me to shove something up my ass."

"Your head, yes."

"Good talk."

Amadeus sighed dramatically after he left, "Ah Marie, I wish you knew Noelle better before her tragic passing."

"Do I need to start wearing black?" she wasn't paying much attention, but she knew by now to pretend to humor the oddest Avenger.

"No, that's alright, she wouldn't want us to be in mourning forever."

"You leaving lilies in front of her door?"

"Naturally," he cracked his neck and went back to typing away, "by the way- I'm closer to 25 than 20 and you treat cholera with laudanum, not extra fluids."

"How-"

"JARVIS is a tattle-tail," a screen popped up on her game informing her 'Zombie Inessa' had joined the group. Marie was fairly positive that wasn't part of the original game, "Do a better job with her this time around."

"I will. I promise."

"Is this about the second Black Ops Unit?" Noelle had followed Steve up to his apartment where his lieutenant, Sharon, was waiting. The Tower was boiling with tension, mostly thanks to Steve and his decision to just about ignite a new civil war. Teams were fighting one another at the slightest provocation and Tony's Iron Legion could only do so much to keep the peace. Splitting the teams off back to their satellite facilities would be tantamount to declaring open conflict. Steve hiding out away from the others was probably the only move he had left to make.

"No, but it is about Inessa," Sharon invited Noelle to sit but she remained where she was, "Steve offered leadership to Amadeus because it is the least controversial choice. Promoting a lieutenant is easier for the public and the Avengers to swallow than promoting a general member. Ideally it would be you and Marie on the new team."

"You sent me to Inessa's team because you were worried about her and Amadeus and how they were handling Mallory Ivaneau's death and Eoin O'Meara's betrayal. I'm an Avenger first, Shadow Unit second. I will continue to do what I believe is best for the entire group, not just my team. I won't turn on my leader for power. It only fans the flames." She turned but Steve blocked her way quickly.

"I'm not offering you leadership, we're just saying you were the first choice."

"I'm ambitious, not petty," Noelle was one of the most logically-minded Avengers Steve had ever known- including Tony. He wasn't entirely sure she was human and not another strange AI like Vision. She could read people's intentions, and he only wanted her to know his for sure- in case that mechanical personality did see its pride as being wounded. Geoff swore she was different once you really got to know her. Evidently the four years he'd lived in the same building as Noelle (the first year of that with her on his team) wasn't long enough.

Steve shook his head, "Use your powers. What are my intentions?"

Noelle's face was unreadable, "You've got two things for me. A mission, and a secret."

"Two missions, both secret," Sharon corrected softly. When Noelle was one of them she was still learning the subtle shifts in her powers and needed to be guided when possible.

"No. One mission. One secret. You think they're linked Sharon, Steve isn't so sure."

He glanced to his lover and she nodded, "JARVIS, load Hydra security footage from Project Echo. One of the more mild bits, please." Noelle turned back to face Sharon and the television behind her.

She wasn't one of the Avengers stupid enough to look at the torture footage from Inessa's time with Hydra. The newer ones, ones who didn't know any better, dared each other to watch it. All they knew was that everyone was afraid of it. Few were warned of the brutality. Eventually, though, they all learned the story- well, at least what they thought was the story.

Grainy footage filled the screen of a blindingly bright torture room. The walls and floors were filled with lights- a true shadow-free zone. A plastic table sat in the center of the room and on it was a young Inessa, "Footage from July 27, 2009. Week 47 of Project Echo," a man with a shining metal arm was turning Inessa over, mindful of her feeble struggles to escape. Something was off with the girl's toes and every kick brought forth a squeal of pain, but she kept trying. Noelle knew what it was- they'd been severely broken once upon a time and healed wrong.

I was lucky, she remembered something Inessa had said once upon a time, the body I left was in a pretty shitty state- all busted and gnarled. The Avengers took it in, JARVIS and this surgeon put it back together, and by the time I got to it it was in incredible shape again.

The man's face was too pixelated to see clearly, Noelle couldn't even tell if he was phased by the 15 year-old's feeble cries. Another man was waiting by a metal cart, on top of which was the unmistakable outline of a whip. Noelle knew more about Hydra torture techniques than she'd admit even to Geoff, but between her experience raiding bases and the occasional glimpse of Inessa's bare back in the locker room showers, she could safely bet that whip was studded with metal barbs. A small bowl sat on the tray as well- salt. Once, when Amadeus brought up her past, Inessa had told him her torturer, Thomas Dennisson, liked to extend the pain as long as possible using salt or citrus juice. Whenever the doctors told him he had to give her more than a day to recover he'd have her heavily sedated so that she could never enjoy the respite. It was hard for Noelle to look at the screen, knowing just what all of this meant to Inessa, and especially knowing that this was only halfway through. That girl in the video wouldn't be free for a very long time yet…

"JARVIS, override Echo Alpha, remove the filter," Steve came up next to Noelle as the picture abruptly sharpened to something closer to HD, "The cameras Hydra installed in the halls were shit. Unfortunately for those of us who had to watch this back when Inessa first came to the Tower, Dennisson liked a much better picture. We added the filter later to protect new Avengers from the full horror, should they try to watch without knowing precisely what it is. We were also protecting him," he motioned to the man with the metal arm as he tore open the back of the white shirt Hydra prisoners still wore, "JARVIS, skip the gore, please."

The image jumped. Inessa's body was breathing heavy, but limp. Chunks of flesh torn off by the whip were sprinkled around the room. The metal man, the Winter Soldier who would one day be killed by Steve over the Potomac during the Hydra emergence, was leaning hard against the wall in the corner of the room over a small pool of vomit. Dennisson was now holding the whip in one hand and the empty bowl of salt in the other. He threw both on the table and whistled sharply, glaring at the Soldier.

Two scientists and two guards immediately wheeled a bizarre chair into the room. Noelle recognized it from an Avengers file she'd skimmed in the computer- a programming machine. Brutal and efficient, it zapped the subject with near-lethal amounts of electricity while a small screen over the eye played a "Compliance and Obedience" video. Brainwashing at its worst.

The Winter Soldier was moved into the chair. His metal arm held him to some hidden magnet and the panels descended. While he screamed, Dennisson smiled. It sent chills down Noelle's spine.

"Skip ahead, give us a freeze frame on his face."

The gaunt, dead-eyed man who emerged from the machine a few hours later looked oddly familiar. Big eyes, straight nose, strong jaw- a face more suited to a cocky smile than a stone-cold glare. If the footage wasn't black and white she might have had a harder time guessing, but it jogged something, "He's on the Wall of Remembrance. One of yours."

"James Buchanan Barnes," Sharon nodded, "his picture is next to my Great Aunt Peggy's." Every Avenger facility had a wall of photographs of people near and dear to each Avenger. Some they'd lost, some they'd failed to save, the pictures were on the walls to remind them all what they fought for. Their family outside their team.

"And he didn't die in the Potomac like everyone thinks. The Winter Soldier went in, Bucky Barnes pulled me out."

"Amadeus was right?"

Steve glanced to Sharon, "Amadeus has been repeatedly warned to keep his mouth shut," he looked at Bucky's face a moment longer and sighed, sad, "He joined us on the condition we find Inessa. His programming was breaking, but she'd been locked in the Valley too long. She couldn't find purchase here, so she whispered in his mind until it about drove him insane…"

"We never lied," he continued, "the battles against the Shadow, the fight against Dennisson, Hydra, Sebastian Morris and his cabal- it's like those pictures in Inessa's living room. The first and fourth photographs- pull them out of the frames some time and you'll see they're just folded specially to hide him. He was an Avenger for about seven or eight months."

"Steve couldn't face his demons," Sharon took over, "but Bucky wanted to. After the battle with the cabal he went into hiding- maybe until he got things under control, maybe forever. He hasn't been seen since."

Noelle's power flared, "You want me to find him. He's the secret you think is a mission."

"Bucky had these visions, three of them," Steve explained, "in each one Avengers Tower was destroyed. In the last one he saw Sam attempting to carry out an execution order against Inessa for the deaths of myself, Tony, Banner, Thor, Clint, and Natasha- the original Avengers. Bucky's had a lot of experience as a ghost, but I need to talk to him. He sent himself away to find peace and flush out Hydra's Winter Soldier, but with the Shadow King's blood magic, Ingvir's death, the disappearances, and Inessa's new issues with her powers I'm worried. I need to know more about what he saw, if he's seen anything else, and if we're anywhere near the timeline in his visions."

"Why not ask Muhammad? He's the first person that comes to mind with the power to send something like that."

"He will probably send them, yes," Sharon corrected, "but if he'd seen something yet he would tell Thor. We can't ask him and risk an Ouroborous, even a small one."

"My mission is to monitor Inessa," Noelle predicted, "the second is to find Barnes again. Neither of you really think that will help."

Steve nodded, "We need to know if the blood magic is turning Inessa into the woman from Bucky's vision, and he's in the best position to make that call. We're not finding him to extend a membership offer, only to confirm or eliminate a theory."

Sharon stood up and came over to Noelle, "Inessa always has had a perfect distinction of James and the Winter Soldier. She supported his decision to leave. After Steve's breakdown," she spared a sympathetic glance to her lover, "she became downright protective of the man. Steve felt like he'd been forced into this life, James had been. To him his work with the Avengers was more like an extension of what he did for Hydra, just pointed at a different target. She made sure no one knows where he is so that he can be free of it all. She's doing her best to make that happen."

"He's had a lifetime of experience in hiding," Steve continued, "he didn't come to my funeral, he probably hid himself away somewhere so remote he doesn't even know Thanos existed. If anyone is going to find him, it has to be a Black Ops member, and of those we can only trust you to actually retrieve him. In the meantime, yes, we want you to watch Inessa. Look for any signs her judgement is impaired. It's nothing unconscionable, just be a vigilant friend."

Noelle considered it, "Watch her and find him, is that all?"

"We wouldn't ask you to do anything against either," Sharon assured her.

"I have a duty to keep the Avengers safe," Steve prompted, "I'll do what I can for Inessa, and I'll keep my friends safe from her. When Bucky told us about his visions I wasn't willing to listen. I'd just watched him squeeze the head off of an unarmed Dennisson and though it wasn't confirmed at the time I knew he'd killed Inessa's uncle. Someone, probably a future version of Muhammad, was trying to warn us against something. I need to know what Bucky knows, and this time I'm ready to pay attention."

"One condition."

"Name it."

Noelle sighed, "Make peace with Inessa. It isn't good for the Avengers as a whole, you two at one another's throats."

Steve shook his head, "I can't make that promise without knowing what's coming."

"At least stop talking about a second Black Ops unit."

He looked tired, but he shook her hand, "That's an easier promise to make."

"Nessa, I need to grab something from your apartment."

"JARVIS, let Noelle in. Lock up when she leaves." Inessa was still trapped in the hospital wing. Noelle felt a twinge of guilt, using Inessa's trust like this, but she had to know for sure what she was wading into. Pictures one and four…

Inessa's living room was a shrine to the past six years, but the earliest pictures were different. Avengers didn't typically think to chronicle their adventures or time together- especially not in those early days. Initially it was only the Leaders, all living separate lives unless something came up that drew them together. The only reason the Battle of the Shadows had been a group effort was because they happened to be in New York City together when Bucky was brought in. The only reason that happened was because of Thor's appointment to Asgardian Ambassador.

After Inessa returned to her body they all went to Clint's farm. Again, it wasn't meant as anything more than a team vacation after the stresses and strains of New York City (plus, no one was willing to leave Inessa behind, now that they knew there was someone in there). Then Ultron, and the satellite facilities began popping up. Then Thanos and the new Avengers who came in droves.

Picture one was, naturally, among those taken from security footage. It showed the Avengers together in the recovery room after Clint saw the Shadow for the first time. It was the brightest room in the old Tower, and they'd marked it as the best place to be. A surgeon friend of Tony's was visiting to check out Steve, Sam, and Natasha- freshly arrived from their trip to Kazakhstan where they retrieved the Project Echo folder. At least, that was the version she'd been told. The surgeon just happened to be there before Steve went exploring to verify Clint's story and was attacked. The why of his leaving was never particularly clear, but in the security picture Noelle had always thought Steve was looking at something off-frame, worried about some invisible matter.

She pulled that picture from the wall first and quickly removed the backing. Sure enough, the picture was folded over. Noelle pulled the image out and held it up to inspect. Bucky Barnes was lying unconscious on a hospital bed across from where the Avengers sat. His metal arm was gone and the shoulder on his left side was heavily bandaged. He was also in Steve's direct eye-line. Steve had survived his fight with the Shadow by holding onto one of Thor's healing stones- now Noelle wondered if he hadn't been retrieving it when Inessa had first attacked so that it might help his friend.

Picture four was the first of the group shots, this one from Clint's farm. It was the first non-paparazzi group picture of the Avengers Leaders ever taken (though it was minus Wanda and Vision, of course). They were sitting around the fire at Clint's farm- the original format of the Leader's Meeting apparently- fanned out so a group picture could be taken. Their faces were somewhat grim, Inessa had something metallic peeking out from the back of her neck (Noelle asked about it once and never received an explanation for what seemed to be some sort of machine), and Steve's nose had a definite snarl to it. Inessa explained to her it was only a few weeks before the attack by Morris' cabal. Tony had decided they needed a group picture the night before Inessa, Steve, and Sam returned to New York City for her to undergo treatment by undercover cabal member Doctor Madelyn Pryor.

This time Noelle had a good idea of where Bucky was hidden. She removed and unfolded that picture as well. Sure enough what Inessa claimed was the tip of an abandoned shoe next to Tony was attached to someone. Bucky. He was smiling a tense smile on the farthest side of the group as possible from Steve. This picture would help her more in her search- his hair was clean and pushed back, he was awake, alert, and well lit- considering the picture was taken by an Iron Man suit and it was nighttime. Inessa stood in the center of the group, seemingly unafraid of her torturer so close.

Inessa could have cut him from the pictures, easily, but she chose to hide him instead. Steve said she was protective of his freedom from the team- especially after what they went through with Steve in the civil war. She was willing to do whatever it took to keep him out of anyone's hands- Hydra or the Avengers. That might have been what she told herself, but Noelle didn't need her powers to see the intention behind keeping Bucky in the photographs, invisible but still a part of the memory- she couldn't give up hope that he might one day come back. She didn't cut the line or even hide it better- she made a small change that could easily be undone. If he walked through the doors that very day she'd probably come up and unfold the pictures herself. Doctor's orders or no.

"Find what you were looking for?" her voice came through the house speakers, "Amadeus just left to go buy lilies to put in front of your door. He's making the other Avengers sign a 'Sorry you died' card. I'm guessing Steve sent you up?"

"He had some questions about an old case of ours, thought it might tie into one of his."

"I see," Inessa had an odd way of sounding (and looking) like she knew exactly what was going on, "old files are in the middle of the book case in my library."

"Yeah, got it," Noelle quickly put the pictures back together and returned them to their proper places. She noticed a thin line in the paint- maybe nothing, maybe a security mark. Noelle lined both pictures up with the barely visible scratch and headed quickly for the back corner of Inessa's apartment. Most of the books in here were related in some way to her coursework or were simply books she liked to have around- encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases- she wasn't always a fan of going to the Avenger's library where noisy gatherings were held almost nightly. Besides- the Shadow Unit's case files were all there.

"Bottom left. Inactive cases," Inessa spoke softly, as if she wasn't sure she wanted Noelle to hear, "it's under 'Kochevnik'… The Russian word."

"Nessa-"

"Do me a favor?"

"Yeah," Noelle hung her head and took the file.

"Don't look too hard. No matter how Steve thinks this will end, if he hears something is wrong he'll come back. This life can suck you in and not let go. I chose it, we all chose it, but breaking away… It took a lot for him to leave the first time. Give me a chance to fix this before you pull him back in. Please."

Noelle didn't respond, but Inessa didn't expect her to. She had the file she needed, so she turned and left quickly. Once upon a time Inessa had brought a missing boy back to a village so remote it wasn't even on a map. When she came back to check on him the town was abuzz with the news that a favored monk, believed to be a messenger of god, had vanished in the night just after her last visit. Inessa was intrigued, bored really, so she asked around that village and a few others just as remote. There were four confirmed sightings of him, this wandering Westerner who took shelter in temples and performed little acts of kindness to as many residents as he could manage before moving on again. It was the last temple they'd visited- where they'd learned the man seemed to possess super-human strength and performed feats with only one arm it would take ten men with two to complete in the same amount of time- like chopping firewood for an entire village or hunting large game for starving residents- that killed the case. Inessa brought them back to the Tower, said the man clearly wasn't a threat and the reports of his super human strength were likely exaggerations. The man, no matter where he was, went by the same name- the Kochevnik. The Nomad.

Inessa had as good as confirmed her hunch that perhaps the mysterious man, the buried case Inessa refused to ever discuss again with any of them, might just also be Steve's missing friend.

Nadya stirred first, the others followed soon after. A soft breeze blew through the Valley, but it wasn't her. They'd been despondent since the sky opened and something nearly drew the lost realm back from whatever oblivion it was in to rejoin the Bifrost. Her power still filled the Valley and sparked across the now brilliant blue sky. Until it dissipated, until she opened a path for it to return to her, she would remain weak and lost.

So, if not her, what was knocking?

A crack of thunder sent shockwaves from the heart of the Valley and forced the pack to scatter. In their place appeared two people, or rather pieces of them. A couple of fingers and puddles that just smelled wrong. Part human, part poison and radiation.

Hours passed and more bodies flooded in in varying stages of completion. Around the thousandth time bodies that were at least whole on the outside (though black liquid on the inside) began to appear. The pack became agitated and frightened as the corpses continued to arrive, and Inessa's moods shifted back in Avengers Tower in response (though she had no idea why and attributed it to either kidney failure or PMS).

Nadya alone had been part of the Shadow for the last eleven years, and they didn't have the same abilities or instincts as their Alpha, they were pure instinct. Near the end one of the new arrivals was still alive and, like their mistress, was wreathed in black mist and silver fog. Before Nadya could stop them they set upon the abomination and ripped it to shreds. It wouldn't have survived long anyways, but it was still a creature that should have been protected.

The Alpha had only one option. It was connected to Inessa in a way the others were not, and Nadya had always been able to draw on Inessa's power to open a door and find the girl. She took it as a duty to protect and aid her. From Inessa's own anger and uncertainty when she'd connected with Nadya's mind in the attack on New York the Alpha knew what had to be done, considering the uncertainty and suspicion of the human-cub's allies.

She borrowed that piece of Inessa's mind and, despite the pain it knew the action would cause, it used her to open a door into the Valley. The wolves atop the heap of corpses howled as the lightning high above followed Nadya to Inessa and brought their mistress to full power. Inessa shrieked- more from surprise- when an abrupt burst of pain wracked her body, followed by a sensation disturbingly like having an entire bathtub worth of ice water poured on top of you at once (she knew the feeling thanks to Amadeus and Clint several prank wars ago).

Nadya dove into the shadows of the exam room and came out on the other side of the floor in the equipment storage area. Acting off Inessa's own ever-present link she found the Helius beacons used by the Avengers and began to rip and tear at them one by one. Every Avenger was in the Tower, meaning every beacon was in one place and within minutes they were destroyed. The others wouldn't know now.

4,000 bodies in the Valley. The Avengers could never see, no one could know yet but the mistress. Though, thanks to Inessa, Nadya's instinct had been to preserve the creature that arrived last. The pack was right to destroy it. She had a sense of the others, thanks to the marks that each Avenger bore as a locating beacon. Some didn't trust the mistress' powers anymore, not like they used to.

What would they do if they found out someone, somewhere, was trying to create their own Shadow?

Chapter 20: Not Dead (Yet)

#my writing #avengers #marvel

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