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efingart · 3 years ago

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Just What I Needed - Chapter 1

ao3

Deleted Scenes: #1

Bell reflects on the few memories she has.

Author's note:

2/6/24 Reviewed, updated, and edited this chapter

This started as a comic. I wanted to see Bell and the Safehouse Crew interacting outside of the missions. Then it grew into a larger story and became too big of an investment as a comic. But the story is stuck in my head now and I have to let it out. So I'm just going to write it.

This first Chapter is a retread of the comic, but there is new stuff extra characterizations etc. Next chapter will be mostly new.

I know some of you were on my taglist for the comic, but since I've changed it to a fic just lmk if you'd like to be tagged still. No hard feelings if not. (I do plan on having illustrations in the future chapters as well)

Chapter 1

March 1, 1981

The paper in her hands, once filled with numbers and cryptic symbols, was quickly becoming a watery swirl of red and blue. Bell blinked a few times to clear and refocus her eyes. She looked down again and the page had returned to normal. How long had she been staring at this thing? Just a moment ago she had risen from the worktable to pin it back up on the evidence board and move on to something else. But as she stood she felt compelled to look at it again, feeling the spark of inspiration. But as soon as she tried to zero in on the thought and make sense of the jumble of letters and numbers, when the solution nearly seemed to lift off the paper, it would almost immediately slip from her mind. And this time was no different. So she stared at the paper in vain again, combing the depths of her mind for that lost something. And her head was pounding, which was not doing her any good. It was like her own brain was fighting against her solving this puzzle. She rubbed at her temples and considered taking out her ponytail. Deluding herself into thinking that maybe that was the cause of the pain and not the fact that she worked almost around the clock.

Of course this would happen when she was needed most.

Just behind her, Sims dropped a cardboard box onto the work table.

“Any luck with that disk decryption?” Sims asked. She looked over her shoulder at him. He had begun sorting through the box which looked to be filled with electronic junk. A cigarette dangled from his lips. She wondered if he cared about ash getting into the box.

“No,” Bell admitted, “I feel like I’m missing something.” Frustrated with herself she rubbed her forehead again and looked up at the evidence board hoping that maybe this time it would reveal it’s secrets. Instead a bright light flashed across her face. The sunlight beaming through the skylight above hit a metal object pinned to the board. She plucked the offending object off it’s peg and turned it over in her hand. It looked like a keyring with a deranged apron-clad figurine attached.

“What is that?” Bell muttered to herself, perplexed as to why anyone would want to carry around such a manic looking thing. Though it did seem strangely familiar to her.

“Find something?” Sims asked as he walked around the table to join her at the evidence board.

“Uh-” Bell paused. She hadn’t intended to pose the question to him and she felt a little silly showing him the keychain since it wasn’t related to her work, but she was still curious about it.

“No, but what is this?” Sims took a drag and looked it over.

“Looks like a keychain, Bell.” Bell looked at him pointedly and sighed, “I know-”

“I’m kidding you. Woods picked that up on your last mission.” He chuckled, “And he says Adler’s sentimental.” Bell looked back at the odd figure in her hand and scrunched up her nose.

“Why would he be feeling sentimental about this weird child?”

“You know, we all find ways to deal with the things we’ve seen- the things we’ve done,” Sims said, “And Woods has definitely been through it.” Then he shrugged before adding, “You should ask him- about the keychain, I mean.”

“Yeah.”

Bell glanced down at the keychain again. She thought about putting it back on the evidence board, but instead she closed her hand around it. Sims studied her face. She must have looked as exhausted as she felt because he then said, “Why don’t you take a break? Get some coffee and try tackling it again in a few.”

“Yeah, but-” Bell protested and looked over her shoulder at Adler. He was in his office. His expression very grave. Sims followed her gaze.

“Even he doesn’t work 24/7. Shocking, I know.”

Sims nudged her side encouragingly before going back to his work. Bell pinned the paper on the evidence board, but held on to the keychain.

Why? Because it was Woods’?

She shook the thought from her head as she went to the kitchenette. The coffee pot was empty, as it often was. Just about everyone on the team drank coffee, or tea, round the clock. They had terrorists to hunt, and sleep could wait.

Bell began brewing a fresh pot and leaned against the counter to wait, surveying the Safehouse.

Her eyes landed on Park who sat at a desk nearby listening to recordings- of what Bell was unsure. One hand pressed a headphone speaker to her ear. In her other hand she held a cigarette and a pen, this was poised over an open folder. Occasionally her hand would drop down to jot a note or two in the folder as she listened. Sometimes she would bring her hand to her face to take a drag from the cigarette.

That’s how it was here. A constant chain of cigarettes and cups of caffeine. Not the healthiest lifestyle, but did any of them expect to live long?

Sims was still sorting and cataloging boxes. She could see now that they looked like old radio parts. He had removed his blue MACV-SOG windbreaker and tossed it over a chair. The beaded bracelets on his wrists clacked together as he moved around. And he was humming to himself, though she couldn’t make out the tune.

She couldn’t see Woods, Mason, or Lazar from where she stood, but she could hear them talking in low voices. Or at least as low as any of them talked in casual conversation. Shooting the shit as Woods and Mason were getting ready for their next mission. They were headed straight into Russia. Mount Yamantau. But to hear them talk it was as if it was nothing to them. She knew deep down that they took the job seriously and they maybe the both learned some time ago that a little levity went a long way in this line of work. It would be foolish to mistake their jovial attitudes for a lack of care or professionalism.

Directly across the room from her she could that Adler was still in his office. The door was closed, but the shades were up. He was on the phone, chain-smoking, pacing and generally looking pissed off. His desperation to catch the man who eluded him for so many years was coming to a head.

The coffee pot gurgled loudly through it’s process drawing Bell’s attention to it. Her friend was working his ass off and here she was, taking a break. Letting him down because she couldn’t cut it. She couldn’t figure out some critical puzzle piece. In fact, everyone in this room was waiting on her. The fate of the mission was on her shoulders, and what was she doing? Getting coffee?

She recalled the way Adler had been in Vietnam. Even when things had gotten rough there he was always encouraging. Making the best of things. This was different. He was different.

The faster they caught Perseus, the better it would be.

She’d have her friend again.

Bell shoved her hands in her pockets and debated on whether just to go back to work. She looked down at her boots and kicked the cement floor. Feeling, somewhat unreasonably, disgusted with herself. She heard someone walked up to the coffee pot. The familiar deep gravely voice dragged her from her thoughts.

“Hey, coffee,” Woods said, “Thanks, Bell.”

He reached into the cabinet just next to her and grabbed three mismatched mugs, turning them over and lining them up next to the pot. Woods poured the fresh coffee into the mugs and handed her one.

“You take it black, right?” He asked.

“Yeah,” She said, a little surprised, “Thanks.”

No one really thanked anyone for doing something as mundane as making coffee around here. It was so automatic. She looked at the other two mugs, one for Woods of course, and the other probably for Mason. It was then that she remembered the keychain.

“Hey, Woods?”

She looped the keychain around her middle finger and let it drop so the little figure dangled in the air just below her hand before asking, “What is this?”

“It’s a keych-”

“I know it’s a keychain," Bell said, "But what is it supposed to be? This weird little man-”

“Bubby.”

He narrowed his eyes at her as he took a sip of his coffee.

“Do you seriously not know who Bubby is?”

“Well, I saw the bigger version. The talking one at that restaurant-”

“Burger Town,” Woods said as he gave her a curious look. He tilted his head and moved his arms in a gesture of disbelief.

“Bell, do you not know what Burger Town is?”

By this time Park walked over and was filling the electric kettle with water at the sink.

“Not everyone shares your undying love for American fast food, Woods,” Park said over her shoulder.

Woods tipped his mug at her, “I’m sure you’d never be caught dead inside a Burger Town, Park.”

“Got that right,” She replied as she placed the kettle in its base and turned it on. The kettle clicked and hissed as it heated the water. She then walked back to her desk to jot a few more notes down in her notebook.

“Bell,” Woods said drawing her attention away from the kettle. He had a serious look on his face set down his coffee mug and took a stride towards her. To her surprise he took her wrist in his hand. Shaking his head in disappointment he slipped the keychain off her finger.

“I don’t think I can trust you with this. I’m putting it back.” Woods then looped a finger through the handles of both of mugs and picked them up as well. Bell watched him go. It was only when he had disappeared around the corner did she realize that she was holding her hand, the hand he had just touched, to her chest. She quickly dropped it to her side.

Someone cleared their throat. For such a large man Adler had managed to walk up to her without making much noise. He looked down at her over his sunglasses. His expression was smooth. Everything about him was smooth. She had the distinct impression of a giant cat crouched down, ready to pounce on some unsuspecting animal. Have you ever been attacked by a tiger, Bell?

“Now that you’re done goofing off with Woods, can you get back to work, Bell?” It wasn’t a question. His was voice measured, but his eyes narrowed. Unconsciously, she took a step back. She felt the strange urge to throw her hot coffee in his face. To run. Alarm bells were ringing in her head and somewhere deep down there was another voice telling her-

In a low voice, Adler said, “We have a job to do.” She felt a cold rush hit her. Her body relaxed while her mind snapped to focus. The feeling of anxiety washed away. In front of her stood her old friend. His expression was soft, not angry. He just wanted to find Perseus.

Of course. Bell couldn’t believe for a moment she had thought there was anything sinister about him.

How ridiculous. “Of course, Adler,” She said and picked up her coffee before heading back to work.

Don’t worry, Adler. I’ll figure this out. I know you’re counting on me. Then everything will be like it was.

It was nighttime when Bell left the Safehouse. Pulling her sweater on she stepped out onto the porch and looked out into the dark field the team used for a parking lot. It wasn’t too cold out, even for early March, but Bell wrapped her sweater tightly around her all the same. She found it was constantly falling off her shoulders and she had to wonder why she had bought something so ill-fitting.

But she couldn’t actually remember buying it. Or where she even got it.

As soon as she started thinking about it in any detail the dull ache in her head returned. A clear sign to her that she was just overworked. Of course she had bought it. She just couldn’t recall where at the moment. There were more pressing matters at hand.

Maybe after this mission she would take it easy for a while. Use some vacation time and catch up on sleep.

A soft breeze blew across the lot. The cool air helped to soothe her.

At least she had finally managed to crack the code on the paper tonight. However, she still wasn’t sure how it connected to the rest of the evidence. It felt like even with her best efforts she was only inching forward. And it was only more frustrating when she realized she couldn’t recall the last time she ate. The last time she drank anything that wasn’t coffee. Bell knew she wasn’t taking care of herself the way she should be.

Working on very little sleep, going home, and almost passing out on her bed still fully clothed, smoking the stress away- she wasn’t sure how long she could manage it. But whatever Perseus whatever he was plotting, they needed to get ahead of it, or things were going to get bad. Her health could wait.

Bell lit a cigarette and stepped out into the parking lot. Leaning on Adler’s car, she smoked and enjoyed the peaceful darkness of the night.

The pain in her head was subsiding, though she knew it was only temporary. She needed to eat. Bell placed her cigarette between her lips, freeing her hands. She yanked on her hair tie and pulled out her ponytail. Running her fingers through her hair she shook it out and rubbed at the pressure points along her skull.

“Ugh, my head. Stupid ponytail,” She groaned.

The sound of a lighter clicking drew her attention. She peered into the darkness ahead and saw Woods astride a motorcycle. He was lighting a cigarette and his face was briefly illuminated by the small flame.

“Oh, I didn’t see you there,” Bell said.

“Yeah,” Woods said and shrugged, “You looked like you needed a minute to yourself. Didn’t want to bug you.

Then he added. “You get enough from Adler anyway.”

She opened her mouth to say something in Adler’s defense, but stopped. Instead she walked over to Woods, curious about the motorcycle. She hadn’t seen it in the parking lot before. But then again Woods had been in Kiev up until yesterday.

“Cool motorcycle.”

“Thanks,” He said flashing her a grin, “I’m borrowing it from a friend.”

A moment of silence settled over them. Bell would have liked to talk to him, but she didn’t really have anything to say beyond their work. And she wasn’t interested in talking about that.

Woods was looking out at the road just ahead. He seemed like he was thinking something over and he took a long drag from his cigarette.

“So, Bell,” He started, “I can’t quite let go of the fact that you’ve never had Burger Town before.”

It definitely was not what she would have expected him to say.

“You-“ She paused before repeating him, “can’t let that go?”

He looked her over like he was assessing her. Sizing her up. Like he didn’t know what to make of her.

“No,” He finally said, “Doesn’t sit right with me. Everyone needs to understand the joys of greasy fast food.”

A wide grin spread across his face. Bell wasn’t sure if he was serious.

“Sounds appealing,” She said with a flat voice. With the way she felt, junk food wouldn’t have been her first choice.

“Look, it’s a nice night, and I was going for a ride anyway,” Woods said as he gestured ahead.

“Do you want to come?” He asked.

Bell considered it. She hadn’t been looking forward to going home and making dinner. Not with the way she was feeling. This would be easy and a nice change of pace.

And if she was being honest, spending some time with Woods away from everyone else, sounded pretty good.

At the same time she felt the pull of her work. Something was telling her to head back inside. She had the uncanny feeling that if she did turn around Adler would be in the window watching for her. That disapproving look on his face.

There she was goofing off with Woods again.

Adler’s voice sounded in her head like a radio playing in the back of her mind.

Get back to work, Bell We have terrorists to catch. We’ve got a jo-

She shook his voice from her mind.

“It’s that important to you?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s important.”

“Well, if it’s not important,” Bell said with a shrug.

Woods sighed and picked up his bike helmet holding it out to her. She took it in her hands. Her image, or rather a shadow of her as it was too dark to pick up much detail, reflected in the surface.

It’s how she felt. A shadow of herself. Working herself so hard she was barely even sure she was alive.

“Come on, Bell. Live a little.”

The static in her head had quieted at the sound of his voice. It was like he knew the right words to say. It was a little curious to her why Woods was pushing. No one else seemed concerned or interested about what she did as long as she was working.

Was he really just this passionate about his favorite fast joint? Or maybe this was just his way of getting to know a new teammate. Couldn’t hurt to go especially since they would be continuing to work together.

“Fuck it.” She said softly. Bell took the helmet from him and hopped on the bike.

“All right, hold on,” Woods said.

And before she could do anything, he grabbed her hands and placed them around him.

“I’m not scraping you off the side of the road.”

After some time they pulled into Burger Town. It felt to Bell like Woods may have taken a longer route than necessary. There wasn’t much open road in West Berlin and surely if it was so popular there would be more than one Burger Town location inside the city. So by her judgement they should have reached one sooner. Bell dismounted the bike and handed Woods the helmet.

“Only Burger Town in the city?”

“Wanted a ride, took the scenic route.”

Good enough for her. The ride had been fun so she wasn’t about to complain.

Bell turned towards the brightly lit building. There was a slightly smaller statue of the Burger Town mascot, Bubby, outside to greet customers as they walked in.

She studied his face. His green eyes seemed to follow her wherever she moved. It was as if he would come alive at any moment.

Friend or foe, Bubby?

The one in the Soviet facility had spouted communist propaganda. She wasn’t even sure if this one could talk.

Bell leaned back to look over the entire building. It wasn’t freestanding, but the facade and the interior looked the same.

“Looks so much like the one we saw in the simulation,” Bell said as Woods walked up to join her.

“Yeah, except no Soviet soldiers to contend with.”

Hopefully.

Woods patted one of the outdoor picnic tables.

“You hang out here. I’m gonna go order. Don’t wander off, or Adler’ll kill me.”

Bell rolled her eyes and hopped onto the table. She moved to light a cigarette but realized Woods was still looking at her. It seemed like he was expecting her to confirm that she actually wasn’t going to wander off.

“Where do you think I’m going to go?” She said, laughing a little in disbelief.

Instead of responding, Woods just shook his head and chuckled to himself as he walked towards the restaurant. Bell turned her head and watched him. He tapped the Bubby statue with the flat of his hand before stepping inside.

Bell braced her hand on the table and leaned back looking up into the night’s sky. She didn’t know what to make of Woods. He projected a certain level of toughness, which was expected. His beard and his style of dress seemed to send the message that he was’t someone to mess with.

But at the same time of all the people she had interacted with at the Safehouse, he was the only one who didn’t seem to be holding her at arm’s length. Well, him and Mason. She would have thought, given their reputation, they would be tougher, intimidating.

Hell even mean.

But they had surprised her. Woods especially. Formidable in the field, a good and capable leader, but at the same time able to shamelessly get excited over something as simple as fast food.

Isn’t that healthier? With a job as hard as his, isn’t a little levity necessary?

She blew a puff of smoke into the air and looked up at the stars. A vague memory of a little dog floated up in her mind—a dog in the stars.

A bag landed next to her causing her to start.Bell turned as Woods hopped up on the table next to her.

“You couldn’t just hand it to me like a normal person?” She asked, lazily flicking her cigarette butt away.Woods narrowed his eyes at her, “You’re one to talk about being normal.”

Bell picked up the bag and carefully opened it.

“Hmm,” She peered inside, “It smells good.”

“What did you expect?” Woods was opening his own bag.

“With you? I can’t be sure.”

He chuckled, “Probably a good policy.”

Then he handed handed her a drink cup. The cup was freezing.

“What’s this?” She asked, pulling up her sleeve to wrap it around the cold drink.

“It’s a milkshake-” Woods began.

“Oh, I love these!” Bell interrupted, her eyes lighting up. Woods gave her a surprised look, but she could tell he was pleased by her reaction.

“Can’t remember the last time I bought someone a milkshake,” Woods said with a grin.

“Oh! Did people really do that in the 50s?” Bell asked as she unwrapped a straw and stabbed into the hole in the lid of the milkshake.

“How do you know about that?” Woods asked, giving her a puzzled look, “How do you not know about this Burger Town, but you know that?”

“I saw it in a movie on TV-” Bell started, but this time Woods cut her off.

“Don’t start singing. All those movies had singing in them,” He rolled his eyes, “Besides, I wasn’t a teenager in the 50s.”

Bell drank from her straw and studied him for a moment.

“Old man,” She said finally, grinning around her straw, Woods pointed a french fry at her.

“What was that kid?”

Bell rolled her eyes and looked away from him out into the street.A car drove up and parked right next to Woods’ motorcycle. Pop music blared from the speakers. A group of teenagers hopped out and headed into the restaurant. Though one stayed behind and leaned on the car. He lit a cigarette. They had left the windows rolled down and the engine running so the music kept on playing. It was loud enough that they could hear it from where they sat. It was a familiar tune, but the lyrics were a little odd.

Bell was surprised to see Woods tapping his foot to the beat.

“Didn’t take you for a pop music fan.”

“You spend a lot of time driving you kind of have to like a variety of music, you know?” He said with a shrug, “Anyway it’s catchy.”

Bell could agree with that.

Then she grunted and grabbed the bridge of her nose. Her head had begun pounding again.

“Brain freeze? You’re drinking that thing too fast,” Woods said, “Anyway you should eat something, your burger is getting cold.”

Grabbing the bag between them he handed it to her. Bell wasn’t sure if her head pain was from the cold milkshake or not. But he was right, she did need to eat.

She took out the burger and folded the bag in her lap. Then with great care she peeled back the wrapping on the burger as if it were something delicate. Finally, she took a bite.

It was so good it surprised her. The bun fluffy and sweet. The burger patty itself a bit smoky. Just a little charred on the outside but nice and juicy on the inside. There was also a tangy sauce that complimented the meat well. Not quite mayo and not quite ketchup. And she was certain there were some vegetables in there somewhere. Nothing like farm fresh veggies advertised in the pictures on the menu of course. But a little limp lettuce and a sad tomato didn’t detract from the experience.

Maybe Woods was onto something. Or maybe she was just hungry.

She took a few greedy bites of the burger.

God she really was hungry.

“Ok ok, slow down!” Woods chuckled, “You ever eat?”

Bell looked sheepishly at the remains of the burger in her hand.

Instead of responding to his question she said, “Thanks Woods, it’s nice to do something- something different.”

“What do you mean?” Woods questioned her. His brow was furrowed as he asked, “Don’t you- I thought you, Sims, and Adler were old pals. Don’t you ever- I don’t know, go for beers or anything?”

“This mission is different. Adler is so focused.”

Bell took another bite then set her burger back down on the paper bag in her lap and debated continuing her thought. She brought a crumpled thin napkin to her mouth, dabbing at whatever food debris might be on her face, while she chewed away and considered things. It would be nice to tell someone what had been bothering her. Let it all out. But she didn’t know Woods like that, they had only just met.

Bell briefly glanced at Woods, who gave her a curious look. Something about it seemed to say she could trust him. That he didn’t mind listening to whatever she had to say.

Is that why he took her out here? Maybe he saw it too? Or at least sensed it. A good leader would notice something was wrong, right?

She looked back out in front of them to the street. The teenagers had bought their food and left. And a new car was pulling into the vacated spot.

“I feel like he’s keeping me at arm’s length,” She said finally, keeping her voice low, “Sims is friendlier, but I think he’s still following Adler’s lead.”

“Oh,” Was Woods’ only response. He sounded surprised. They both let that hang in the air for a moment. Neither saying anything.

It seemed to her like Woods was giving her room to talk if she wanted it. And she did want it. She wanted to talk to someone about how she felt. Holding it all in her head was making her feel like she was crazy. But at the same time talking to someone else about Adler, about her friend, felt like she was being disloyal to him.

After all, shouldn’t she at least try to talk to Adler about it? Why did she feel like she couldn’t?

“Look if you ever want to talk about it. Doesn’t have to be now…” Woods trailed off. She knew what he meant, he was leaving the door open to her.

Bell nodded. Then she chuckled to herself.

“He’s gonna be so pissed,” She said by way of explanation.

“Adler?”

“Yeah,” She said with a sigh, “He wants me to just focus on this mission. It’s like he thinks I’m-” Bell paused, thinking over her words. Then she looked at Woods and shrugged before continuing.

“I don’t know. He thinks I can see things differently. He doesn’t want me distracted. You know what I mean?”

And there she was, unloading, just a little. She sighed, it felt so nice in the moment to just say it. Just let it out.

Bell studied Woods’ face for his reaction. He had invited her to talk to him, but that didn’t necessarily mean he’d believe what she said. Woods ran his fingers through his dark hair, the movement drawing her eyes up. She hadn’t noticed before how in the midst of the thick black hair there were little bits of white mixed in. The white was especially prominent by his temples. He even had a few streaks in his beard. It was such a stark contrast she wasn’t sure how she had missed it.

His blue eyes were fixed ahead, he must have been thinking through what she said.

“Adler’s pretty intense. But even for him, that’s-” He stopped short as if he just realized something, “Shit, Bell, I didn’t want to make things tense between you two. You wanna head back?”

“No,” Bell said with a shrug, “He’s going to be mad no matter what at this point.”

She took a bite of burger and chewed slowly, thinking.Then she nudged him in the arm, saying, “Anyway, it’s worth it.”

Woods blinked at her then his face broke out in a grin.“So, you like the food?” He asked hopefully.

“And the company.”

She nudged him, again and he chuckled softly. They ate their last bites of food in silence. Bell shoved the burger wrapper back in the bag. Woods hopped off the table and took the bag from her crushing it into a tiny ball and tossing it into the trash.

They walked the few feet to the motorcycle and Woods unlocked the tail box to grab his helmet. He handed it to Bell and shoved his hands in his pockets. When he looked at her again his brow was furrowed.

“Say, Bell. I was wondering, how did you get to Vietnam-”

That was not what she had been expecting.

“Do you really want to trade war stories?” She asked as she fitted the helmet over her head and secured the chin strap.

He kicked the sole of his shoe across the sidewalk, then seeming to make his mind up about something hopped on the bike.

“Nah,” He said finally, “Not really.”

July 1981

Something was off. The worn mattress, stained and smelling vaguely of mildew was somehow worse than it had been the last time she woke up on it. Even with it’s ancient springs that poked out of the thinner sections of fabric, those rusty prongs that somehow hadn’t yet given her tetanus, something that had already been the bare minimum of better than sleeping on cold concrete was now inexplicably worse.

Bell was awake now, but did not open her eyes. She breathed in and coughed as tiny fibers of mattress entered her dehydrated throat. Her jaw ached in protest at the movement. Bell groaned and her jaw ached again.

She was on her belly, sleeping at an angle, her entire right arm and shoulder hanging off the edge of the mattress. The back of her hand and her forearm were touching the cold floor. For a moment she thought she couldn’t feel them. The tips of her fingers were so cold she thought they had gone numb. But they hadn’t as she was able to brace them on the ground and lift herself up.

The blanket that had been draped across her- who the hell would even bother to do that- slipped to the floor. She shivered. By her own measurements she could guess it was summer but this place seemed determined to retain the damp and cold.

And she looked up to the single window in her cell, high up on the ceiling, grated, but open, exposing the room to the elements. A drain sat on the floor beneath it to collect rainwater. How she hadn’t caught pneumonia yet was a mystery to her.

She felt the heaviness in her head of lying in one unsupported position all night. Her lower back felt stretched out in the wrong way. Her chest ached like she had been punched.

She curled her legs under her body and dragged the threadbare blanket off the floor as she wrapped it around herself again. With her right hand she massaged her ice-cold toes, her fingers occasionally running over the soft bare nail beds. The feeling of her missing toenails was unsettling and still caused her to shiver. She pushed them from her mind and looked around sorting through the events again in her mind. They must have drugged her. Again.

And that’s how she hadn’t noticed, until this very moment, that they had taken her bedframe.

Bell looked over the mattress. A new dark stain had blossomed over the spot where her head had just been. A vague memory came back to her, the origin of pain in her jaw. She touched her face and with a fingernail chipped away at the thin crust of blood that had settled over her chin.

A realization pushed through her drug-hazed brain and panic thrilled through her. She shoved her finger in her mouth, feeling around, just to be sure. And she relaxed when she found that amazingly all her teeth seemed to be intact. The kick seemed to have only skimmed over her jaw, probably cutting her lip, thus the blood. She didn’t know how they would manage a broken tooth here, but she could imagine that they wouldn’t have the patience or the skill of a practiced dentist. And even if they did they would go for the most painful option anyway. Bell hadn’t been the most cooperative of prisoners.

She rubbed her temples with the heels of her hands. The pressure at least helped to mitigate the ache for a time. Then bracing a hand against the wall behind her, she stood up. Bell fell back into the wall again but was able to just catch herself with her hands.

“Too fast,” She muttered to herself.

Bowing forward slightly to keep the lightheadedness at bay, she once again rose onto her feet. The mattress squeaked in protest, and she walked the long way off of it so she could keep her hand braced on the wall.

The head rush caused the ache in her jaw to throb and send little shocks to the nerve endings across various points in her face.

It had been worth it. She couldn’t recall exactly what lead up to her being kicked in the face, but at a certain point in her stay she realized she might die here. And she made up her mind to make her captor’s lives hell as much as she could until then.

The bed frame had been part of a poorly devised escape plan.

Had it worked it would have been something. And she would be miles away trying to figure out her next steps.

Anyway what does a person with no friends in the world and about six months total of real memories do with freedom?

Where would she go? Well she and-

Bell shook her head. She needed to take things one at a time. First escape, then figure out what to do. Even a carefully laid plan could have some hiccups. She had been down here for months without a clue what was happening outside. Her face could be plastered over every newspaper and post office in the world. That was the consequences of being a part of a plot to blow up a quarter of it.

No no, neutron bomb, remember? Organic material.

Just the people.

Monster.

She sighed and leaned against her hand still braced on the wall. Her fingers curled over the pockmarked concrete. Her empty stomach churned as the acid inside it threatened to rise up her dry throat. She coughed.

“Don’t vomit,” She ordered herself. She had nothing to vomit, it would just be burning acidic mucus and make her feel worse rather than better.

But her stomach did seem to settle. Hot tears rolled over her cheeks and fell from her face and staining the concrete by her nailless toes. Bell pulled her dirty shirt over her face to wipe her cheeks and her nose before pushing off the wall and staggering over to the opposite end of the room.

She pressed the palms of her hands into the wall while she carefully and slowly kneeled. She felt around the floor for a suitable sharp piece of broken concrete. Finding one, she stood again and studied the growing collection tiny marks she had made on the wall as she tried to remember where she left off.

Did it really matter?

Bell ran her fingers over the grooves. Some of the paint around them flaked off and disintegrated when it hit the ground.

Based on the amount of marks she could just about guess it was July. But hell it could be August for all she knew. Between the drugging and all the games they played she could be missing whole days.

She placed her forehead against a clean patch of wall letting the cold concrete soothe her aching head.

How much of her life had slipped away from her?

She couldn’t focus on it. Bell closed her eyes and tried to push it from her mind.

With her mind nearly blank, a song she had heard, maybe once or twice, in the short period of her life that she remembered came to mind. It was amazing how she could be made to forget a lifetime, but an earworm would always stay an earworm.

“Wasting all my time-“ Bell sung into the wall, her voice cracking at the last word.

She firmly, placed her hand on the wall and carved a line into it, starting a new row of tics.

The song continued to run through her head. It was like she was there again. In her tiny collection of memories there were only a select few that she would have described as happy. And even those were tainted now weren’t they?

She raised her fist and slammed it against the wall. More paint flaked away turning into dust on the ground. Bell turned and leaned against the wall.

Then she slid her back down the wall to sit on the floor.

What motivation did she have to keep going?

What was the point of her being here when she could have easily just died on that cliffside? She looked to the window where she could just see the waxing moon in the sky.

Bell shook her head.

“No,” She whispered to herself.And then she recited the same lines she recited every night for the past few months. Words that Adler had embedded in her head, like the song, played as if on repeat.

If I am captured, I will continue to resist by any means available.I will make every effort to escape.

Those words drove her forward. Kept her on her feet. She rolled the concrete stone between her fingers.

Bell smiled and rested her head against the wall again. Maybe the means to Adler’s destruction.

“I know what I’ll do if I get out,” She whispered to the room, “I’ll fucking kill them.”

Tomorrow she would try again.

Tomorrow she would escape.

#call of duty #cod bell #fanfic #frank woods #alex mason #helen park #russell adler #eleazar azoulay #lawrence sims #jason hudson #cod cold war #frank woods x bell #efing fanfics #efingfanfics #my art #myart

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chromium7sky · 4 years ago

Text

The Devil Wears Armani| chapter 11

A/n: amg, finally updated this one 😭😭😭💖💖💖💖💖 you guys can follow this story with #damirae , #devilwearsarmani and #fashionistaau tag

2 weeks. It's been two weeks since the last video call. Raven have been pouring her attention on working the suit that she has planned for Damian Wayne to wear for the Gala.

She had done the cutting, the sewing and all, and what's left is doing the embroidery. She chosen the gold thread selectively which give the vivid glow and bring out the majestic value to the wearer.

The embroidery are complete within 95% thanks to a specified sewing machine which she bought with the price money she won before during the her first fashion competition. It helps alot.

The date of Gala approaching like crawling on the thread of time and for the final touch, she combined all the pieces into a handsome looking suit.

As she put the wardrobe on the mannequin, she took a step back and see it as a whole picture. With her both hands, she makes the photograph gesture to capture the feels of how Damian would look like if he wears them.

Contemplating and satisfied she felt after she iron the suit and store in special cover suit. She looked at the calendar and looks like she has extra two weeks before Gala.

Speaking of Gala, she wondered what would the dress look like since it was Damian who made for her? Would it be shoulder bare? Would it be one piece dress? Raven rubbed her chin as she wonder then she noticed herself on standing mirror. Slowly she spin to the left then to right as she look her body shape contour. If she was designing her own dress she probably went with thick fabric drape style. Simple, elegant and exclusive.

Her eyes glanced at the clock that's shows 10.30pm.

Wait.

She blink her eyes. How come she didn't thought of it. What would his design for herself? She did shown her sketches to Damian but won't he shown his? Curious, curious.

Raven imagine what if she asked, Damian would probably say, ' you don't trust me? Tsk tsk.' Raven sighed as her hand run down her face thinking about that. "Maybe I'll try to ask tomorrow."

Suddenly, a bleep sound indicate a message comes in. Raven blink then looked at her phone screen.

"Girl, You busy today?"

- Karen

It's been a while. Raven smiled then diligently answered the question.

"Not quite. Just finished designing a suit. What's up?"

She hit send.

Then came up another message on her inbox.

"We got party tomorrow at Viva La coast at Riverside. Wanna come?"

Raven narrowed her eyes then humming. Should she go or not? Perhaps she need a time off after that intense week. A little entertainment doesn't hurt.

"Sure. You pick me up?"

" For course, sis. 😘 See you at 8pm, tomorrow."

"On it.👌"

Raven smiled then landed on her bed. As she let out her relief sigh she put her phone at table nearby.

As she sleep, she dreamt of something pleasant. She's at fountain garden where surrounded by fragrance flowers and palm-like trees.

She notice her dress has gold accent along with silky texture clothes. Slowly her hands touched the dress she wear, felt it's smooth surface.

Her heart stop as she felt a hand holding her waist. Slowly she turn her head over her shoulder and -

BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP

Her eyes wide open as soon as she heard her phone alarm. She blink once then twice, trying to process her thoughts. When a sprinkle of dream remembrance filled in her her head, her cheeks start to blushed. Her hand quickly grab her pillow beside her and buried her face beneath it.

"O dear, don't tell me it's him that I'm dreaming about last night." She let out her sighed. She had fallen for him.

A message bleep chiming in her phone makes her peek under the pillow and quickly she reached for her phone.

A message from him.

'OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG' Raven's heart start racing. "Wh-Wha...H-How...." She tried to question reality, how on earth he's messaging her. Right now?

"You're awake?"

Raven bit her bottom lips as she look at her phone screen. Her finger diligently working on touch screen pad.

"Just awake. Can't sleep?"

She hit send button. Then for a few second she received his reply.

"I just had dream about you...

You look beautiful."

A dream? She blinked. Then another message comes in.

"Still busy working on the suit?"

Raven biting her lips to keep it as a secret but it's almost 25th like in 5 days away, so....why not? Her finger tapping the keyword on screen replying him.

"Actually I've finish the suit."

She replied. Another thought hit her and she quickly tapped it on the phone.

"I did promise making for dinner right? Maybe tomorrow?"

Again she send the text.

Interval in 2-3 second, her phone bleep it back.

"That would be great. I'll bring something as surprise."

Surprise? Raven mind start racing, mostly to that forbidden thoughts. What kind of surprise? She bit her lips and start typing.

"Well uh, I hope it's not a refrigerator you're bringing."

She shaked off those thought and try keep the conversation as innocent as possible.

"No. It's not. It's something, you probably would like it. 😏"

Raven looked at the emoji face he send. Did he send an emoji? Damian Wayne doesn't use emoji while texting or emailing.

"Well, alright then. See you tomorrow?"

She hit the send button.

Then a message came in.

"Can't wait to see you.♥️"

Raven flopped to her bed and her face now are red tinted. What is this? Why is this feeling so intense? She closed her eyes retracing her memory between them. Those bickering and end up with hot make out along intimate session in his office.

"I guess we should discuss about this terms of relationship." She talked in her pillow.

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

She has complete all the order that has been request by some local boutique and some are from online website. She's quite amazed with things that happens after the talk show incident where Damian said about Raven going to Wayne Gala this week.

People start to shift their attention to her especially her design clothes. Does Damian intend to promote her? She rubbed her chin then sudden, Mona, her assistant knock her door.

"Come in."

Mona peek behind the door, she smiled and slowly walk to her boss. " You have received a gift!" The assistant handled to her a parcel.

"A gift?" Raven whisper under her breath. Could it be Damian? Her eyebrows furrowed. She took out knife letter and slowly cut , unwrapped the parcel and she saw an apparel, black with velvet felt. There is the tag at the collar says Draco.

Her eyes widen. Draco? You mean Melchior Draco?

"Who is it? Your lover?" Mona feeling excited.

"No. This is from my competitor." Raven cover the box and push it away. Her head suddenly filled with painful memories about her and Melchior encounter. The way he flirt her before her first joining competition, the betrayal, and stolen her design to built his empire.

Her heart boiled with anger which in result she crumpled her paper nearby which made Mona a bit fall back by her intimidation.

"I'm sorry about that, Miss." Mona bow her head quickly apologize for not realise what is going on.

Raven snapped back from those memory and quickly look at the paper . " Oh!" She's surprise and quickly she try to straighten up the paper she crumbled. " No, no, it's okay, Mona. It's nothing." She smiled. " You can go now."

" Ah, alright then." She nod and walked to the door and-

" By the way, boss, there's a caller said he's from metropolis daily planet wanted to interview you about being guest at the gala." Mona turned to her as she spite out another appointment.

" Well, set it tomorrow then." Raven tidy up her table and throw the parcel to the bin nearby.

"Uh, you threw that?" Mona pointed at the parcel inside the dustbin.

"You want it?"

"Ummm...it looks beautiful." Her assistant fidgeting.

Raven smiled and took the parcel. She dust a bit. "Take it and wear where I don't see it. Or else I end up burn them with hellfire." Raven eyes shown deep hatred and anger.

"Ok boss." She smiled, quickly snatched the parcel and run to the exit.

As she was alone in her office, she slump in her chair and sigh heavily. "I guess he's also in town too." Her finger tapping on her table creating random melodies.

-------

Its 7.55pm, Raven now waiti g for Karen to pick her up as she lingers in her living room. She's wearing a one piece black dress decorated with golden and black labuci make it more fabulous looks.

She look at her phone to kill her waiting time until she stumbled on a post by E fashion news.

"Top trending designer DRACO are in town for launching their latest collection 'BLAK MAJIK' "

As raven read the article, she felt upset as she remember Melchior stole her ideas in doing a line fashion about magic before she presented the ideas at her first fashion show competition.

As she read the article, the sound of the car honking makes her jolt and quickly look at the window. It seems Karen has reached at her apartment block, quickly she goes out and greet Karen who parked at the entrance.

*********

"I heard that bastard Melchior are in town." Karen slowly stirred her cocktail as her and Raven where sitting on a table outside of the Viva La Coast restaurant.

"Yeah, I did read the article about it." said Raven as she drink her pina colada. " So, who are we waiting for again?"

"I forgot to tell you, Kory won't be able to join us. She has to come with her boyfriend meet with his family at Wayne Mansion."

"Wayne Mansion?" Raven's eyes jump out. Wayne, wasn't Damian last name is Wayne too?

" Yeah, but she's dating with Wayne's older adopted son, Richard Grayson. A high profile detective , probably will be promoted as soon. " Karen updating the status of their friend.

"I see." Raven looked at her drink. It's been a long time she hasn't talk to Kori because of her business setting up her small company.

"How about you then? You and Mal?" Raven raised her eyebrows.

"Well we've been planning for a wedding maybe in next year. " Karen smiled.

"Wait, I thought you're still in doctorate?" Raven eyes wide open as she remember Karen used to be a student in mechanical and atomic engineering.

"Will be graduated in two months." Karen smiled widely as she let out the fantastic news.

Raven goes all tears as she heard the good news. "Oh my god, Karen! I'm so happy!" She tried to hug Karen across the table.

Karen laughed with Raven's sudden behaviour. "That's why we celebrate it!"

"We should buy a cake. Wait, I know! Waiter!" Raven call up the waiter to get some dessert as celebration.

"And..."

Raven turns her head to Karen.

"I wanted you to design our wedding dress and suits." Karen faces flushes as she speak her request. " I really, really adore your work , Rachel. I wanted you to design it."

"Damn it , Karen. You make me all teary." Raven wiped her tears as she smiled sheepishly. " Of course I will."

"Karen, do you know anything about the youngest Wayne?"

"You mean Damian Wayne?"

"Yeah."

"I heard that he just back from middle east after doing charity project between the Wayne Enterprise and Leviathan Industries."

"I think everyone knows about that, Karen." Raven smiled as she drink up.

"I am very speculate that both of you have met." Karen with her mischievous smile now painted on her lips. " Is that the same guy who become your muse in your long lost sketch book?"

Raven clutches her hand on her drink, almost breaking it but she keep with her calm face. " I don't think so." She tried to denied it following with Karen's giggle.

"Plus, when he said there will be Raven in Wayne's Gala, I was like 'Raven?!' to the tv screen and I swear there's something going on between both of you." Karen crossed her armed with one eyebrow raised as she looked as Raven like she's a suspect.

"Well..." Raven averted her sight to the table and nervously tug her hair behind her ears. " There is."

BAM!

Raven jolted as Karen slammed the table with her drink. "TELL ME."

She swallowed her saliva as she seen Karen being over eager. She sighed as she adjust her seating, leaning towards the table.

"It start with that day, the day when he show up out of nowhere with that deal." Raven start to spilled what happen recently.

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that-wildwolf · 3 years ago

Text

I was tagged by @crescentbunny and I'm not tagging anyone in particular because I never really have a good grip on who's already done a tag game and who hasn't...

Anyway! Here goes :)

How many works do you have on AO3?

I write lots of one-shots, so this should be around thirty... Yep, twenty-seven.

What’s your total AO3 word count?

Where do you check that? You can check that???

*spends approximately 10 minutes going through AO3 settings they didn't know existed*

Cool! A lot of features I didn't know about. Anyway, um. Yes. My total word count is, for the moment, 471,674 words.

Wow. I. Um. Almost 500K words. But—and this is extremely important—I feel like this graph contains some vital information:

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Wow. Okay. I'll do this in chronological order because I never really counted.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Inheritance, Assassin's Creed, The Wolf Among Us, The Walking Dead, Doctor Who, Star Wars, Attack on Titan, Fallout, Sarah Jane Adventures, Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect, Steven Universe. I don't think I missed anything...?

That adds up to 13.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Of course I do! I thrive on feedback! Not implying that my entire self-esteem hinges on the approval of strangers on the internet, but comments are the best fucking thing ever! Instant serotonin for a whole day! Of course I'll reply! I love getting into little conversations with my readers, too!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Wow. I'm usually more of a happy ending kind of person, but A New Quest (which I wrote at the super proud age of 11) did end with half of the main characters dead and a memorial service for them as the last scene, so... You know. If you consider that angsty, then sure.

Fun fact: Crossing A Line was actually originally supposed to end with Shepard dying! The last chapter (which to me still feels a bit out of place) was rewritten completely. I'm glad I changed it, though. I'm having a lot of fun with the sequel!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

A month ago I'd have said Waiting Between Worlds without second thoughts—does it count as a happy ending when the whole fic is just a happy ending?—but it's just been going downhill the last three or four chapters. Pretty much every one of my one-shots in the When I Need You series. Also, Crossing A Line, I guess, now that it has a happy ending.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I... really don't. I'm wildly ace, all my sex knowledge comes from smut and porn and I'm pretty sure that if I were to actually write the adult stuff, I'd either go way overboard and make it too obscene to read or end up with something completely dry and clinical and unreadable too.

When there's sex scenes in my fic, I usually leave them implied. I say the characters had sex, but I never explicitly write the actual sex. I don't think I'd be good at it. (Actually, I've tried plenty of times and I know I'm not. It's the dirtiest, kinkiest filth you'd ever see and I'd really recommend against reading it.)

I do like writing the pre-chorus to sex, as it were, though. The sensual foreplay to the sexual foreplay. The soft or heated moments leading up to the act. I've even gotten comments about my lime being "extremely hot despite not being smut" and I'm more than happy with that description.

Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the strangest one you’ve written?

I used to write crossovers. Now I only sometimes write AUs based on a different fandom, like a Shakarian Kimi no Na wa!AU.

The strangest crossover I've ever written? Don't know if any of them were strange. I had The Wolf Among Us/The Walking Dead crossovers and Doctor Who/Sarah Jane Adventures crossovers, but both of those pretty much exist in the same universe already, so... No. No weird crossovers.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

God, I hope not. At least none that I know of.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Yes. Plenty. A lot. I'd wager around 4 out of 5 comments on my Shepard Twins fanfic are negative. I haven't updated the fic in a while, but that doesn't mean I'm not writing anymore. I have around 50K words' worth of WIP of it. So no, the hate comments don't bother me. (A lie: they bother me a lot. They even make me cry, sometimes. But they're not gonna be the reason I stop writing a story I enjoy.)

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

My very first fanfiction writing experience, actually. In retrospect, I think that worked out great, because that kind of cooperation made it easier to carry the whole thing through, get it to the end, and was a very positive experience - which is probably why I've continued to write fanfic.

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Ahhh. Royai or Shakarian? Royai or Shakarian? Stupid, since they're almost the same relationship dynamic, but they're both amazingly written. I'm edging a bit more towards Shakarian, because interspecies stuff is always a bonus. Still, it's a close competition.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I wish! I've translated other people's fics, but I've yet to have someone do that for me.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I plan to hope to finish all my WIPs.

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue. This is going to come off as boastful, but I think I'm pretty good at replicating individual characters' speech patterns.

What are your writing weaknesses?

According to my beta, I use elispses too liberally. According to me, I have trouble with transition scenes. I never write in order, so I always end up with disconnected scenes I need to join into a chapter. And the join parts don't even come easy to me.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Not a fan. (When I write fanfics in Polish, I sometimes use English, but that's not the same because everyone in Poland knows English anyway.) If it's a made-up language in the fandom, I like to include some words every now and then in dialogue - especially when it doesn't translate exactly. I love spotlighting cultural differences. I actually learned a load of Jel words for my Murkmire fanfics.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Good times. Damn, that was a long time ago. *suddenly gets the overwhelming realization that they've been writing fanfic for the bigger part of their life* ...Wow.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Big Spoon/Little Spoon, a short Shakarian one-shot exploring the psychology of the Spacer background a bit. I also used lighting in a really cool way in this one! I'm really proud of it. Even when I call it "the Spooning As A Metaphor For Nationality Issues fanfic", I mean it in an affectionate way.

As far as non-one-shots go, I'm going with Crossing A Line. It's got it all: Enemies to Lovers, language barrier, interspecies awkwardness... Plus, writing from Garrus's POV is always a treat. I get to refer to humans as "aliens". What more could you want?

#tag game #writing #fanfic #fanfic writing #meet the blogger #aka #wild rambles #thanks for tagging me in this bunny it was a lot of fun!#my life #long post

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lordofthebigtimesupernatural · 7 years ago

Note

Man, it's been so long since I've came here! Here's my new prompt: Shiro and Keith shopping for school supplies(since August is Back to School Month), it can happen anytime like for elementary, middle, high school or college. You decide or choose them all!

Ha. Ha. Ha. So this is like 2 months late but I hope you still enjoy it! This was so cute and fluffy to write. Keith and Shiro are both excited for back to school shopping! Thank you for sending in the sweet prompt! Enjoy!

x.V.x

Four

“Alright honey, let’s see what we need to get.” Shiro grinned, shifting Keith in one arm. At the moment, he could only single-handedly carry Keith or do his day to day activities. His robotic prosthetic was currently updating and Shiro wouldn’t be allowed to use it until tomorrow. However, he and Keith were doing just fine with three hands total between both of them.

Keith was perched on his dad’s arm, focused entirely on the pieces of papers in his small hands. He ignored the rest of the crowds around them despite all of the noise and sights happening.

“Pencils,” Keith said quietly. Shiro used his hip and the stump of his other arm to maneuver the cart through several aisles of people Many of which cooed at Keith and Shiro or got out of the way once they saw Shiro’s arm.

“Alright. I’m guessing we should get erasers and pens too?” Shiro asked once the two of them had stopped in front of the School Supply aisle.

It was that time of year. The first of many for Shiro and Keith. School was starting up in just two weeks and this would be the first of many school years for Keith and Shiro. Keith was only just starting daycare at Altea, with Allura but it was still exciting for Shiro to be doing school shopping. Especially when it was just him and Keith.

Kuro and Shiro’s parents had tried to tag along with them, after learning that Shiro’s prosthetic was out of commission, but Keith had managed to persuade them to leave the two of them alone with big blue eyes.

“Yes,” Keith nodded before glancing down at the paper. “But only blue pens. No black.”

“Oh, I’m sure we can get any colored pens,” Shiro chuckled, maneuvering Keith on the handle of the cart so that he could grab several supplies. “We could even get a rainbow of colored pens.”

“No. Blue pens. It only says blue pens.” Keith said firmly. The little pout on his face made Shiro coo and rub his cheek against Keith’s. However, he grabbed a pack of blue pens and put them in the cart with the rest of the supplies. Keith beamed, satisfied and Shiro felt his heart melting all over again. “Okay. Check!” Keith scribbled a vague-looking checkmark next to the pens, pencils, and erasers on the list. “Hm, daddy what’s this?” Keith shoved the paper into his father’s face quickly. Shiro blinked, trying to crane his neck back so he could clearly see what Keith was pointing at. It took a bit of struggling but eventually, Shiro could see the paper and he smiled.

“Oh, that says optional. It means we don’t have to buy it and the school will supply it, but we can buy it if we want to.” Shiro explained softly. Eventually, Keith pulled the paper away from Shiro’s face and he frowned thoughtfully. Shiro quickly skimmed the rest of the line and his eyes widened.

Glue.

For a second, Shiro’s mind was brought back to a dark memory of a time when Keith had been allowed to use glue for a Father’s day craft project with his family. Shiro had come home to a baby Keith covered in peeling glue. It was on his hands, on his cheeks, and in his hair. Shiro had been forced to cut off several chunks of Keith’s hair, sending Keith into a fit of tears for days.

Glue is not our friend.

“I know for a fact that your daycare teacher will be providing you with glue so we don’t have to buy that!” Shiro said quickly, practically sprinting away from the glue in the aisle. Keith blinked somberly before waving at the disappearing glue. Feeling his heart twist at the saddened expression on Keith’s face, Shiro stopped the cart right in front of rows of backpacks.

“Look! This is the best part of school shopping. You get to pick your very own backpack to wear!” Shiro cheered suddenly and Keith’s entire attention was now on the backpacks. His eyes lit up and a wide smile graced his face. Shiro chuckled, relieved that a crisis had been averted, and set Keith down on the ground when he felt Keith begin to wiggle in his arms. As soon as his light-up sneakers had hit the floor, Keith was running back and forth along the rows of backpacks.

“Daddy! Daddy! Look, there’s so many!” Keith bounced excitedly, clapping his hands. Shiro chuckled, smiling warmly as Keith ran back and forth between serval different backpacks.

“Is this his first time going to school?”

Shiro turned around to see a woman with her own shopping cart behind him. Shiro could see two other kids walking down the aisle, both were probably two or so years older than Keith. He watched them warily as they made their way to the backpacks, where Keith was still looking at backpacks. Keith eyed the two kids warily who were trying to compare backpacks with him, but he wasn’t yelling or running away yet. Instead, he was clutching onto one particular backpack while the other two kids pointed out other backpacks.

“Yeah. Well, it’s a daycare school because he’s only four but he’s still very excited.” Shiro smiled and the woman beamed.

“And I bet you’re just as excited as he is. Look at that smile.” She pointed out the grin on Shiro’s face and Shiro couldn’t help but nod.

“Yeah. I’m anxious to leave him alone. We’ve never really been apart this long.” Shiro admitted softly, watching as Keith grabbed a hold of another backpack that the older girl had given him.

“It’s hard, especially with the oldest or your only child.” The woman said quietly. “It’s hard to see them growing up, and it feels like it’s going by so fast,” Shiro nodded at this and breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn’t the only parent feeling this. “However, I promise you it’s only going to get more and more exciting after this. Watching them grow up is one of the best feelings in the world, especially when you see the person they’ve become.”

Shiro thought his face was going to split in half from smiling so much. He nodded at the woman, grateful for her kind words before Keith was sprinting back to him. Quickly, Shiro opened his arms and pulled Keith up into one arm, while holding onto his with the stump of his other arm. Keith’s eyes were sparkling with absolute joy and his cheeks were rosy from excitement.

Suddenly, Keith shoved a backpack in Shiro’s face. “Look. Look. It’s perfect! It has stars and moons and planets!” Keith babbled excitedly as he proudly showed off the backpack. All the while, Shiro was smiling warmly at Keith, listening with rapt attention.

Sure, he was excited to watch Keith grow up.

Especially if there were going to be more moments like this.

x.V.x

Twenty-three

“I’m gonna go grab some supplies for school,” Keith said, eyes trained down on his phone. Shiro looked away from the Deli menu where he was deciding if fried chicken was considered a “cheat day” or not. He blinked as Keith walked away and sighed.

Shopping for school supplies had been fun, for about seven years. However, once Keith had reached seventh grade, supply shopping had just become an ordinary shopping trip and by high school, Keith didn’t need or want Shiro shopping with him like they used to. Keith loved his father, and he always did, but even he had admitted that it was slightly embarrassing to be picking out backpacks like a little kid.

So ever since then, Keith had done his shopping while Shiro had done other shopping and the two of them met in the middle. Shiro was a bit sad to see the tradition of school shopping had lost its magic. He knew that as Keith grew up some things would change.

However, his baby was all grown up now. He was home from the military for good and now he was finally starting his very first year of college. Where he was going to be living in the dorms and away from Shiro yet again. Thankfully the campus wasn’t too far and Keith could come home every weekend without hassle but still, Shiro had just gotten used to Keith being around all the time.

The silence was hard.

Shiro sighed, going through the motions and deciding that chicken was what he was in the mood for. As he was heading towards the checkout lines, Shiro saw Keith returning with a bag of school supplies around his arms. He wasn’t on his phone any longer and he waved upon seeing Shiro.

“Got everything you need?” Shiro asked when they arrived near a check-out line.

“Yeah. I’m not going to overload on supplies until I know what I definitely need.” Keith nodded, helping to load the groceries on the conveyor belt. Shiro smiled at his son. “Besides, I can always get you to do a supply run for me and drop them off at my door. I know you’ll look for any reason to visit.” Keith teased lightly, causing Shiro to snort.

“Brat.” Shiro swatted at Keith, who playfully ducked away. “What about a backpack? You haven’t had one since high school and I’m pretty sure I got rid of it.”

“I’ll get a plain black one or something cheap.” Keith shrugged, not upset at all.

Shiro bit his lip, resisting the urge to sigh. “You don’t want ninja-turtles or stars?”

“I’m not a kid anymore.” Keith laughed quietly. Shiro felt his heart twinge for a second before he was smiling again. He’s not. The two of them finished paying for everything before loading it all into Shiro’s car. Shiro’s mind wandered to something he had seen in the store and he bit his lip.

“You finish loading. I forgot something, just wait in the car when you’re done!” Shiro suddenly called over his shoulder as he made his way back into the store. Keith rolled his eyes playfully, but nodded and continued to load up the car.

It only took Shiro a few minutes to find what he was looking for and another minute of debating whether it would be a good idea to get it. However, he made up his mind and bought the item, hiding it in a bag in the back of his car. Keith asked what it was but Shiro kept his mouth shut and simply smiled.

It was three weeks later when Keith was unloading the last box in his dorm. His roommate was a good guy, a family friend of Allura’s, and kinda cute. After Shiro had finally left, and Keith had been on his own once again for a few days, the longing for home built in Keith’s chest. He missed Shiro and home again.

As Keith unloaded the last of his box, he came across a grocery bag at the bottom of the box. Frowning, Keith pulled the bag out as he tried to think of what it could be. He didn’t remember buying any other supplies. However, once Keith had pulled the item out of the bag, he couldn’t help but smile tearfully. Inside the bag, was a galaxy themed backpack, meant for adults. Keith kept the tears at bay but he ran his fingers along the stars stitched into the backpack when a note fell onto the floor.

Picking it up, Keith felt a large smile gracing his lips and he laughed out loud.

No matter how old you think you are, you will always be my Star. Shoot for the moon and back and I know you’ll do great in school. Love you,

Dad

#single dad shiro AU #single dad shiro #kiddie!paladins #kiddie!AU #voltron legendary defender #thanks for this #shiro knows his boy loves his space bags

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